The hospitality industry is in trouble. CARES Act funds can offer a lifeline.

Anchorage’s hospitality industry needs a lifeline. A tidal wave of lost revenues and wages is about to crash down, potentially wiping out jobs and businesses in its wake. Multiple COVID-19 emergency closures, travel restrictions and increased health and safety protocols continue to disproportionately devastate bars, restaurants and tourism-based businesses. They’re facing tough choices; laying off workers, cutting costs and even closing their doors.

Federal increases to unemployment benefits dried up this week, further amplifying the challenges hospitality, tourism and retail workers are already facing. With Congress at a stalemate, there’s no sign larger benefits will resume anytime soon. But instead of waiting for Congress to act, there is already money available in Alaska that can quickly help thousands of hospitality workers.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy should set aside a portion of the $1.2 billion in CARES Act funds specifically for the hospitality industry in the Municipality of Anchorage, in recognition of the prolonged closures and other restrictions in place for this crucial sector of our economy. The state of Alaska currently has hundreds of millions of dollars in undistributed, unallocated funds intended for just this type of need.

Providing up to $10 million in assistance for businesses and employees will go a long way in throwing the hospitality workforce the lifeline it needs. The Municipality of Anchorage is shouldering the largest burden of any region in the state, and the city’s needs already outpace the relief it has received from the State of Alaska. The CARES Act funds allocated to Anchorage are already targeting the compounding needs across the municipality that have been amplified by the COVID-19 crisis.

There are clearly many pressing needs in Alaska, but no group or industry has been impacted by COVID-19-related closures like local bars, restaurants and the like. But the governor has a moral obligation to help this vital industry.

The Anchorage Economic Resiliency Task Force members sent a pair of recommendations to the governor that we believe can make an immediate impact for the struggling hospitality workforce. We recommend a bulk of the $10 million should be used to provide replacement wages and tips for the thousands of desperate and out-of-work employees. Weekly payments of $400 for those laid off or furloughed and $200 for workers facing reduced hours will bridge the gap until the businesses can re-open or additional unemployment benefits become available. Hospitality workers are some of the most vulnerable to evictions, living paycheck to paycheck, and often face food insecurity.

Secondly, hospitality business owners also need help with fixed costs such as mortgage/lease, utilities, insurance and lost inventory. A hospitality-specific set aside from the CARES Act funds will help some of Alaska’s most vulnerable businesses survive. In many cases, these are unique, homegrown businesses that provide quality of life benefits to other Alaskans and are forefront to attracting new dollars to Alaska when travel returns.

The members of the Anchorage Economic Resiliency Task Force are: Bill Popp, Anchorage Economic Development Corporation; Julie Saupe, Visit Anchorage; Jon Bittner, Alaska Small Business Development Center; Bruce Bustamante, Anchorage Chamber of Commerce; Drew Cason, Anchorage Home Builders Association; Judith Crotty, Wells Fargo; Monica Emerton, Green Connection and BOMA; Mara Kimmel, Municipality of Anchorage; Nolan Klouda, UAA Center for Economic Development; Heather MacAlpine, Office of Equal Opportunity; Amanda Moser, Anchorage Downtown Partnership; Nikole Nelson, Alaska Legal Services Corporation; Sarah Daulton Oates, Alaska CHARR; Debbie Rinckey, Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce; Kirk Rose, Anchorage Community Land Trust; Chris Schutte, Office of Economic and Community Development; Alex Slivka, Office of Management and Budget; Jasmine Smith, The Business Boutique; Ethan Tyler, CIRI; Silvia Villamides, Alaska Hospitality Retailers; Jonathan White, Steam Dot Coffee Company; Laurie Wolf, The Foraker Group; and Geoff Wright, Pango Technology, Inc.

The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.