Hotel Relief Program

Through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State Fiscal Recovery Funds, this new program implemented by the Office of Planning and Budget will provide direct aid to hotels who can demonstrate a negative economic impact of COVID-19. A total of $150 million will be allocated for the establishment of an economic recovery fund for Hotels impacted by COVID-19.

On April 4, 2022, the federal government transferred from using a DUNS Number to a Unique Entity Identifier that grantees must create in SAM.gov. In order to comply with this requirement, all grantees with the designation of subrecipient will require an active UEI (12-character, alpha-numeric code assigned by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)) to request a payment for reimbursement while all grantees with a designation of beneficiary will be required to have an EIN/TIN (employee identity number/tax identification number) to submit a payment request.

The links below will walk you through the process of award acceptance and the necessary onboarding steps. All applicants must complete the following list of items prior to submitting requests for reimbursement. Each program has a Program Specialist assigned to assist awardees with any questions or concerns throughout the process. You can find your Program Specialist by clicking on the OPB Grant Program Contacts link on the right side of this page.

Important Note: Your award will show in the GeorgiaGrants portal as awarded under My Grants once the terms and conditions is signed, and the vendor form is processed (see step 3 below).

All important documents related to this program are linked on the right side of this page - Important Documents. Below the Important Documents link you will find the Webinars and Tutorials page.

Step 1: Terms and Conditions

Step 2: Georgia Grants Access

Step 3: Vendor Management

Program Contact: [email protected]

Application Period: May 15, 2023 - December 1, 2023

• Georgia’s Hotel Relief Program Grant will close on December 1, 2023. No new applications will be accepted after midnight on November 30, 2023. Pending applications will continue to be evaluated and awarded, but incomplete or ineligible applications will be denied. No extension requests will be considered, and no opportunity for re-submittal will be extended for any reason.

Program Total: $150,000,000

Award Amount: Varies (5% of demonstrated revenue loss of 15% or greater)

Grantee Type: Beneficiary

Eligible Applicants: Owners of hotels or bed-and-breakfasts operating during 2020 who meet the eligibility criteria outlined with the NOFO.

Eligibility Criteria:

You are eligible for grant funds if you meet the following criteria.

• You are a hotel or bed-and-breakfast with NAICS Code 721110 or 721191.
• You are in good standing with the state of Georgia’s Secretary of State’s Office.
• You are located within the state of Georgia.
• You are subject to the accommodations tax.
• You were established prior to April 2019.
• You can demonstrate negative impact of COVID-19 by providing federal income tax return showing 15% or greater reduction in revenue adjusted for COVID-19 costs in 2020 over 2019. (You can provide FEIN, W9, and a federal and state return from calendar year 2019 and 2020.)
• You do not owe any state taxes.

Eligible Applicants must demonstrate the negative impact of COVID-19 by providing:

• A summary of your changes in EBITDA from 2019 to 2020. A narrative on what contributed to the changes in EBITDA from 2019 to 2020.
• List of COVID-19 relief funds received by your organization (local, state, and federal) and enter amount received and how these funds were used to address the impact of COVID-19 on the organization.
• Information on an existing operational gap after receiving relief funds.

Eligible Use of Funds:

Funds will be awarded for operational costs associated with maintaining and running a property based on the demonstrated loss incurred by the hotel or bed-and-breakfast. Examples of operational costs include but are not limited to rent, insurance, wages, utility costs, sales and accounting, marketing, and travel agent commissions. 

Unallowable uses: 

• Property and other taxes
• Lobbying
• Debt service
• To replenish financial reserves
• To satisfy any obligation resulting from a judgment or settlement

More information is forthcoming. 

Failure to upload the required documents will result in an incomplete application. To ensure your application moves to consideration, please use our checklist to assist you in your application submission. Please remember that your SSN should be redacted but the FEIN must remain visible for OPB review.

Application Documentation

• Federal 2019 tax returns with SSN redacted
• Federal 2020 tax returns with SSN redacted
• State 2019 tax returns with SSN redacted
• State 2020 tax returns with SSN redacted
• 2019 State Sales and Use tax returns with SSN redacted
• 2020 State Sales and Use tax returns with SSN redacted
• Lead Sheet for Sales and Use Tax returns by month (provided in the application)
• Georgia Department of Revenue Clearance letter
  • If you are having trouble obtaining a clearance letter or have received a denial, please contact DOR taxpayer assistance agents: https://dor.georgia.gov/locations/regional-office 
• Contract with management companies only if your entity needs to explain EIN filings if applicable.
• Loan provider letter of forgiveness, if applicable. Please ensure amount on application is corroborated with your loan forgiveness documents.
•  Trade Secret Affidavit , if applicable. 
• Vendor Management Form (link provided in the application)
•  W-9 (link provided in the application)
• Georgia DPH Tourism Accommodation Permit or equivalent
• Secretary of State Documentation