DeSantis’s ban on vacation rentals delivers another COVID-19 blow to Anna Maria Island

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order suspending vacation rentals for two weeks has dealt another blow to Anna Maria Island resort rental companies.

“Revenue had gone from 100 percent to 25 percent. This executive order wipes out the last 25 percent,” said a representative of Anna Maria Vacation Rentals.

DeSantis was direct and to the point Friday in announcing the two-week moratorium, part of broader strategy to halt arrivals from states hard hit by COVID-19.

“If you are on one now, finish and go home,” DeSantis said to visitors in vacation rental homes, although his order applies to new vacation rentals.

Even with the scary news about the coronavirus pandemic, rental companies continue to receive calls and emails about new rentals.

“We can’t take any rentals for two weeks. This is having a pretty serious impact,” said a representative of Beach Retreats. “Normally, March 28- April 11 would be the busiest two weeks of the year.”

Many agencies that handle rentals for homeowners are not enforcing their cancellation refund policies that state there will be no refund for Act of God, or catastrophic events. The rental companies, in conjunction of the owners of the homes they are renting, are allowing visitors to reschedule their vacations. Some are providing full or partial refunds, depending on the homeowner.

“We have to work together. We are taking it two weeks at a time. We are taking it day by day,” a Florida Dreams Realty representative said. “Many visitors are happy just to move their vacation date back.”

But not all are happy with the offer to reschedule.

“I just wanted to bring to someone’s attention that even though the governor is encouraging and asking people to not visit Anna Maria Island etc., local vacation companies are not reimbursing trips,” one visitor wrote. “I realize we are blessed to have money to vacation and this in the grand scheme of everything is not important, it’s just really disappointing. It was a lot of money and a trip we’ve been looking forward to for a few years.”

A representative of Anna Maria Vacation Rentals said some homeowners are more generous than others, including offering a full refund or new vacation dates extending into 2021.

Like many other types of businesses, rental companies have had to institute layoffs as a result of the pandemic and its consequences.

Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said he has worked with many of the rental agencies on their handling of cancellations.

“They understand the importance of treating their customers in such a way that they want to come back again,” he said.

Manatee County has 26,000 hospitality jobs, and many workers have been laid off from those jobs, Falcione said.

Only about 15 percent of short-term rental units in Manatee County are hotel and motel rooms. The vast majority are other types of rental units and homes, Falcione said.

“The blessing is that the stimulus package will give these people much needed relief for the foreseeable future,” he said, adding that his staff is already working on a recovery plan for when the pandemic passes.

Congress has approved $350 billion in emergency loans for small businesses to help them keep workers employed. In fact, if small businesses maintain or later restore their payrolls, they may not have to repay some — or possibly any — of the loan, Jacki Dezelski, president and CEO of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, recently wrote in an email to members.

This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 1:35 PM with the headline "DeSantis’s ban on vacation rentals delivers another COVID-19 blow to Anna Maria Island."