The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) applauded last week’s House passage of the amended version of the Relief for Restaurants and Other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act of 2022 (H.R. 3807), which would provide pandemic relief to those most in need through an industry-neutral approach advocated for by ASTA.
The bill sets aside $13 billion for a new Hard Hit Industries Awards Program to provide grants to small businesses across all industries that were the hardest hit by the pandemic but ineligible for relief under either the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) or the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program. The legislation also would provide $42 billion to replenish the RRF.
To qualify for a grant under the new program, a business must currently have no more than 200 employees and have suffered a pandemic-related revenue loss of at least 40 percent in 2020 and 2021 (averaged) as compared to 2019. Independent contractors and other self-employed persons are eligible if they meet the revenue loss threshold. Grants of up to $1 million are authorized, though award amounts may be reduced if demand exceeds the funding. Additionally, the revenue loss calculation would be reduced by the amount of any grant previously received by the applicant under the Paycheck Protection Program and/or Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
To ensure that the funds are allocated to the businesses with the greatest need, the program establishes a system whereby entities with an 80 percent or greater revenue loss receive priority, followed by those experiencing losses of 60 percent. Proceeds may be used to cover, among other things, payroll costs, payments to independent contractors, mortgage or rent payments, utilities and other operational expenses. According to recent ASTA member surveys, the average travel agency revenue levels are still down 71 percent compared to 2019.
“Given the severity and longevity of the financial losses suffered by travel advisors and other travel-reliant small businesses, passage of this legislation is imperative to getting these businesses back on their feet and contributing to our country’s economic recovery,” said Eben Peck, ASTA executive vice president, advocacy. “While it will take several years for the travel agency industry to return to health, we believe this bill, coupled with modifying the CDC’s international air travel testing rule, will help speed this recovery and put travel agencies in a position to better serve the traveling public.”
He urged senators to adopt a similar industry-neutral approach “instead of pursuing legislation where winners and losers are cherry picked by Congress across the varying sectors affected by the pandemic."
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