The National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds recently advocated on behalf of summer recreation business owners who may have taken a financial hit during the ongoing pandemic.
ARVC representatives worked with the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable to lead an effort to have Paycheck Payment Program loans extended to accommodate seasonal businesses, such as RV parks, that may not have been operational until recent weeks. The ARVC announced its successful role in the advocacy on Wednesday.
Seasonal employers now have the option of using any consecutive 12-week period between May 1, 2019 and September 15, 2019 for determining a maximum PPP loan amount. The original PPP loan criteria called for businesses to have had an active payroll during a fixed base period, requiring that the business be in operation as of Feb. 15, 2020.
The latest change to the program, issued by the U.S. Treasury, is good news for seasonal RV parks and other campgrounds that may not have been open for business when the pandemic began.
“ARVC worked in collaboration with Outdoor Recreation Roundtable to get this done for our members because it was important seasonal small businesses like RV parks and campgrounds be able to access and use the PPP loans in the same way as every other small business in this country,” said Paul Bambei, president and CEO of ARVC. “There were a lot of private RV parks and campgrounds in this country who were getting shut out and it just wasn’t fair.”
The original PPP loan program rules allowed for an 8-week base period that began as soon as the loan was approved and active.
Without the ability to use an alternative base period, the ARVC pointed out, “many summer seasonal businesses would be unable to obtain funding on terms commensurate with those available to winter and spring seasonal businesses.”
This new rule addresses that disparity and “ensures consistency in program administration,” according to the ARVC.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) resumed accepting PPP loan applications from approved lenders on behalf of any eligible borrower on April 27, and the last day to apply for and receive a loan is June 30, 2020.
Businesses in need of a PPP loan can click here to visit the ARVC website for direction. Under the “SBA Loan” section, see a list of participating local lenders as well as a link to a national lender still accepting PPP loan applications.
