Hurricane Preparedness for Alachua County

VisitGainesville wants to remind our partners that during hurricane season each year, we want you to be aware of certain procedures that we recommend. Our first interest is the comfort and safety of the guests staying in your properties.

It is important to remember that evacuees have specific rights covered under State Statute when the Governor has declared a State of Emergency anywhere in the State of Florida. You can view a copy of the “Price Gouging Law” here so that you are aware of legal and allowable pricing during a declared State of Emergency

VisitGainesville would like all hoteliers to take this one step further. We feel that true customer service during an emergency will help deliver the message that we are a friendly and caring industry. The goal we have in mind is to place anyone you have to turn away due to a full house with alternative local accommodations. It is important that once people have exited the interstate seeking shelter that they do not return to the interstate. To that end, we also provide our partners with a sample letter for you to provide evacuees, informing them about our services. Feel free to use our standard letter, or use it as a guide to create a custom letter tailored to your property’s services.

Evacuation Availability Procedures

In the event of a hurricane, we have set up a system very similar to our “Football Availability” system.  Our website, www.VisitGainesville.com will be staff by our office. We will be calling each property with vacant rooms every hour and posting that availability on our site. Once your property is full, please go to our web-site where you will see a banner that says “Hurricane Rooms”. This page will show the vacant rooms in every hotel, motel and B&B Inn in the county.

We will man that page until everyone is full. Once the county is full you will see shelter information and rumor control numbers posted on that availability page.  We will also have information on pet friendly shelters.

Additional Resources

Once the emergency has passed, Rumor Control 311 will have information on road closures, local and state damage reports, location for ice and water needs, and other services.

Does your property have a disaster preparedness plan in place? Additional resources include the Alachua County Emergency Management Department, or the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Visit their website to design your own business disaster plan.