Mar 20, 2020

Governor Laura Kelly establishes the Hospitality Industry Relief Emergency (HIRE) Fund

The Kelly Administration has established the Hospitality Industry Relief Emergency (HIRE) Fund to provide bridge loans for Kansas’ hospitality sector during the COVID-19 crisis.

The Kelly administration is committed to providing support to our state’s small businesses, and Governor Kelly understands that this pandemic is an especially serious challenge for the hospitality industry. In order to sustain operations for this sector, the administration has allocated $5 million for a round of bridge loans for hospitality businesses.

Eligible businesses in Kansas will be able to apply for a one-time loan of up to $20 thousand at 0% interest for a period of 36 months. There will be no principal or interest payments for the first four months.

Examples of hospitality businesses include:

Restaurants
Bars
Lodging facilities
Conference centers
Event centers

Other hospitality businesses will be considered and may be approved on a case-by-case basis.

These funds can be used as working capital for business expenses including, but not limited to:

Commercial loan payments
Commercial lease payments
Utility bills
Payroll
Accounts payable
Inventory

Funds will be strategically distributed across the state to maximize relief for all hospitality sectors across Kansas and focus on the areas most affected.

Distribution will be allocated as follows:

$1.5 million will be allocated to the KC Metro area
- This includes Johnson, Wyandotte, Shawnee and Douglas counties
$1 million will be allocated to Sedgwick County
$2.5 million will be allocated to the remainder of the state

In order to be eligible, businesses must:

Be an existing for-profit business located in Kansas
Maintain a staff of less than 100 employees
Have no outstanding state tax obligations
Be willing to submit a personal guarantee of repayment from the owners of the business

Decisions on loan applications will be made within 72 hours of application receipt, 7 days a week. Funds will be transferred within 48 hours of approval.