80% Out of Work—Renchan Says Wedding and Event Industry Needs Immediate Relief
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Luke Renchan says the wedding and event industry has been devastated by the coronavirus.
He has had to layoff all 16 of his employees and one member of his staff died from the virus.
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Renchan points out that Rhode Island -- Newport and Providence in particular -- are destinations for people around the world. The state became the center of the wedding world when Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence held her wedding at Belcourt of Newport last October. After the A-list wedding, Evan Smith, President and CEO of Discover Newport, told GoLocalProv.com "Honestly, it's worth millions. But in actuality, it's priceless."
But that event and many other events are now just memories and the industry is worried that many key businesses simply will not be able to survive.
In RI, restaurants can receive nearly unlimited support from the state and the Raimondo administration announced a $20 million support program for RI's hotels.
“Rhode Island's hospitality, tourism, and arts industries have made great sacrifices to ensure the safety of their customers and staff, and we need to do everything we can to help them through this pandemic," said Raimondo in announcing the hotel support in October. “[This] program will not only help these businesses stay open, but also to find innovative ways to adapt to this crisis.”
The wedding and event industry is also asking for relief, "our goal is to have our restrictions lifted by opening up capacity and allowing dancing and showing how we can create a safer, structured event through safety procedures."
Meagan Peter of Rockstar Limo, another member of the Coalition says, "our petition with over 2,000 signatures and comments that were sent to the Governor asking to move our industry into the percentage model. We ask to be treated fairly and to be in the same category as restaurants, houses of worship, and many states around the country, especially our neighbors that are at the percentage model for weddings & events. While this isn't a request to have 100 people at an event right now given the moment, we are in. This is a request to work within a phased action plan to make sure by March 2021 we are at a percentage model so we can have a successful 2021 season."
Renchan said the group is holding an event on December 3 to try and put pressure on Raimondo to change policies and increase financial support. See more here.
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