Dallas Hotelier Monty Bennett Plans To Keep $126.4 MILLION PPP Loans

UPDATED: Dallas hotelier Monty Bennett’s conglomerates Ashford Inc., Ashford Hospitality Trust, and Braemar Hotels & Resorts have applied for the largest loans under the Payment Protection Program that was actually meant for real small businesses. The publicly traded companies applied for $126.4 MILLION in the taxpayer-backed PPP loan program. So far, they’ve received nearly $70 million. Bennett says he doesn’t want to give the money back.

UPDATE 2: Ashford Inc. and related companies made an announcement Saturday May 2 announcing they would return PPP loans they received after all.

This story will be updated as we receive new information.

Related: CRAZIEST Times Big Companies Got PPP Loans Meant For Real Small Business

Dallas Hotelier Monty Bennett’s Companies Applied For $126.4 MILLION In PPP Loans, Plans To Keep It All

Metroplex Social has previously covered Ashford Inc., Ashford Hospitality Trust, and Braemar Hotels & Resorts in our list of publicly traded companies that took the biggest PPP loans meant for actual small businesses, as well as our special edition where we highlighted the craziest moments big companies (both publicly traded and privately owned) got the taxpayer-backed funds.

In a statement posted on its website, which we have conveniently saved and uploaded to Metroplex Social here, the hotel management chain says it plans to ignore critics and keep the money it’s getting.

Dallas-based Ashford Hospitality Trust said it and its affiliated companies which manage hotel sites for luxury hospitality brands including Ritz Carlton, plans to keep all the funds they and their subsidiaries receive–which we now know is a total application of $126.4 MILLION.

Bennett feels entitled to the taxpayer-backed funds meant for actual small businesses, “the CARES Act was enacted to provide federal assistance to all businesses-large and small-negatively impacted by COVID-19. Congress chose to distribute the funds through the Small Business Administration, even though a portion of the program was designed for larger hotel owners.”

What Monty Bennett is conveniently leaving out is that he was one of the many hotel executives that met with President Donald Trump last month to design a plan to carve themselves out a piece of the small businesses loan program. They asked for as much as $150 billion from the taxpayer-backed program.

American Hotel and Lodging Association President Chip Rogers said hotel owners hope about $100 billion of that can go to help support furloughed workers. $50 billion would be needed to help hotel owners make their debt payments. 

Hotel industry executives have been huge donors to President Trump’s political campaign. In October 2016, Bennett donated $143,000 to the Trump Victory political action committee, and according to Federal Election Committee records he’s donated $1.1 million to Trump and Republican Party.

Monty Bennett Admits They Won’t Use PPP Loans To Rehire Most Workers

Furthermore, in the statement the company goes on to admit that they won’t be spending the potential $126.4 million in loans to rehire their employees.

“As of now, it appears that we will only minimally qualify,” the statement reads, “and we will have to pay the balance back when it is due in 2 years.”

A company must use at least 75% of the PPP loan they receive in order to qualify to have it completely forgiven. Otherwise, companies must pay the loan back in 2 years with just 1% interest.

Ashford is at least $4 billion in debt according to the Wall Street Journal with a market cap of just $17 million. You do the math.

Ashford has applied for $126.4 million total in PPP loan funds.

MONTY BENNETT SAYS HE PLANS TO KEEP PPP LOANS; SAYS HE’LL NEED GOVERNMENT DEBT RELIEF FOR 1.5 YEARS

Monty Bennett goes on to slap real small businesses owners in the face by saying, “Our companies have not crowded out smaller businesses from receiving funds, as some media reports have suggested. The PPP program was specifically intended for companies like ours.”

“We plan to keep all funds received under the PPP…We work for our shareholders,” the statement reads.

According to Bennett, Ashford’s furloughed workers will have to use up their vacation and sick days. Last month, laid-off workers were given one week of severance for every year they were with the company.

About a third of Ashford’s staff are hourly workers and they were told not to expect work for months, if not longer.

Bennett has cut his executive pay by a whopping 15% and paid himself and other executives preferred stock dividends during the coronavirus shutdown.

Bennett has said in reports that the hospitality industry may need debt relief for as long as a year and a half.

When the coronavirus pandemic is over he thinks the U.S. government should give tax breaks to the American public for vacation spending…well you know, to spend at his hotels and make himself more money.

ASHFORD INC., PAYMENT PROTECTION LOAN QUICK FACTS

Ashford Inc. (NYSE: AINC), Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE: AHT), Braemar Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: BHR) all applied for funds from the Paycheck Protection Program

• NO PLANS to REPAY PPP Loan to SBA
• 95% of workforce laid off or furloughed
• Won’t be using funds to rehire workers right away; using funds as a very low-interest 1% loan, no payments for initial 6 months
• Asking U.S. taxpayers to bail his hotels out for 1.5 years
• Owns ~130 hotels
• Applied for $126.4 million by taking advantage of a loophole
• Received so far almost $70 million
• Revenue $2.2 BILLION in 2019
• At least $4 billion in debt, stopped making payments
• Market cap $17 million
• Monty Bennett (CEO & Chairman) paid himself millions of dollars in preferred dividends during the economic shut down
• Monty was paid $1,755,697 annual bonus in March
• Monty is guaranteed another $585,233 by 12/31/2020
• Third-party preferred shareholders were paid during the shut down
• Monty makes between $5.6 and $6.6 million per year
• Hired lobbyists for the first time ever to make sure his hotels got a piece of PPP
• Monty donated $50,000 to re-elect Trump campaign in March 2020
• Monty donated at least $143,000 to Trump Victory political action committee
• Bennett has reportedly given more than $1.1 million to Trump and Republican Party since 2016 election, according to Federal Election Commission records

The Treasury Department issued a statement Thursday saying that publicly traded companies with access to capital and financing should return PPP loans awarded to them in order to remain in good standing.

According to a statement posted on Ashford’s website, “We plan to keep all funds received under the PPP…We work for our shareholders.”

Ashford said it will review any loans it had received and return any money from loans that no longer qualify by the Treasury’s May 7 deadline.

==> HERE’S THE CRAZIEST TIMES BIG COMPANIES GOT PPP LOANS MEANT FOR ACTUAL SMALL BUSINESSES

Dallas Hotelier Monty Bennett’s Companies Applied For $126.4 MILLION In PPP Loans, Doesn’t Plan To Give It Back

Dallas hotelier Monty Bennett doesn’t want to give any of the $126.4 million in Paycheck Protection Program loan funds they applied for back. Won’t use majority of funds to rehire workers.

Here’s More on Metroplex Social:

• CRAZIEST Times Big Companies Got PPP Loans Meant For Real Small Business <== like WTAF?
• Publicly Traded Companies Must Now Repay PPP Loans By May 7
• ENTIRE List of Public Companies That Took BIGGEST Loans Meant For Actual Small Businesses
• Small Business Suing Chase, Other Banks For Shuffling Loans To Make More Profit
• These Downtown McKinney TX Businesses Were Illegally Locked Out By Their Landlord
• Waze Now Lets You Find 30,000 Emergency Food Locations Near You

Got something to say? Comment below.