The third quarter ended strong after a successful 2022 Fall National Advocacy Conference and meetings with top lawmakers, including Sen. John Hickenlooper. AAHOA Treasurer Miraj Patel, Secretary Kamalesh (KP) Patel, and President & CEO Laura Lee Blake met with Sen. Hickenlooper at his Capitol Hill office to discuss Small Business Administration loan limit increases, as well as fairness and transparency in the franchise industry.
Currently, many hoteliers use SBA 7(a) and 504 loans to help finance the new construction or purchase of their hotel properties, and current loan limits are set at $5 million. The current costs of building and purchasing properties greatly exceed $5 million.
As AAHOA indicated in its statement last week, there remains substantial collateral for higher loan amounts since the value of the hotels is significantly higher than these loan limits. Congress can greatly assist small businesses by increasing the SBA loan limits to match the current economic conditions and thereby create a sustainable business model for the future.
Hickenlooper sits on the Small Business Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee, and was once a small business owner. AAHOA’s advocacy efforts, like the meeting with Hickenlooper, are important steps in helping America’s hotel owners thrive.
Original source can be found here.
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