We continue to gather and share as much relevant information as we can with members to help navigate through these troubled days, and position best for whatever may lie ahead.
Hurricane Ian Impact Zone
We at ELFA are committed to helping our members weather the storms. Recently we enlisted the services of ARS/Global Emergency Management to begin monitoring and readying to engage in areas of weather, earth, and social disturbances for our members. They have offered to begin our partnership early and are in position to assist with the current situation unfolding with Hurricane Ian in Florida and other affected states.
There is no obligation to utilize ARS, nor is there any outside cost should you engage them. All of their work is tied into your property’s existing insurance policy. Part of the ARS role also is helping owners maximize any insurance claim reporting and compensation, so we highly recommend engaging prior to fully assessing damages and accepting settlement offers.
ARS has already mobilized equipment and resources in the Central Florida area, and can offer assistance with the following:
Flood damage
Wind damage
Power loss
Fire
HVAC loss
Fallen trees and other objects
Relocation of assets
ELFA’s point of contact with ARS/GEM is:
Garrett Galloway
Ph 1: 832.655.2243
Ph 2: 205.474.2103
E-mail: garrettg@arsgem.com
Please share your property code if you are having to leave a message.
You can also reach out to Region 1 Director Chirag Sagar and/or the ELFA office (301.580.1905) for additional assistance.
Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERC) Program Update
While many hotel and hospitality businesses took advantage of the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) resulting from the 2020 CARES Act, many businesses have not followed up with an additional tax credit, the ERC, which allows for an employee tax credit resulting from any single quarter revenue being only 20% lower than its corresponding period in 2019.
There has been a lot of confusion around this program, including eligibility and program expiration date. Bottom line is most businesses are eligible, and there is plenty of time to apply.
ELFA has partnered with ERC Today to assist in both determining eligibility and streamlining the application process. If your business experienced a drop of 20% or more for any single quarter in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019, and you had wage earning employees on staff at the time and filed IRS form 941, you may very well qualify for this payroll tax credit.
Please visit this special link established for ELFA members to inquire and apply today while funding for this program still remains.
Supply Chain Issues?
Supply chain disruptions in the purchase of branded and other required guest products and amenities continues to plague the industry. Choice Hotels leadership is very aware of these issues, and is working to help assist franchisees who are experiencing these setbacks and delays when ordering.
Please reach out to your dedicated Area Manager, and ELFA, to inform them of any challenges you are experiencing in this area. The Choice Franchise Services team is working with and relaying information to procurement and the QAR team, alerting them to potential problems as they occur. Please help both yourself and other franchisees by sharing these issues regularly and freely.
CrowdStrike Non-Compliance Penalties Are Being Assessed
Choice Hotels is issuing $150 monthly fees for properties not in compliance with the CrowdStrike software mandate for all front desk computers.
If you are seeing this fee levied on your monthly invoice, please take steps immediately to resolve. Search your GM Inbox for the original CrowdStrike “Welcome / Installation” e-mail from 2020 and follow the installation instructions. If you cannot locate this e-mail, you can send an e-mail of your own to falcon-complete@Crowdstrike.com and request a re-send.
Installation is mandated for all front desk computers and those accessing ChoiceAdvantage. It takes less than 10 minutes from start to finish for the installation process.
Are You Hearing Regularly from ELFA?
ELFA sends out e-mails regularly to its Econo Lodge franchisee members with important brand updates and notices on a wide variety of pressing operational matters. While we do not overload with e-mails, we at least reach out once per month.
If you are not receiving e-mails or correspondences from ELFA in this fashion, please reach out to us and let us know so that we can update your contact information. Please include your property code so we can best update and ensure delivery.
