Brevard County in Florida has decided to shut down all hotels to tourists along with motels, recreational-vehicle parks, campgrounds, vacation rental facilities, time-shares, and Airbnb rentals for the next 30 days. The county is home to Cape Canaveral and Melbourne, Florida, along with a beautiful stretch of coastline on the Space Coast.
The Brevard County Policy Group — which is a 10-member panel that meets when there is a state of emergency — unanimously approved the measure.
Like most of these rules, there are exceptions.
For example, business travelers can produce a note from their employer and still frequent these hotels.
Also, the hotels will still be open to those who are working in the county, local residents, and also those who need to self isolate away from people infected with the coronavirus.
Hotel occupancy rates are currently at record lows with the rates coming in at under 25% across the nation. In some hotspots, rates are even down as much as 90%.
As Florida is considered one of the hotspots, it’s no surprise that we are seeing actions taken to curb the spread by shutting down hotels to tourists. Florida, particularly along the stretches of coastline, is a tourist hotspot so they have to take extra measures to contain viruses that could be transmitted from tourists flocking in from out of town.
As cities brace for their outbreak peaks coming this month, we might see more closures like this but I do not think that they will last beyond 30 to 60 days.
Still, this is one reason I would avoid planning anything in the months of April/May in or near a potential hotspot region because hotels might be closed to tourists there as well.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.