This section outlines answers to frequently asked questions on financing and financial assistance programs. If you have a question, complete and submit the form at the bottom of the page and someone will get back to you with a response.
SBA Option Questions
mortgages?
Disaster Loan too?
- The SBA will pay (not defer) six months of principal and interest payments for SBA 7a and SBA 504 second mortgages for existing for small business owners.
- After the six months of payments made by SBA with the allocated funds, you will still
have the ability to defer payments up to six months if needed for SBA 504 loans and
SBA 7a loans not sold on the secondary market. Payments on SBA 7a loans sold on the
secondary market can be deferred for 90 days. If you have already been approved for
deferment of loans for SBA 7a or SBA 504, your loan payments by the SBA will be still
active after deferment.
Other Funding Sources
CARES Act: Employment & Payroll
- Salary
- Wages
- Commissions
- Cash Tips
- Vacation Pay
- Parental Leave Pay
- Family Leave Pay
- Sick Leave Pay
- Allowance for dismissal or separation
- Group health benefits including insurance premiums
- Payment of retirement benefit or payment of state or local tax assessed on the
compensation of employees.
- For sole proprietors or independent contractors, the sum of payments of any
compensation to or income that is a wage, commission, income, net earnings from
self-employment or similar compensation, that is in an amount of not more than
$100,000/year as prorated for the covered period.
- Paying payroll costs as defined
- Payments of interest on mortgage obligations or other debt obligations (no prepayment penalties or principal)
- Rent (including rent under a lease agreement)
- Utilities
It is provided for wages paid or incurred from March 13, 2020, to December 31, 2020. The credit is based on qualified wages paid to the employee. For employers with greater than 100 full-time employees, qualified wages are wages paid to employees when they are not providing services. For eligible employers with 100 or fewer full-time employees, all employee wages qualify for the credit, whether or not the employer is open. The credit is provided for the first $10,000 of compensation, including health benefits, paid to an eligible employee.
Businesses who receive an SBA Paycheck Protection Loan are not eligible for this credit. The application process is managed through the IRS.
Delayed payment of employer payroll taxes: The provision allows employers and self-employed individuals to defer payment of the employer share of the Social Security tax they are otherwise responsible for paying to the federal government with respect to their employees. The provision requires that the deferred employment tax be paid over the following two years, with half of the amount required to be paid by December 31, 2021, and the other half by December 31, 2022.
The provision, which corrects an error in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, not only increases access to cash flow by allowing you to amend a prior year return but also incentivizes you to continue to invest in improvements as the country recovers from the COVID-19 emergency.
The provision covers costs associated with improving facilities (for example interior improvements, which include but are not limited to investments in new lighting, flooring, sprinkler systems, woodwork, and other common business improvements.)
The CARES Act also allows you to amend a prior year’s return using this rule.
- The CARES Act expands the size (adding $250 billion) and scope of unemployment
benefits.
- Nearly every employee in the country is eligible, categorized as employees who are
unable to work for reasons related to COVID-19.
- An individual who has been diagnosed with COVID–19 or is seeking a medical
diagnosis for symptoms;
- A member of the individual’s household has been diagnosed with COVID–19;
- An individual is providing care for a family member who has been diagnosed with
COVID–19;
- A child or other person for whom the individual has primary caregiving responsibility is unable to attend school as a direct result of COVID-19;
- An individual unable to reach a job, is forced to quit a job, or the place of employment is closed as a direct result of COVID–19.This also includes relief for workers who are self-employed, as well as independent contractors.
- Individuals with the ability to telework or who are receiving paid sick leave or other paid leave benefits, are ineligible for these benefits.Provisions apply retroactively to January 27, 2020 and expire July 31, 2020
Qualifying examples for being unable to work include:
Other Resouces
- We appreciate the commitment that you have to your staff, guests and communities,
and we are taking action to support you with tools and resources to assist with daily
operations, to help address issues impacting guests, and ultimately to help mitigate
long-term impacts.
- We’re suspending a variety of fees, including interest on past due balances since
March 1, 2020, as well as reputation management fees and guest relations handling
fees. We’re assisting you in managing guest reservations and cancellations.
- We’ve paused Quality Assurance reviews through June 30, 2020, and have paused
Property Improvement Plan inspections through December 31, 2020. We’ve
suspended certain brand standards, created more flexible options, and are moving
deadlines to reflect the evolving travel environment.
- They plan on advancing during the application process $10,000 and this will not
have to paid back if the applicant is not approved. If approved, it will, of course,
be part of the total EIDL loan.
- We’re continuing to provide you with guidance and best practices on crisis
preparedness, including specific prevention procedures, proper disinfection protocols,
etc.
- Choice has been a huge advocate for our franchisees on Capitol Hill, speaking directly with the President, Vice President and many in Congress. They’re asking for changes to be made to SBA loans process that would allow our franchisee to utilize the
program in the deployment of capital in a timely manner.
List of U.S. State portals
Make sure to check back often; we are providing updates through many channels, including:
- Your Area Director
- ChoiceCentral Homepage.
- Email
Choice Hotels Financial Contact
Vernell Burwell, Choice Project Director Lending and Land Acquisition
Resourceful, highly ethical, Commercial Banking/ SBA /Conventional Loan Professional with extensive experience in Finance, Franchise Development, and Management. Proven track record in business development, Banking and lender prospecting, transaction structuring, product cross-selling, and customer relationship management. Cultivates and manages national banking relationships across industries and property types. With over 20 years of industry experience as a top revenue-producing financial professional who does not easily take “no” for an answer.
Vernell Burwell can also facilitate your needs when it comes to lender resources. You may contact her by submitting your question(s) below or you can review our frequently asked questions on financing and financial assistance programs.