Black Meetings and Tourism

November/December 2020

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October 15, 2020 The Honorable Donald J. Trump President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear President Trump: The undersigned executives represent the breadth and depth of the lodging industry in the United States, which supported 8.3 million jobs prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and generated more than $660 billion towards the U.S. GDP. We are writing today to respectfully urge you to take immediate action to provide an injection of liquidity for industries hardest hit by this pandemic, including ours, by fully utilizing the Federal Reserve's 13(3) emergency lending authority. This can be accomplished by establishing an asset- based lending facility or by replacing the rigid EBITDA leverage test with a loan-to-value ratio test. The Main Street Lending Program (MSLP) was established to provide up to $600 billion in financing for our nation's small and medium- sized businesses that were in sound financial condition prior to the pandemic. Unfortunately, there is broad recognition that the MSLP contin- ues to be underutilized and prevents the hardest hit businesses it was intended to support from accessing the program due to overly restrictive terms. To date, only a small fraction of $600 billion in available loans have been utilized while the remaining funds - which are so desperately needed by industries like ours - sit idle and go unused. This health and economic crisis has wreaked havoc on hotels in our industry, of which 60 percent operate as small businesses and nearly 50 percent are minority owned. Three out of every 10 hotel employees are now furloughed or laid off and more than two-thirds of hotels report that they will only be able to last six more months at current projected revenue and occupancy levels absent any further relief. As a result of COVID-19, the accommodations sector is now left with an unemployment rate of 30 percent compared to the national average of 7.9 percent. Mr. President, we believe you have the power to call for immediate modifications to the MSLP to increase participation and help thousands of businesses that have been crippled by the pandemic through no fault of their own. We strongly urge you to use your executive authority to direct the Treasury to encourage the Federal Reserve to amend and expand the Main Street Lending Program. Your engagement is desperately needed to support struggling businesses, stem the impending wave of foreclosures, and save millions of jobs to ensure the health of the entire American economy.Respectfully, B M & T ••• November/December 2020 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 9 and value with its guests through a unique combination of impeccable service, operational excellence and technology leadership. Caesars Entertainment is committed to its employees, suppliers, communities and the environment through its PEOPLE PLANET PLAY framework. For more information, please visit www.caesars.com/corporate. CEO'S OF MAJOR HOTEL BRANDS CALL ON PRESIDENT TRUMP TO COME TO AIDE OF HOTEL INDUSTRY Only a small fraction of the $600 billion available through the Main Street Lending Program has been utilized. While remaining funds sit idle and go unused, the hotel industry is on the brink of collapse. According to a recent survey of hotel owners, more than two-thirds of hotels report they will only be able to last six more months at current projected revenue and occupancy levels without further relief. With three out of every 10 hotel employees now furloughed or laid off, this could help save millions of hotel supported jobs and many hotels avoid closure. David Kong Best Western Hotels & Resorts Patrick Pacious Choice Hotels International Robert Palleschi G6 Hospitality, LLC Chris Nassetta Hilton Mark Hoplamazian Hyatt Hotels Corporation Elie Maalou InterContinental Hotels Group Jonathan Tisch Loews Hotels & Co Arne Sorenson Marriott International Peter Strebel Omni Hotels and Resort James Alderman Radisson Hotel Group John Russell RLH Corporation Geoff Ballotti Wyndham Hotels and Resorts Dave Johnson Aimbridge Hospitality Monty Bennett Ashford Inc Daniel Abernethy Atrium Hospitality H P Rama Auro Hotels Mark Carrier B. F. Saul Company Hospitality Group Al Patel Baywood Hotels Alex Cabanas Benchmark Global Hospitality Joe Berger BRE Hotels Robert Kline Chartres Lodging Group Continue on page 11

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