The National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) and the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable have led an effort to get Paycheck Payment Program (PPP) loans extended to accommodate seasonal businesses.
This latest rule, issued by the U.S. Treasury, helps seasonal RV parks and campgrounds which may not have had active payroll during the base period stipulated by the original PPP loan criteria, which required the business to have been in operation by Feb. 15.
The original base period allowed in the PPP loan program was 8-weeks and it began as soon as the loan was approved and active, and without the ability to use an alternative base period, 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 by providing a seasonal employer the option of using any consecutive 12-week period between May 1, 2019, and Sept. 15, 2019, for determining its maximum loan amount.
“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 Small Business Administration resumed accepting PPP loan applications from approved lenders on behalf of any eligible borrower yesterday morning and the last day to apply for and receive a loan is June 30.
For those in need of a PPP loan, visit arvc.org/coronavirus for direction.
