GROUP DRAFTS VACATION RENTAL PLAN

On March 22, Monroe County took the step of shutting the doors to vacation rentals, hotels and resorts to contain the spread of COVID19. The county has suggested reopening hotels and resorts at 50% occupancy come June 1. But what about vacation rentals?

Gov. Ron DeSantis has said that every county must submit a plan to the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation. 

“If you tell me you’re going to rent them out to people from New York City, I’m probably not going to approve that, OK?” the governor said of the short-term rentals on May 15. “If you’re saying that you’re going to rent it out to people in other parts of Florida or something that would be manageable, if there’s ways in there that clearly you have an eye to safety, then I’m fine.”

The Keys task force has sent a draft proposal to County officials. The plan suggested that no renters from areas with a high level of COVID19 infection — more than 700 cases per 100,000 residents — be allowed to rent in Monroe County. Currently that excludes Illinois, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Massachucetts, Delaware and Maryland. It is also suggested a ban on rentals to international travelers, or to residents from areas the governor has deemed a hot spot. Monroe County’s task force met twice and drafted this plan over the weekend. 

One worry was that state officials would require vacation rentals to sit empty for days until they could be rented again. Lost revenue and disrupting weekly rental windows in Marathon, for example, were of concern. Instead, the draft plan says “extra time must be allowed for enhanced cleaning procedures to take place between stays …”

“We are following the state’s best practices and it doesn’t mention a specific time period for sanitation processes,” said Brian Schmitt of Schmitt Coldwell Banker. 

Neither does the state mention occupancy rates for vacation rentals, similar to what Monroe County is asking of hotels and resorts — 50%. (The governor never closed hotels by executive order in the rest of the state; instead, he suggested they stay open to serve essential workers.) 

“Vacation rental homes do not have the same issues as hotels. Vacation rentals have private pools. There are no common areas where guests would mingle with other guest groups and risk spreading the coronavirus,” Schmitt said. He said the group did discuss how to define occupancy as it relates to vacation rentals — whether limiting the amount of days, or the number of bedrooms that could be utilized or even the number of units. The draft, however, makes no mention of occupancy.

The state does suggest limiting face-to-face contact between vacation rental agents and guests by using mobile and digital platforms for communication and payments and remote check-in and check-out procedures. 

Wendy Zintsmaster of Truman and Co. also served on the task force.

“Our plan hasn’t been approved yet, but we are hoping they give us time to open responsibly,” she said. “We’re all in this together; there was never a divide between the vacation rental people and the hotel people. The common theme was let’s just do this safely.”

She said once the readiness or safety plans are in place, it will be up to the lodging industry to inform guests “how to live like a local.”

“We might have guests coming from places where they don’t wear masks into hardware stores or grocery stores like we do in the Keys,” Zintsmaster said.

Since the county’s order to close vacation rentals, agents have been living on pins and needles. Almost all of them began accepting short-term reservations beginning June 1, with a side dish of heavy explaining.

“We told them we weren’t exactly sure when the Keys would reopen,” said Leslie Christensen of American Coastal Vacations. 

Zintsmaster agreed. “These are absolutely refundable reservations. Everyone in the industry has been very sensitive and understanding and allowing either refunds or another set of dates. Our guests tell us they are coming as soon as they are allowed,” she said.

Twenty-five counties in Florida (including Monroe County) account for almost 90% of all the registered vacation rentals in Florida. According to a study conducted by the University of Central Florida, 11% of visitors to Florida stay in vacation rentals, or about 14 million guests. According to the study, the 2018 economic impact of the vacation home rental industry represented $16.6 billion in direct spending and $10.8 billion in indirect spending.  

Sara Matthis thinks community journalism is important, but not serious; likes weird and wonderful children (she has two); and occasionally tortures herself with sprint-distance triathlons, but only if she has a good chance of beating her sister.