Lack of cash flow from residents means bills are piling up for local motel owners

CHARLOTTE — Like so many hard-hit industries, Robin McNeely’s motel is trying to make ends meet in the middle of a global pandemic.

Of the 110 rooms at the City Inn in south Charlotte, 85 are occupied by full-time residents who call the motel home. Many of them are out of work and can’t afford to pay the $280 per week.

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“Most of our people are residents that have been displaced,” McNeely said. “They’ve all tried to sign up for unemployment and they can’t get through or they haven’t been approved yet. A lot of these people still haven’t gotten their stimulus checks.”

A lack of cash flow on the resident’s end means the bills are piling up for McNeely. She said there’s little to no assistance after the federal rescue loan program ran dry after $349 billion.

People are protected from being evicted from hotels and motels by NC attorney general People are protected from being evicted from hotels and motels by NC attorney general

Crisis Assistance Ministry distributed $600,000 dollars to local motels and hotels to keep families in place during the stay-at-home order. The first wave of assistance covered 566 families in 32 hotels.

McNeely said they have enough resources to keep the doors open until July, as long as things don’t get worse.

Residents at other motels, like the Days Inn along Woodlawn Road and the Suburban Extended Stay off Billy Graham Parkway, said they were asked to leave.

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Under the stay-at-home order, Legal Aid noted it is illegal to kick out long-term residents or turn off their utilities. Businesses could face a $5,000 fine from the state if they do so.

Charlotte Water, Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas won’t disconnect services for those who cannot pay.

McNeely said, though, that when the time comes to pay the bills, she fears she may have to close her doors.

“If you’re $200, $300 behind, that’s easy to catch up. When you’re $2,000 or $3,000 behind, that’s another story,” she said.

Crisis Assistance told Channel 9 the organization is still making daily payments to motels and hotels. However, the hundreds of thousands of dollars in relief funding came with restrictions that some newer hotel residents did not meet.

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