ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Anna Maria Island’s short-term vacation rentals were allowed to reopen in time for Memorial Day weekend, with some restrictions.
On Thursday afternoon, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) approved the Manatee County short-term vacation rental reopening plan submitted by County Administrator Cheri Coryea. The state approval took effect immediately.
While local municipalities can still ban vacation rentals, all three Anna Maria Island cities are allowing rentals to reopen.
“Vacation rental check-ins are now allowed in Anna Maria,” Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said Thursday afternoon after reading the approved plan.
Murphy then issued a local emergency order rescinding a previously issued order that prohibited new vacation rental reservations in that city.
The city of Holmes Beach recently allowed its local emergency orders banning short-term vacation rentals to lapse.
“I do not plan on a Holmes Beach directive extending the rental ban at this time,” Mayor Judy Titsworth said Thursday afternoon.
The city of Bradenton Beach never issued any COVID-19-related local emergency orders that further restricted vacation rental activity beyond the prohibitions set forth in DeSantis’ executive orders.
“Under the plan, vacation rental agencies may now accept bookings from residents of U.S. states with an overall COVID-19 case rate within the state of less than 700 cases per 100,000 residents as of May 15. Reservations from COVID-19 hot spots identified by the governor are to be avoided for the next 30-45 days. Reservations from international travelers will not be accepted,” according to the press release Manatee County issued Thursday afternoon. “Other guidelines spell out protocols vacation rental owners must follow to implement social distancing and still others that address the cleanliness standards of the property.”
The press release noted the short-term rental guidelines would be mostly self-policed and enforcement would be complaint-driven.
“We’re asking that vacation rental managers take extra precautions to make sure their renters have access to and follow the guidelines in the approved plan. Owners should ensure that their renters are aware and abide by the approved plan, but also any municipal restrictions in the city where the rental is located,” Coryea said in the press release.
When discussing the plan on Tuesday, May 19, county commissioners initially proposed a 24-hour turnaround time for cleaning and sanitizing vacation rentals between guest departures and new guest arrivals.
During public comment, several vacation rental owners said a minimum 24-hour turnaround time would prohibit back-to-back seven-day rentals and result in numerous cancellations.
The commission then decided to simply require “ample time” for cleaning and sanitizing and the approved five-page plan includes an entire page of cleaning and sanitation guidelines.
“Extra time must be allowed for enhanced cleaning procedures to take place between stays based upon the use of appropriate cleaning and sanitation according to CDC procedures and in accordance with this plan,” the plan says.
Local reaction
On Friday, Sato Real Estate co-owner Barbara Sato said via email, “We are very relieved that vacation rentals are open. It has been so frustrating answering the numerous daily phone calls asking when the governor will open rentals again – and why hotels, motels, and resorts are open and not being able to give them a reasonable answer. Needless to say, the word is out and our phone has been ringing non-stop. We think the approved plan is very good. I personally emailed Elliott Falcione, from the Visitors Bureau, and County Administrator Cheri Coryea to thank them for their teams’ hard work in getting it approved so quickly.”
When contacted Friday via email, Murphy said, “It is too soon to tell the impact this policy might have on the city, but we are grateful that the county has incorporated a bi-weekly review process to make adjustments to the plan. Our two areas of concern are:
- Enforcement: Some of the requirements would appear to require an extensive enforcement effort. If these turn out to be an issue, we are not equipped to enforce some aspects of the order.
- Remote check-in: Although seemingly in everyone’s best health interests, this policy presents serious issues of potential fraud and possibly criminal activity. The policy needs to be revisited,” Murphy wrote.
“We look forward to partnering with the county to improve the plan going forward,” he added.
On Saturday afternoon, Duncan Real Estate owner Darcie Duncan said via text message, “We opened Friday morning to the sound of phones ringing off the hook with guests ready to book for the summer. We have all our compliance requirements in place and we were ready for guest check-ins Saturday morning. We are thrilled and looking forward to increased bookings due to pent-up demand.”
