Like many people in February 2020, Rachel Dede of Queen Creek was making travel plans unaware of how a looming pandemic would disrupt the next year.
Her daughter had a cheerleading competition in Florida. Dede and nine other families decided to rent a house together for the competition at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee.
They found one with Jeeves Florida Rentals. The group paid an initial deposit of $1,988.48 and an another $7953.94 on March 6.
That totaled $9,942.42 for the April 30-May 5, 2020, reservation.
Then the pandemic hit, canceling the competition. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order temporarily banning vacation home rentals. He extended it several times, including through Dede s reservation.