Updated on May 8, 2023
When they couldn’t get bookings at their vacation rental due to the Covid 19 pandemic, Mike Wilcox and hist wife, Jennifer, hosted first responders instead.
Mike and Jennifer had a longtime dream of leaving Ohio’s winters and retiring in sunny Florida. A big part of fulfilling that dream was their purchase of a rental property in Anna Maria Island, Florida, last October.
Mike, who is close to retiring as a Fire Lieutenant from Maimi Valley Professional Firefighters, and Jennifer, who is about to retire from a career in education, saved up for most of their lives to buy the triplex that they have dubbed Casa Coconut AMI.
Things were going well until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Then the Wilcoxes lost all of their vacation rental bookings from March 21 through the end of May.
Still, they wanted to do what they could to help others, even while they were experiencing financial losses.
“We thought ‘How can we make good out of this?’ Because it’s a bad situation for everybody,” Mike said.
At his fire department in Ohio, Mike and his colleagues had talked about what they would do if they were exposed to the virus, and he realized he had a solution to this problem in his Florida vacation rental property. So, the Wilcoxes offered up Casa Coconut to local Florida first responders as a place to stay for free if they needed to quarantine.
A Safe Place to Quarantine
Not long after, Southern Manatee Fire Rescue Deputy Fire Chief Robert Bounds, Jr. reached out to him. One of his first responders had been exposed to a potential Covid-19 case on a call. Because he has a wife, two kids, and an elderly mother at home, the department needed a place for him to stay out of caution. Mike sent him the keyless entry code right away, and the first responder checked in to Casa Coconut within 45 minutes.
To SMFR, the meaningfulness of this gesture was immeasurable, Deputy Fire Chief Bounds said. “It’s such a peace of mind as administration to know that we’re able to protect not just our employees themselves but also their families, because that’s really more of the threat, that you would bring it home.”
The fire chief said his department will absolutely consider short-term rentals a resource in the future if there is a need for non-congregate sheltering for any reason, particularly with Mike’s property. “It’s hard to make people understand the gravity of the situation,” he said. “If you’re a landlord and you’re putting somebody into one of your places who has potentially been exposed to Covid, that’s just so above and beyond… there’s nothing you can put into words to express how generous his offer really was.”
Once Mike and Jennifer move down to the area for retirement, and once the department can meet in person, they plan on bringing him in and expressing to everyone how appreciative they are. “He’s not even here yet and he’s a quasi-legend in Manatee County,” Deputy Fire Chief Bounds said. “We’re excited about adding this caliber of person to our area.”
Mounting Losses Burn Through Wilcoxes’ Retirement Savings with No Help From State or Federal Relief Programs
Meanwhile, the Wilcoxes estimate their financial losses at between $20,000 and $30,000, which represents a large percentage of their projected annual income. They are using their savings to make up the difference.
“We had other plans for that in our retirement, but at this point it’s keeping Casa Coconut afloat,” Mike said.
They have also applied for state and federal assistance, but have not received any help. According to Mike, as a mom-and-pop operation, they miss the indicators to qualify for CARES loans and grants, a situation he says is common for short-term rental operators.
The Wilcoxes also have not been able to hire the contractors who clean their property, another small family business. Mike was paying them $400 per week for cleaning before their business ground to a halt for Casa Coconut and other vacation rentals.
Florida Reopening Plan Pays Back Wall Street – Not Main Street
Mike is frustrated about the fact that hotels have been allowed to operate in Florida throughout the state’s pandemic shutdown, while short-term rentals are still closed through phase 1 of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ reopening plan.
“One of the things he said is that we should make decisions on facts, not fear. The intent of closing things down was to limit exposure. But I’m still not allowed to take guests. In the next phase, I’m only going to be allowed to take Florida guests. But the hotels and resorts are still open; they’ve never been closed.
“Doing the math, my maximum occupancy would be 16 people. By local ordinance, our minimum stay is seven days. So, in a month’s time, I could only bring 64 people to Anna Maria Island or to Florida. A hotel with the same occupancy of 16 has a one-day minimum, so they could continually rent it. So if you if you compare their apple to my orange, they could bring 496 people to Florida in the same amount of time. How is that limiting exposure?” he said.
Mike believes that the small, local operators that own most Florida short-term rentals simply don’t have the lobbying power of the hotel industry, and that the governor “is paying back Wall Street now, not Main Street.”
A Glimpse of Recovery
However, the Wilcoxes are starting to see some silver linings. Reservations are starting to trickle in for June and July, and Mike has one guest who says he will come stay as soon as Casa Coconut is open for business.
Mike is still unsure what kind of demand they’ll have going forward, but he does have a plan to market to healthcare workers and first responders. Those workers, he said, will probably be ready for well-deserved breaks.
“I’ve been on front lines. My friends in the police service and in the hospitals, they’ve all been working. We weren’t allowed to take vacation at work because we needed all hands available. Everybody’s been like that. So I’m going to market toward them and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got some deals for you.’”
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