The decision by a Dallas hotel company to return tens of millions of dollars of federal Paycheck Protection Program funds cost one of its subsidiaries thousands of jobs, according to the CEO of the subsidiary.
Ashford Inc., (NYSE: AINC) which oversees an interwoven group of hotels and resorts, returned more than $70 million in PPP in May after media outlets, some politicians and small businesses took Dallas-based Ashford and its affiliates to task for taking money that Ashford critics argued was intended for small businesses. Critics claimed Ashford attempted to take unfair advantage of the program.
The CEO of Dallas-based Remington Hotels, an Ashford Inc. subsidiary, said in a recent interview with the Dallas Business Journal that he could have avoided laying off thousands of workers if he had been able to use the funds. Remington is a third-party operator of hotels for Ashford and other companies.
“It was unfortunate because I could have gotten the majority of my associates back to work,” said Remington President and CEO Sloan Dean.
