Three Merrill hotels to receive COVID-19 Lodging Grant funds
Tina L. Scott
Editor
In early December, Governor Tony Evers announced that 663 Wisconsin lodging operators would receive COVID-19 Lodging Grant funds to help provide stabilization to the state’s lodging industry According to a press release from the Governor’s office, grantees were awarded an average of about $350 per eligible room in Wisconsin. Funded by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds, and administered by the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA), the grant program assists hotel, motel, and bed and breakfast operators whose facilities have been negatively affected by COVID-19.
The official list of Lodging Grant recipients, released by the state of Wisconsin, included three Merrill lodging operators receiving grants. Local recipients are: Tara Inn Inc., which owns the Econo Lodge on South Pine Ridge Avenue in Merrill, and will receive $14,000 in grant funds; Gayatri Inc., which owns the Prairie Motel on County Road K in Merrill, and will receive $5,600; and the Merrill AmericInn LLC, owned locally by Gary and Mary Schwartz, which operates the AmericInn by Wyndham, and will receive $22,750.
While it would normally be exciting to receive grant funds, which often signify the beginning of a renovation or addition, or some other exciting project, this year COVID-19 Lodging Grant funds will be used to pay the bills–no fun or frills anticipated.
In an interview with Gary Schwartz, he said the AmericInn grant funds are earmarked for real estate taxes. Schwartz said real estate taxes on the property are $68,000 per year, so this grant will help with that, but it doesn’t even begin to compensate for the loss of revenue in 2020 due to COVID-19. “January and February were kind of normal yet,” Schwartz explains, “but in March and April, we might have had 10% of normal occupancy.” Since then, he says, it’s been anything but normal. When asked to quantify the loss of revenue in 2020 due to COVID, as compared to 2019, “Fifty percent,” Schwartz said. Overall revenue for the year has been cut in half compared to last year. [Early estimates as of mid-December.]
Being a Merrill area resident, Schwartz and his wife are conscious of the impact their business has on the community, in a multitude of ways. He spoke of how important locally-owned businesses are to the community and the economy. “They’re the ones doing stuff in the community,” he said. People need to think more about supporting locally-owned businesses, Schwartz emphasized. He gave an example: “Did you know that of the 12 places in Merrill where you can buy gas, only 3 are locally owned?”
Beyond the obvious, like how many lives and families are impacted as an employer in the community, locally-owned businesses are inclined to support local fundraisers, community events and programs, local sports teams, and improvements to the community as a whole.
Still, being a local resident and an employer in the community is a huge component, and a responsibility Schwartz and his wife take seriously.
Schwartz is proud to say the Merrill AmericInn has been locally owned and operated since they built it and opened in 2001. “The lodging industry represents 30% of the unemployment caused by the virus,” Schwartz said. “18 million people were laid off or lost their jobs.” But despite revenue taking a huge hit, “We kept all of our staff, except that we laid off one part-time person,” Schwartz said, “And we’ve already called him back.”
Schwartz said the hotel did participate in the CARES Act Payroll Protection Program (PPP) offered earlier this year. “That provided payroll for 8 weeks, 2 months of the 10 [months impacted so far from the COVID pandemic],” he said. They’ve also tried to adapt in whatever ways they could. “We’ve cut expenses, tried to get more efficient, limited purchasing,” Schwartz said. And while activities in Merrill have been largely canceled, some of the area construction has been a help because the hotel has provided housing to crews from out of the area.
Similarly, booking of the meeting room, where local residents often held parties, meetings, and receptions in other years, has been “very limited,” Schwartz said. “But we have kept the pool area open, and that brings people in for a day break/getaway.” He said the hotel charges a flat fee to use the pool if they aren’t staying at the hotel, so it is “primarily parents bringing their kids in.” But in a year where so many other vacations, trips, events, and get togethers have been canceled, that’s something, and a welcome break for the community. And, “due to all the chemicals you use in a pool, including the chlorine,” Schwartz said, “one of the safer environments you can be in [with regard to COVID], is a swimming pool.”
“The folks in our hotel and lodging industry have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic as folks have reduced their travel this year to help stop the spread of the virus,” Gov. Evers said in his Dec. 3 press release. “The tourism industry will be core to our state’s economic bounce back, and these funds will help provide some economic stabilization now so visitors can enjoy their favorite destinations later.”
According to the Governor’s press release, “In 2019, visitors to the state spent $3.7 billion on lodging, but recent surveys by the Wisconsin Hotel and Lodging Association indicate that nearly half of Wisconsin hotel and lodging properties will close within six months without loan or grant assistance.” The lodging grant funds listed above that are the topic of this article are obviously a drop in the bucket and not likely enough to prevent that from happening in some cases.
Yet, according to a quote from DOA Secretary Joel Brennan in the same press release, “The economic recovery for many Wisconsin communities depends largely on the tourism and lodging industries.” “By injecting these funds into local lodging and tourism partners, we hope to provide a lifeline and some stabilization to local economies, businesses and jobs,” Brennan said.
According to an August 31, 2020, “State of the Hotel Industry Analysis” report from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) that looked at the national hotel industry in response to “COVID-19 Six Months Later,” “for every $100 hotel guests spend on lodging, another $222 is spent at the destination–totaling $278 billion per year spent on transportation, dining, shopping, etc., at U.S. businesses during stays.” Clearly, the success of the local lodging industry will have an impact on our local economy and the post-pandemic economic success of other local businesses.
In addition, it’s hard to quantify the amount of additional money and support locally-owned hotels reinvest into their communities, beyond their value as an employer. The Merrill AmericInn, for instance, organized a Comfort and Care Drive this past spring to help the elderly at Park Place and Jenny Towers, and other disadvantaged families. Spearheaded by local General Manager, Ernie Stender, the Merrill AmericInn became a drop-off location for non-perishable food and paper products. The project was intentionally targeted to help the elderly and others who could not get out to shop as normal during the pandemic or who might be at a higher risk of contracting the illness if they did go out into the community.
An estimated 2,000 items were collected and stored at the hotel and then transferred to the Merrill Area Housing Authority for distribution as a result of the drive. An additional $1,600 in cash donations was also initially received and then matched by Arby’s and Pine Ridge Mobil, two other businesses also locally owned by Gary and Mary Schwartz. The end result was a total of $4,000 donated to St. Vincent de Paul’s Community Outreach. All of this happened in the midst of the first six months of the pandemic.
Despite a difficult 2020, Schwartz is looking forward to a better 2021 for the Merrill AmericInn and the Merrill community as a whole. And he is grateful for the CARES Act funds, from both the PPP and the Lodging Grant, to help his business(es) get through this difficult year.