Beach hotels decry cost of early Fay evacuation

An early evacuation order for Pinellas beach communities in advance of Tropical Storm Fay cost hotels hundreds of thousands of dollars, say tourism executives.

As the storm approached Florida's west coast the afternoon of Aug. 18, Pinellas officials ordered mandatory evacuation of the county's most flood-prone areas for 6 a.m. the next day. They canceled the order about 5:30 a.m. as the storm made landfall south of Naples.

Tourism business leaders say the county overreacted, then failed to cancel the evacuation order later in the day as the storm's projected path veered south of the Tampa Bay area.

"Anybody staying with us wasn't going to stay until 4 a.m. and leave," said Timothy Bogott, chief executive of the TradeWinds Island Resorts in St. Pete Beach. "They just left."

The resorts lost at least $150,000 in canceled rooms and missed food and beverage sales.

Emergency management officials feared the storm might change direction when they recommended county commissioners order evacuation of mobile homes and low-lying areas the next morning, said County Commission Chairman Robert Stewart. If the board waited until evening, residents might not get word in time, he said.

"This was an unavoidable development," Stewart said. "We're always going to err on the side of caution."

The county doesn't have a complete report of economic losses from the evacuation, said D.T. Minich, the county's tourism director. About a dozen hotels, property managers and a tour operator, Virgin Holidays, wrote e-mails to his office about canceled rooms and extra expenses to accommodate rattled customers.

Among their complaints: Why didn't Pinellas start with a voluntary evacuation order, like Anna Maria Island and other locations closer to the storm?

"It was outrageous for the authorities to make the call prior to even being put on hurricane watch," wrote Philippe Eversdijk, general manger of the Marriott Suites Clearwater Beach. "The decision … shows lack of respect for our area's bread & butter: tourism."

The Sheraton Sand Key was hosting a meeting of the National Institute of Justice with 150 people who dropped their business and began looking for flights out of town after the evacuation announcement, wrote Jack Guy, vice president of sales and marketing.

Two other groups booked for next August — and expected to spend about $100,000 — now are questionable "due to the quick trigger pulled by the county" emergency office, he wrote. "All we would ask is perhaps in the future this agency will consider thoroughly the ramifications to the business community that result from decisive overreaction."

Comments on this article

by Joe	Sep 15, 2008 2:34 PM
Can you imagine the tourist industry devasted by the loss of life on the beach when the evacuation order is not given to keep the money coming to private owners? Money first, life second; what next, no sprinklers in case of fire to save money????

by Rachel	Sep 12, 2008 1:56 PM
Hey Kim-- Hurricane season is 6 months..

by Alan	Sep 12, 2008 1:56 PM
No one is forcing hoteliers to do business in a perilous location like the Pinellas County coast. They should be grateful that the emergency management center exists to protect pathetic whiners like themselves.

by A.N.F.	Sep 12, 2008 1:56 PM
Unnecessary evacuations are serious. It hurts the beach economy, current and future, in all facets including tourism. They also hurt the county's ability to enforce future evacuations. This occurrence needs to be learned from.

by Dawn	Sep 11, 2008 12:05 PM
The right steps were taken. If you are in the tourist industry in FL this is the risk you take. It is always better to err on the side of safety, rather than death. Get over it.

by Sally	Sep 11, 2008 12:04 PM
So........get it over it. It's Florida. It happens. Cost of doing business here.

by jb	Sep 11, 2008 11:47 AM
its better to be safe than sorry,what if they didn't and we had a direct hit,then they would be whinning about how much they have lost in lawsuits

by Kay	Sep 11, 2008 11:47 AM
You do business in an extremely vulnerable area, that's the price you pay. There is no reason to put visitors or residents into harm's way, even if you think they overreacted.

by Susan	Sep 11, 2008 11:47 AM
Soooo sorry. Our county officials did their jobs! I support the decisions that were made especially the school closings. I want my kids to be safe. Imagine if we had been hit with no evacs ordered. Who would be crying then?

by Waaah	Sep 11, 2008 11:47 AM
GET OVER IT

by lori	Sep 11, 2008 11:47 AM
so sorry to hear that what was in the best interest of safety for ones life cost you should we just say "christmas bonus" or your a raise?? come one have a heart!

by Lew	Sep 11, 2008 11:47 AM
condos are better investments

by Judi	Sep 11, 2008 11:47 AM
Everyone got heat after Katrina and now this whining. Damned if you do damned if you don't.

by LDH	Sep 11, 2008 10:32 AM
Stop your whining. The County was looking out for human life and these hotels owners are only worried about lining their pockets. Lack of respect? Oh please!!

by Robert	Sep 11, 2008 10:32 AM
And if they delayed an evacuation order and the storm did hit here, the commission would be under fire for not acting sooner. No matter what you do, somebody will always be upset.

by Martin	Sep 11, 2008 10:32 AM
Based on the costs of accommodations, food and beverages at the Tradewinds, $150,000 is probably just one family of 4 from Jersey checking out early.

by Kim	Sep 11, 2008 10:31 AM
This emergency office sit around for eight months doing absolutly nohing and then for three four months they tell us to run and jump. What a neat job. An third grader could do it.

by Todd	Sep 11, 2008 10:31 AM
Don't these knuckleheads remember how long it took to evacuate when it looked like Charley was coming here in 2004? Better safe than sorry! Talk about GREEDY!

by Kim	Sep 11, 2008 10:31 AM
This is a huge emergency office who get paid to do nothing. All they do is tell us to get out. You do not need a huge agency to do that. Just One person. They are a joke.

by Annie	Sep 11, 2008 10:31 AM
Governments along the Gulf coast have a huge responsibility, much like rolling the dice but with far more serious consequences. Hotels don't like evacuations? Don't build on and reap the benefits for being on the beach. Simple.

by Larry	Sep 11, 2008 10:31 AM
When you start counting losses, don't forget the restaurants, shops and attractions. Hurricanes don't sneak up on you. The county pulled the trigger way to early. Their credibility is shaken. What will happen when people quit listening?

by Paul	Sep 11, 2008 10:31 AM
Media Hype is responsible for this. The Media Hype forces over reaction to these gulf storms.

by Susan	Sep 11, 2008 10:27 AM
and if they had not called it and the storm shifted our way, you would probably be complaining that they did not give enough notice. geez...

by Bland	Sep 11, 2008 10:27 AM
Pinellas Emergency officials pulled the trigger on the evacuation call at least 24 hours early. Calling an evacuation too early reinforces future bad behavior when a real evacuation is needed. Bad calls will cause people to ignore future orders....

by tim	Sep 11, 2008 10:26 AM
Pinellas beaches are no longer a tourist destination - typical is that speed-trap, rube-mecca called Treasure Island where over-amped City cops spend taxpayers' money driving on the sand patrolling a gluttony of empty condos and ratty 1950's hotels.