Connecticut Lodging Association
Coronavirus Update 4/20/2021
Governor Lamont announces plans to further ease some COVID-related restrictions
Governor Lamont today announced that over the coming weeks he plans to further ease some of the restrictions on certain sectors that were put into effect at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. These include:

Effective May 1, 2021:
  • Bars that do not serve food can open for service on an outdoor-only basis. These establishments will still be prohibited from serving only alcohol indoors.
  • The 8-person per table limit will be lifted for outdoors only. This limit will remain in effect for indoor service.
  • The curfew for restaurants, entertainment venues, recreation venues, and theaters will be moved back an hour to midnight.

Effective May 19, 2021:
  • Contingent upon sufficiently low rates of infections and increasing vaccination rates, all remaining business restrictions will be lifted. The Department of Public Health will issue recommendations for indoor and other large outdoor events, such as concerts, as well as clarify where masking will continue after May 19.
SBA Announces Official Restaurant Revitalization Fund Application and Guidelines
SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman today announced key details on application requirements, eligibility, and a program guide for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). The restaurant industry has been among the hardest-hit sectors during the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To help bring jobs back and revive the industry, the American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Joe Biden, established the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA will administer the funds to the hardest-hit small restaurants. 

Under this announcement,details on application requirements, eligibility, and a program guide are now available in English at www.sba.gov/restaurants or in Spanish at www.sba.gov/restaurantes.  

Ahead of the application launch and over the next two weeks, the SBA will establish a seven-day pilot period for the RRF application portal and conduct extensive outreach and training. The pilot period will be used to address technical issues ahead of the public launch. Participants in this pilot will be randomly selected from existing PPP borrowers in priority groups for RRF and will not receive funds until the application portal is open to the public. 

Following the pilot, the application portal will be opened to the public. The official application launch date will be announced at a later date. For the first 21 days that the program is open, the SBA will prioritize reviewing applications from small businesses owned by women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Following the 21-day period, all eligible applicants are encouraged to submit applications. Read more.
The End of Radios: Transforming hotel communication & worker safety with the power of the cloud
Safety and security tech has come a long way since our widespread dependence on walkie talkies. Today we have smartphones, the cloud and other innovations that have moved the report and response time of safety devices to the next level. AHLA Allied+ member Relay will cover the latest and greatest of these devices including what the future likely holds with adaptive voice-first technology.

Tuesday, April 20th
2:00 PM EDT
Paolino Public Affairs Consulting, Inc. Legislative Report - 4/16/21
Attached is your weekly legislative report, and a summary of events that happened in the Capitol over the past week. On Wednesday, the Senate convened to discuss a variety of different legislation, albeit a short agenda. Topics included legislation addressing ice cream truck safety, age discrimination in the workplace, and creating a manufacturing technology working group. In addition, there were several appointments to commissions approved. The calendar was not controversial, and it was a short day for legislators. The House of Representatives will be meeting for session on Monday of next week, although the full agenda of what they will be discussing is not confirmed. If you have any questions, please let us know! 
 
Regarding the coronavirus, Governor Ned Lamont announced on Thursday that over one million Connecticut residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The halt of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine will temporarily disrupt the trajectory that vaccine supply would pass the demand sometime later this month, but over a million people vaccinated is a significant milestone for our tiny state. Governor Lamont also noted in a press briefing yesterday that since Connecticut is on the right track with vaccinations, it is a possibility that his administration will consider removing the mask mandate like New Hampshire did this week. “I would say that’s true,” he said. “Indoors, you’d probably want to be stricter until you have a vast majority of your people who are vaccinated … maybe you go from a mandate to guidance. We’d feel better if people wear a mask indoors through the month of June. We’ll feel our way. Let’s first get closer to herd immunity.” 
STR: U.S. hotel results for week ending 10 April
The U.S. hotel industry posted its highest demand and occupancy levels since the beginning of the pandemic, according to STR‘s latest weekly data through 10 April. 

4-10 April 2021:
  • Occupancy: 59.7%
  • Average daily rate (ADR): US$112.22 
  • Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$66.99

Reflecting the country’s almost 2-point improvement in occupancy from the previous week, more than 50% of properties posted a weekly occupancy above 60%. Additional insights are available in STR’s Market Recovery Monitor.

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