16 beachLIFE FEATURE TRAVEL IN THE TIME OF COVID over the course of a month , losing nearly a third of its value . On March 16 , President Trump ordered a two-week lockdown in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus . A short while later , he announced a national emergency , along with a travel ban for non-US citizens traveling from Europe .
Glenn Fogel , CEO of the online travel agency Booking . com , announced that his company was committed to cutting spending , salaries , and instituting a company-wide hiring freeze . Within a few months , the company could be looking at layoffs and furloughs .
“ This is going to get worse before it gets better ,” he wrote in a letter to employees that March .
Closer to home , local officials on the Florida Panhandle announced beach closures in Walton and Okaloosa Counties , along with pool and amenity closures in the communities of 30A . The community of Seaside said it would close through April 30 . Finally , on March 27 , Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced a 14-day shutdown of vacation rental homes throughout the state , followed by a stay-at-home order to remain in effect until April 30 .
What remained of Spring Break in Walton and Okaloosa Counties had been effectively canceled . 360 Blue , along with so many other tourism industry companies , was now officially banned from doing business .
IN SEARCH OF A WAY FORWARD With regional tourism effectively shut down , Samantha Sapp , the Chief Creative Officer for 360 Blue , set her sights on the day the short-term rental ban would be lifted .
“ We had to let our guests know that they would be safe in our homes ,” she says . “ The messaging couldn ’ t be based on hype or wishful thinking — it had to be grounded in facts . We couldn ’ t be offering a false sense of security .”
With some research , she came to see that there were several inherent aspects to the vacation home rental that made it not only safe in normal times but perhaps the safest form of accommodation in the midst of a pandemic .
“ One of the elements of our messaging was to point out that we have a ‘ no-touch ’ check-in process ,” she says . “ Guests arrive at their vacation home with a keypad code , and just like that , they are in — without having come in contact with anyone outside of their travel group . Unlike a hotel , there ’ s no front desk , no crowded elevators , no crowded lobby .”
If a family wanted to self-isolate away from home , the vacation home rental was the way to go . This messaging , however , would be of little use until April 30 , the day the Florida governor ’ s office had slated for the vacation home rental sector to reopen .
“ Governor DeSantis ’ s press conferences became must-see TV for us ,” recalls Meaghan Sneed . “ So long as we could reopen on April 30 , we would make it through . It would be a struggle , as we were in a huge hole . But we would likely survive .”
As the days and weeks passed , hope was slowly replaced by a new wave of concern , with COVID-19 infection rates remaining stubbornly elevated throughout the state . On April 10 , DeSantis