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Dorian tracks east, turns around Labor Day weekend for Tampa Bay-area businesses

Labor Day weekend business spared from Dorian
Posted at 6:39 PM, Sep 02, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-02 21:36:00-04

The Tampa Bay area was in Hurricane Dorian's path last week and it looked disastrous for businesses hoping to cash in on Labor Day weekend.

"We had planned a Labor Day weekend to get away just for [one last hurrah] for summer," Leah Miller, who was visiting from Orlando, said.

However, Miller and her family did not plan on Dorian.

"Originally, we had thought we probably were [canceling], but decided we’re just going to make a go of it and had a beautiful weekend in St. Pete Beach," Miller said.

Keith Overton, president at Tradewinds Island Resorts, said that beautiful weekend saved Labor Day weekend for area businesses with the Tampa Bay Area in the cone of uncertainty last week.

"Friday night we were completely empty. We had about maybe 25 percent occupancy and then Saturday and Sunday, as the forecast path changed, we started to pick up some folks from perhaps the central part of the state or even the East Coast," Overton said.

Folks like the Millers even considered extending their stay.

"We had thought about it and we’re just going to kind of hopefully see how the storm progresses and then we’ll kind of go from there; make our decision," Miller said.

But, Overton said, if anyone decided to stay there would still be room.

"We’re looking forward to accommodating anybody who wants to come this way to escape the high winds and the impacts," Overton said.