Year after year , Florida remains one of the top national and international destinations for visitors . Not only does the Sunshine State boast more than 1,300 miles of beautiful coastlines and beaches , but we also have numerous attractions , theme parks , small towns , large towns and so much to offer our residents and guests .

And we know emergencies in Florida . We are prepared for hurricanes and other natural disasters and we have responded to oil spills , public health crises like Zika , and mass casualty events like the PULSE Nightclub shootings , but nothing could ever have prepared us for the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects it would have to shutter the tourism and hospitality industry in our state and across the nation .

In March of 2020 , there was a severe , sudden and shocking halt to everything . We had no idea what was to come , thinking a short two-week shutdown might do the trick to stop the spread of the virus . What came instead were months of worsening figures , a shutdown to travel , hotels going dark and restaurants shutting down to all but takeout and curbside .

At the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association ( FRLA ), it is our privilege to represent such a robust industry – hospitality and tourism – which is truly the economic engine of our state . So , not only did we worry about our restaurants , hotels , suppliers , and their teams and families , but we worried about the overall economic health and safety of our state and the cascading implications that would arise . Pre-COVID , our industry was the largest employer in Florida and represented nearly $ 112 billion in revenue with more than 1.5 million employees . As COVID hit and employers had to make tough decisions , more than 934,000 of our employees were furloughed or laid off .

FRLA got to work doing all we could to advocate for relief for businesses to keep their employees on staff , to stay open in any capacity and to chart a path to recovery and rebuilding . We were grateful to have been able to keep restaurants and hotels open at all . Hotels were housing first responders , visiting emergency officials and even health care professionals wanting to quarantine away from their homes and families . Restaurants were providing meals to homebound seniors who could no longer get out for community meals and pivoted quickly to to-go , delivery and curbside operations . Alcohol-to-go became a lifeline for many restaurants that were able to sell cocktails with takeout orders , and it was such a hit that Governor DeSantis signed legislation to allow its continuation moving forward .

We launched the FRLA Seal of Commitment program to help hotels and restaurants , which were already well-known for their strict safety and sanitation protocols , to enhance those procedures , going above and beyond to make staff and customers feel safe patronizing their businesses . Across the state , businesses worked hard to achieve this designation and continue those efforts today . We passed COVID-19 liability protections into law . Many businesses who were on the verge of closing , having lost savings and staff , were fearful that despite their best intentions they would get hit with a nuisance lawsuit that would be the final nail in the coffin for them . We are proud to have those protections in place so they can continue their safe operations with the confidence that ,

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EVOLVE Business and Entrepreneur Magazine First Coast Region - October 2021 | Page 40