The North Dakota Department of Commerce today announced that $20 million in grant funds are available for round two of the Hospitality Economic Resiliency Grant PLUS which will be open for applications on March 9 at 10 a.m. CT.
“North Dakota’s lodging sector lost more than $178 million in visitor spending in 2020 with demand continuing at depressed levels to start off 2021,” Interim Commerce Commissioner Shawn Kessel said. “These businesses are vital to our communities for visitors and the local workforce and supporting business.
The Hospitality Economic Resiliency Grant PLUS expands the Hospitality Economic Resiliency Grant (HERG) to provide funding for the accommodation sector which includes hotels, motels, lodges, and resort establishments. The Hospitality Economic Resiliently Grant PLUS is intended to assist the state’s hotels, motels and lodging businesses who have been impacted by loss of revenue due to low occupancy rates as a result of the pandemic.
The grant is not intended for private vacation rentals or bed-and-breakfasts who rent rooms, apartments, condos or homes to the traveling public through online marketplaces. Extended stay hotels that offer rooms for an ongoing nightly basis are eligible but, those who only serve long-term stays defined as 30 days or more are not eligible.
Eligible facilities may apply for up to $40,000. Applicants with more than one facility may apply for up to $80,000 with maximum of $40,000 to be used per location. Grant recipients are required to comply with ND Smart Restart protocols.
Funds must be used to reimburse eligible entities for costs in operations, like payroll, rent and utilities. Eligible expenses must have been incurred on or after March 27, 2020, and no later than Dec. 29, 2020.
Recipients of the first round of the Hospitality Economic Resiliency Grant PLUS may be eligible for round two funds if the recipient received less than the full eligible amount. In this case, the recipient may be eligible for the difference between the two rounds, up the maximum distribution allowed per grant. Different expenses from round one reimbursements must be submitted to receive round two funds.
Applications will be processed as they are received. Funding will be approved if the application meets all criteria and funding is available. Additional information is available at belegendary.link/PHERG.