Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key, Florida, where storm surges were forecast to be upward of 12 feet.
The Florida Panhandle and Southeast Florida have seen huge occupancy increases of up to 30% from evacuations. With millions of dollars worth of property damage anticipated, Milton will alter the Florida vacation rental industry for months or years to come by cutting supply for tourists and reducing revenue for property managers and owners. How has the storm impacted the industry in the days leading up to the hurricane?
Cancelations for the two counties anticipated to be in Milton’s direct path, Manatee and Pinellas, started to pick up around October 1. Just two weeks ago on September 25, most counties saw 0 cancelations per property. As Milton developed and threatened to come ashore as a category 5 hurricane, both Manatee and Pinellas counties saw roughly 2 cancellations per property on October 9th. Most cancelations came for Manatee and Pinellas counties within four days of their stay, however, many travelers are unable to cancel due to strict cancellation policies or not having purchased travel insurance. Therefore, some managers and rentals will still retain at least a portion of their revenue. This leads us to believe the number of reported cancellations will increase as property managers can assess their inventory post-Milton. Key Data connects directly to property management systems and updates in real-time, so we will have more updates as time passes.
Due to Hurricane Milton, many counties in Florida experienced significant paid occupancy changes. Comparing October 1st to October 10th, paid occupancy decreased by 6% in Pinellas County, 9% in Hillsborough County, and 17% in Glades County in the nine days preceding Hurricane Milton’s landfall. However, paid occupancy increased in counties on the southeast side of Florida and along the Panhandle as residents fled from evacuation zones and areas likely to see storm surges. As we look ahead, we anticipate that occupancy will continue to increase as locals survey the damage and determine if they can return home, and relief workers come to help clean up the area.
Hurricanes can be devastating to local communities and economies, and the vacation rental industry will likely struggle to return to normal. Supply will decrease for paying tourists as relief workers and residents are looking for places to stay. For properties that are not damaged by wind and water, potential visitors are deterred because of their perceptions of risk. Our Partner Success Managers are ready to help you get the data you need, and our thoughts go out to the property managers affected by Hurricane Milton.