announced the extension of the short-term rental ban from April 11 to April 30 . On April 29 , the day before the ban was slated to be lifted later , he extended the ban “ until further notice .”
FINEST HOUR , DARKEST HOUR “ We had a few really dark months ,” recalls Trisha Severs , the Director of Guest Services . “ Everyone put on a brave face , but you could feel it . Everyone was starting to wonder if we really could come out on the other side of this .”
On a Saturday morning in late March , Ashley Horsley gathered around the twenty-or-so employees who were still working in the office . She knew just how physically and emotionally exhausted they were , and yet the news she had to share was nothing short of a reality check regarding the perilous situation they faced .
In the previous few days , Horsley had been forced to make a difficult strategic decision . She could either lay off huge swaths of the 360 Blue work family in a bid to conserve financial resources — and then call some or all of them back once the crisis had passed . Or she could lay off no one and , together , somehow ,
“ We ’ re either going to get through this together , or we ’ re all going down together . No one will be furloughed . No one will be laid off .”
- Ashely Horsley
they might be able to eek their way through and come out the other side battered and bruised but intact .
The argument for the latter approach : During this time , they could prepare homes — carrying out deep cleans and attending to maintenance issues for the summer season ahead . They could also throw themselves into the monumental ongoing effort of communicating with and responding to the thousands of owner and guest questions and concerns .
The former approach would ensure the survival of the company . The latter approach brought tremendous risk with the ongoing payroll for 150-plus employees to meet , along with all the attendant operational expenses of running the company . Either way , Horsley was here on this Saturday morning to announce her intentions .
“ I can ’ t guarantee that we ’ re going to survive ,” she began . “ But we ’ re either going to get through this
TRAVEL IN THE TIME OF COVID FEATURE beachLIFE 17