Florida STR Ban Update

[Avery Carl]

Gov. DeSantis just announced that although we aren't moving into phase 2 of Covid reopening yet, that he is allowing each county to submit their vacation rental reopening plans to him for immediate approval (meaning prior to phase 2, when they were set to be allowed regardless). He also specifically mentioned that the panhandle counties (Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, etc) would be the ones most likely to get his approval to reopen vacation rentals as the panhandle has been significantly less affected than other areas of the state. So panhandle owners get your listings ready! I know I am making sure my prices are in order, as I we have had a LOT of action on our property even WITH the STR ban. I think we are about to see a big wave of bookings. I know many visitors were waiting to hear about this before committing to anything. Hopefully we can get approval within the next week. What are your thoughts?

[Kathy Lindsay]

@AveryCarl,

I've been emailing the Governor and all of our local elected officials 3 times a week in protest of the continuing ban so I say that it is about time! All of our STR's are in Port St Joe (Gulf County) and we have had many requests for bookings in the past week. Since we are a driveable destination we will be able to recover quickly as long as the local officials cooperate. Let's get back to business!