Florida hotel and business owners are sharing their economic concerns with Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
During Pence’s trip to Florida on Wednesday, he visited the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando where he took part in a round-table discussion with DeSantis and some of the state’s hotel executives.
Florida hotelier Harris Rosen urged the governor to consider moving forward to phase two of his reopening plan which would allow hotels to reopen and begin operating as soon as possible.
Noting the dire economic travel Florida’s hospitality and tourism industries are facing as a result of the pandemic, Rosen warned that the hotel industry may soon collapse if a rapid reopening is not allowed.
“If we don’t get people back to work quickly, it’s all over,” Rosen said. “Orlando is suffering. Orlando is struggling. Our hospitality industry is in deep depression.”
Watch the video below (starting around 55:30):
While Florida did move into its “full phase one” reopening on Monday, the guidances allow for retailers and libraries, among other places, to reopen, with limited capacity. Restaurants have also been given the ability to expand dining.
However, Rosen believes business owners should have the opportunity to make appropriate reopening decisions — incorporating safety protocols and social distancing practices — for their establishments.
“Let the owners of the establishments do what they believe is appropriate,” Rosen said. “If they are sloppy and people enter the establishment and they’re concerned, they will not patronize that facility. Isn’t that what free enterprise is all about?”
Rosen also insists reopening could be simplified with consistent screenings. He noted that the one hotel he currently has operating screens staff and guests, sometimes multiple times in one day.
While Rosen argued that screenings could make reopening seem “overly-simplistic,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned about the dangers asymptomatic carriers — people who are infected but show no symptoms.
Research has suggested that coronavirus transmission is not like other respiratory infections where people are known to spread the virus when they are their sickest. Asymptomatic carriers have the ability to spread the coronavirus to others while exhibiting no symptoms.
Since there are still many critical knowledge gaps asymptomatic carriers’ contagion levels, experts are stressing the importance of reopening with caution.
Hotels in select parts of Florida have already begun reopening with enhanced safety protocols, as reported by the Palm Beach Post. However, tourism sites in Orlando, Florida, are prepping to reopen sometime as early as June.
As of Thursday morning, there are more than 48,000 positive coronavirus cases in Florida.
