Today Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced, beginning Monday, the state would move into a “full Phase One,” and short-term rentals can reopen if counties submit a plan for opening safely. DeSantis added, “If your plan says you’re going to accept guests from New York City, I’m probably not going to accept that.”
Throughout Florida’s shutdown, DeSantis has kept timeshares, resorts, hotels, motels, and inns open. He gave his reason for that today saying that he needed to have places to “put up” national guard if needed.
DeSantis’ message to counties: “For the vacation rentals, what we’re doing is telling counties, if you want short-term rentals—if you want them to be open—you submit your plan and you can show how they are going to be safe.”
Bars and movie theaters also remain closed, but like vacation rentals, amusement parks can submit plans to the state show they plan to reopen safely.
In addition, DeSantis further opened restaurants and retail, effective Monday to 50 percent.
Liz Frohling
May 18, 2020 at 10:14 am
I run a Condominium hotel that is licensed as a vacation rental property but we run it as a hotel. I just can’t wrap my brain around the fact that hotels, motels, inn, B&B’s and the like can be open to short term rentals but we can not. Each room has its own private entrance, no common areas and every unit has its own patio. I truly believe that guests would be safer at our location than at some of our local hotels/motels. This absolutely makes no sense whatsoever and I wish someone could explain the reasoning behind this.
Brenda
May 17, 2020 at 12:45 pm
I’d like to chime n on this thread please. Myself and my husband, one son and his wife live here in florida. (Orlando and Tampa). Two of my other adult children both have cancer, one a brain tumor and one advanced stage colon cancer ages 32 and almost 30. They live with spouses out of state. We currently have a vacation home in water color secured for a week to be able to get our entire family together before our son goes in for a huge surgery in Houston. Just to hear the harsh talk from those who do live full time is so hurtful. Sure, I get there is fear in the air. But many of us are taking high precaution so we don’t get sick because in one way or another it could be a death sentence for a sick family member even more so than usual. We so need this family time together, celebrating live, harmony, togetherness and life. More than anything we sanitize EVERYTHING.
Please do not group everyone coming to enjoy a little sun and fun as a problem.
Be blessed and be kind,
A momma
Rob
May 16, 2020 at 4:12 pm
It’s not about keeping those coming into Florida safe. It’s about keeping those here safe. Our largest break outs happened in areas that were areas visited by out of state people right as the pandemic was hitting. A lot of condos are short term rentals, that also have full time residents in the same building. Those people do not want to have people from all over bringing in a virus infection into there buildings. You have to also think about the safety of others not just your wanting to escape for a vacation.
Kim
May 16, 2020 at 2:04 pm
We’ll why don’t the people with short term rentals bring their Happy Asses down here to clean the properties. Oh yea right because they may get SICK. IM SO TIRED OH HEARING HOW MUCH MONEY THEY ARE LOSING. When your the one cleaning after guest that could be infected then you may have reason to speak ugly about what he is doing. I think he should have shut it all down until August at least
Hal Black
May 18, 2020 at 12:14 pm
Glad to see your lobotomy went well. Bad news for you; we are coming! Feel free to pack your bags and head back to where ever you feel safe. Idiot. Feel free to ask Governor Numskull to close down all hotels and resorts instead of violating our constitutional rights. Its gonna cost you a lot of tax dollars when we collect our damages!!! LOL! I will be thinking of you when I do!
Karylen Anne Brath
May 16, 2020 at 10:10 am
I am planning on coming to Florida May 30-June 7 and feel staying in a vacation rental is a much safer and better option for me. Hopefully Lee county submits a letter to the Governor asap but this really shouldn’t have to be done. I have 3 hotels booked, 14 days to go and no idea where I will be staying. We are from Brookfield, WI and are looking forward to this first vacation in 8 years. Daughter is 16 turning 17 during the trip and has unfortunately been chronically ill with GI syndromes for 2 years. We booked a vacation rental in Cape Coral in early March before the craziness started figuring it would be a good quiet, relaxing option for her since there are many days she doesn’t feel well most days. Now I believe it is a much safer option for us as well. The Florida Governor seems reasonable in other regards but this one doesn’t make sense. Our family has already lived a nightmare with our daughters illness and over 14,000 in medical bills. Already had to reschedule vacation 3 times waiting for beach to open since our daughter has never seen the ocean. Never imagined at this point our rental would still be in jeopardy. I have emailed the governor many times but now I guess will work on the County. I will keep my fingers crossed!
Jeff
May 16, 2020 at 7:17 am
This guy is a clown. I’ve been trying over the last few weeks to rent a house for my family to spend a week of vacation coming from out of state. I was forced to make a reservation at a hotel resort. There were NO RESTRICTIONS on making the reservation. We would have much rather been at a private house, much safer. I seriously doubt there will be anyone from the National Guard staying at this resort but I bet they’ll be plenty of people from NYC.
Karen
May 16, 2020 at 12:18 am
Its also bad for the people renting the short term vacation rentals. We dont know whether to cancel or ride it out to see if the house we paid for will be available. Screwing up the owners and the people renting
ben dooley
May 15, 2020 at 8:00 pm
Tell me Governor, was Mar-a-Lago forced to stop accepting reservations from nasty old New York anywhere else?
Roger Sullivan
May 15, 2020 at 5:08 pm
Do the hotels have a safety plan? Are the hotels telling people from New York to pack sand? This is a cowardly move on the part of the Go Ernie in the face of lawsuits. He is kicking the football to countries to escape blame and responsibility. I’m disappointed. We pay sales and hotel taxes yet we are not treated the same. You cannot have one set of rules for one and another set for us. See you in court along with the other THOUSANDS of STR rental owners. We vote!
Karen
May 16, 2020 at 8:18 am
Amen! Well said.
I am so disappointed in Desantis. He is a coward and letting the hotel lobbyist lead him.
Jon
May 15, 2020 at 4:48 pm
So he punted the decision to the local govt’s…just ridiculous. It will only delay the reopening…not speed it up.
Gail Garriss
May 15, 2020 at 4:25 pm
What are the counties going to do? Are they going to come up with a plan? Action needs to be taken now to allow enough time for the plans to be approved and Short term rental open for business.
Just complaining about it is not going to get it done.
Does anybody have information about how the property owners are fighting back?
Terry
May 15, 2020 at 4:08 pm
Again, how dare he take our constitutional rights. Searching for an attorney at this point. Tens of thousands of dollars already lost in March/April/May cancellations. If he thinks his reasoning of allowing hotels to operate because of national guard, etc… is justifying his continued ban, then why did he allow anyone to book a hotel??? Hotels weren’t allowed to remain open for National Guard only. He is touting himself like he is so much better than these “draconian governors,” when he is every bit as bad. His actions of picking and choosing who gets to survive and who gets to fail with orders that he has no constitutional right to demand are very much in line with the other draconian governors. He is picking and choosing to throw crumbs at the little man while he rewards those who he feels will fund his back pockets and campaigns. My private home with its private kitchens and private pools are safer than what he is allowing to stay open. Shame, shame, Mr. Governor! Your state of Florida is very dependent on the tourism that you are continuing to shoot in the foot.
Deana
May 15, 2020 at 3:28 pm
This is such BS! Saying he needs hotels open for National Guard or emergency workers?? There are NO, repeat NO, restrictions as to who can stay at hotels in Florida and they are full of people right now. There is no system refusing stays in hotels to anyone – they can be vacationers from New York, Texas, Louisiana – anywhere! Either DeSantis is lying about his reasoning or it’s complete incompetence. And, yes I agree short-term rental accommodations would be much safer if the only need was for housing emergency personnel. What a sham.
Pete
May 15, 2020 at 3:19 pm
I have had my vacation plans blown up because on COVID 19 10 days of fishing and relaxation with drinks. This was not because of our GREAT Governor but because of lying Chines scum bags that are trying to kill us. Our Governor has made to make the hard decisions that I hope will protect us all. Could you make that decision and put up with all the ridicules comments.
Andrea
May 16, 2020 at 2:48 pm
Are you saying that Chinese can kill US citizen with virus. What do we do when nuclear bombs comes our way. We need a leader that can protect us whether threat is intentional or accidental. Right now we are missing one. Had our leaders taken action several months ago when they were informed and the problem was small instead of denying we got problem you could be fishing in sunny Florida.
Monika Egnur
May 15, 2020 at 3:11 pm
Thank you Brian,
We fully agree with you in this matter on vacation rentals.
Who is going to reimburse the owners of short-term rentals for all the losses … the Hotels ??
mary bolin
May 16, 2020 at 10:36 am
If Hotels and Motels Inns And Resorts remain open there should be no restriction on short term rentals the only difference is on short term rentals we have to clean and disinfect after each guest do the hotels and motels do it? Who is going to reimburse us for all the lost revenue? Staying in a short term rental is just as safe if not safer than staying in a hotel, wear mask in elevators and common areas practice social distance but most importantly get out in the sun staying cooped up indoors only harbours the virus as soon as we get back to what normal will be like our bodies own natural immune system will start fighting the virus
Ryan Knight
May 15, 2020 at 3:10 pm
This loser is a crook. Why would anyone want to hurt a safe environment that people can stay and enjoy Florida? How can he make these decisions w/out any interference? We all voted power hungry sociopaths into office all over the US. Next time, we must vote with our minds, not our party!!
dawn L vasquez
May 15, 2020 at 3:03 pm
I like the Governor however it seems very unlogical to say a hotel with many shared spaces including elevators etc, are safer than a private home with a private pool? It also seems Unconstitutional to say folks from NYC or NY ( how can you tell them apart) but I guess if homeowners agree than lets move forward so homes don’t end up in forclosure and we loose HOA dues and tax revenue!
James
May 15, 2020 at 2:58 pm
This would be funny if it weren’t so devastating and sad for so many. We literally have friends staying at the Hikton on Sanibel this weekend to hang out and be tourists – it has nothing to do with the national guard and nothing to do with safety. If he wanted to stop NY residents travelling to Florida then why not ban NY residents (although don’t agree with that myself).
Arthur
May 15, 2020 at 2:55 pm
Shame on the Governor.
Howard M Cornfield
May 15, 2020 at 2:52 pm
Mr. DeSantis, You clearly have forgotten how you got into office…by a very slim margin. I am not the only one that regrets supporting you and with the number of people you have offended and mistreated via your STR decree, you seem intent to be a one term Gov. Hey, just wondering, did the hotels and resorts contribute enough to you to be allowed to house people from NY or are you just intent on doing everything you can to screw STR owners and make this as unpleasant as possible for them? Don’t worry Ronnie, the class action lawsuits are coming for you and you will be humiliated nationwide! IMPEACH DESANTIS!
Brent Campbell
May 15, 2020 at 2:43 pm
Please tell me how “timeshares, resorts, hotels, motels, and inns” are safer than short term rentals. This is beyond ridiculous.
Mark Pitchford
May 15, 2020 at 2:40 pm
So hotels with elevators and common spaces are safe.
Single family homes with full kitchens (no need for restaurants) are not safe.
Good to know hotels have cured coronavirus. They must have learned something from Lowe’s (probably how to lobby effectively).
Todd
May 15, 2020 at 2:23 pm
“Throughout Florida’s shutdown, DeSantis has kept timeshares, resorts, hotels, motels, and inns open. He gave his reason for that today saying that he needed to have places to “put up” national guard if needed.”
Evidently, the governor thinks the residents of Florida are not all that smart..National Guard troops in timeshares? Laughable.
Another observation: did the hotels and motels and the timeshares require a plan similar to that being required of short term rentals? I smell several lawsuits brewing which will cost the taxpayers of Florida.
Good luck to all the Florida small business short term rental owners. At the next election time try to remember this unfair treatment as compared to the big companies that donate to DeSantis. Your loss is their gain.
Donna White
May 15, 2020 at 1:49 pm
Waiting on whether or not my short term rental will be a go!
Scheduled for July 2nd on Sanibel. I am from NY State, not part of the tri-state – NY is a big state. Are only certain areas of NY excluded from being able to vacation. Otherwise I will have to take my business elsewhere. Thank you.
Hal Black
May 15, 2020 at 2:54 pm
Only Fuhrer DeSantis knows for sure! Hoping the courts will throw out all his decrees and there will be an investigation launched into his conduct.
Rex Geissler
May 15, 2020 at 1:44 pm
This is insane! Please share the data + science to show how many National Guard troops were housed by timeshares + inns + motels + hotels!!! What is wrong with him? This is not only completely unfair but completely unconstitutional. Let the class action lawsuits begin!
ELLEN MORRISON
May 15, 2020 at 2:32 pm
I agree…makes zero sense
k anderson
May 15, 2020 at 2:44 pm
agree!he essentially seized private property and prevented small businesses, in the largest industry in florida,from running our small businesses and taking care of our families. BAD DECISIONS.
Terry
May 15, 2020 at 3:17 pm
Amen. I will certainly be a plaintiff.
Richard Laine
May 15, 2020 at 1:32 pm
Yes, finally it looks like we are making progress. Maybe?
We need to keep the pressure up to get families throughout the state back to work and lift this unfair ban!
If you haven’t already I would like to ask you to please help me, my family, and thousands of other family owned vacation rental businesses throughout the state of Florida out by signing and sharing this petition with others?
http://chng.it/9BQ45vrB
We need to let Governor DeSantis know that it’s not right to continue to ban vacation rentals while he’s allowed hotels and motels to operate throughout the COVID-19 epidemic without any restrictions. This ban on just vacation rentals makes no sense as vacation rentals are much safer than hotels and motels. If the goal is to reduce the spread of the virus vacation rentals have fewer shared spaces then hotels and motels. There is no reason to single out vacation rentals while allowing all other forms of lodging to continue to operate. This ban is hurting family owned small businesses throughout the state of Florida for no reason.
Jeff Higginbotham
May 15, 2020 at 1:30 pm
That’s bullshit! His National Guard can stay at short term rentals and be safer. Short term rentals usually don’t have common areas that hotels and motels do making them more dangerous then the condos he’s banned. He’s a lying piece of shit!
Fredo Cuomo
May 15, 2020 at 2:42 pm
Hotels aren’t in residential neighborhoods.
Sue
May 15, 2020 at 3:05 pm
Yes that’s bullshit He must think we’re really stupid
Brian
May 15, 2020 at 1:13 pm
If only Governor DeSantis had members on his panel that owned a vacation rentals, vacation rentals would be open already…like he did for those who owned hotels that were on the panel. This is a political scheme!
Hal Black
May 15, 2020 at 2:12 pm
Enjoy being a one term Governor, you POS. You forgot who voted you into office and we won’t forget your betrayals. By the way, are hotels and resorts also not allowing people from NYC to visit or are you just imposing this on STRs? Won’t matter…the lawsuits will soon humiliate you and overrule your stupidity anyways; this was just a weak attempt to hold those off. IMPEACH DESANTIS
Brad
May 15, 2020 at 2:16 pm
Well everybody is blowing off the rental restriction here in the Panhandle. These houses have been “turning” for a couple of weeks already. Today is even crazier.
k anderson
May 15, 2020 at 2:39 pm
100 percent correct! Vacation rental properties are FAR more “SAFE” (is no one able to think for themselves about risks they are willing to take?) than a hotel with elevators, buttons to push, front desk personnel, people milling around the common areas….this was PURE politics and punitive to small businesses throughout the entire state of Florida. Now, rather than take a firm position, he passes the buck to the counties to come up with a SAFE (What if I get run over by a car, or stung by a jelly fish)plan to keep everyone SAFE and THEN, he will hand down his decree. Unreal. WAY too power hungry now. Used to be a supporter and a fan. NO longer.
GH
May 15, 2020 at 3:58 pm
Completely agree. Wow, way to kill the little guys who have this as their sole income or use the money to pay for their expenses the rest of the year. Should have been the other way around, keep the places with hundreds of people all in the same building shut down and those who have a singular vacation rental home stay open.