University of West Florida’s department of Global Hospitality & Tourism Management,
Pensacola
“For the tourism industry in Northwest Florida there is no playbook at this point for dealing with the pandemic. I would say that those business owners that have developed a plan to be as flexible, creative and transparent as possible are coming out ahead.
I have noticed that some hotel owners are taking this opportunity to spruce up their hotels if they have the money.
But across the board, the luxury lodging sector is taking the biggest hit.
Fortunately, for the hospitality industry we’re in a bubble here in Northwest Florida. We are a drive market, and people are still driving here from New Orleans and Atlanta and other major southeastern cities. People still want to come to Northwest Florida and get away like they did before COVID.”