Hotel Company Mired in Pandemic Loan Controversy Shows It Didn’t Need Federal Money Anyway

The floodgates opened this week on the second round of federally backed Paycheck Protection Program small business loans for companies struggling during the pandemic. But a hotel company embroiled in scrutiny during PPP 1.0 has found a different survival plan. Ashford Hospitality Trust was among a trio of companies tied to Dallas-based hotelier Monty Bennett that took fire for receiving tens of millions of dollars in PPP loans under a $2 trillion relief measure passed early in the pandemic. Critics chided Ashford Trust, a real estate trust owning Ritz-Carlton and W-branded properties, and Bennett, a wealthy businessman, of taking advantage of a program intended to help struggling mom and pop businesses in the global pandemic. The companies later returned the money after changing federal guidelines may have no longer made them eligible given the amount of funds received. But Ashford Trust’s hotels were still decimated by the