Licensed Guesthouses Subsidy Scheme and Club-house Subsidy Scheme open for application

     The Licensed Guesthouses Subsidy Scheme and the Club-house Subsidy Scheme under the sixth round of the Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF) opened for application today (February 17).

     The outbreak of the fifth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in January 2022 and the resulting tightening of social distancing measures have dealt a severe blow to different sectors. As such, the Government has rolled out the sixth round of the AEF to provide the needed support to businesses (including guesthouses and clubhouses) hard hit by the pandemic and the prolonged tightening of social distancing measures.

     The Licensed Guesthouses Subsidy Scheme provides a subsidy to each eligible holder of a guesthouse licence (including Guesthouse (General), Guesthouse (Holiday Flat) and Guesthouse (Holiday Camp)) issued under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance (Cap. 349). Each eligible guesthouse with one to five licensed guestrooms may receive a subsidy of $50,000 and those with six or more licensed guestrooms may receive a subsidy of $80,000.

     The Club-house Subsidy Scheme provides a subsidy of $100,000 to each of the eligible holders of a valid Certificate of Compliance (CoC) issued under the Clubs (Safety of Premises) Ordinance (Cap. 376), and an additional subsidy of $50,000 for each permit/licence for CoC holders who also operate karaoke establishments, nightclubs or bars/pubs in their clubhouse premises.

     The above licences/CoC should be issued under respective Ordinance on or before January 7, 2022. Please refer to the application forms and guides for the detailed eligibility criteria and requirements. The application forms and guides to apply for the above subsidy schemes can be downloaded from the website of the OLA (www.hadla.gov.hk). The OLA will also send emails/letters to the relevant licence/CoC holders to advise them about the subsidy schemes. The application deadline for the above schemes is March 17, 2022. Upon receipt of completed application forms and the required supporting documents, the disbursement of subsidies could be made in around two weeks the earliest. For details, please contact the OLA at 3620 3062 or visit the website of the OLA.