Oil Dominates Business Meeting

By Scarlet Sims

William Dekle, who owns rental property that has seen massive cancellations even into next year, needs $4,500 to cover losses. He called BP two weeks ago, but the company didn’t call him back.

“The topic on everybody’s mind is the oil,” said Paul Wohlford, vice president of sales and marketing for Resort Collection of Panama City Beach.

These were a few of at least 50 restaurant and hotel owners and business leaders gathered at Uncle Ernie’s Bay Front Grill & Brew House to hear oil updates from BP, the U.S. Coast Guard and state Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City. Business owners asked questions about how to file claims and what is being done to save local beaches.

Oil is expected to hit Bay County this weekend.

Hundreds of restaurants and hotels have filed claims with BP, the company responsible for the massive oil spill now threatening the beach of Northwest Florida. Among 163 restaurant claims statewide, the company paid 11 to the tune of about $31,603 as of Tuesday, according to a BP report.

No numbers are available on how many hotels filed claims or how many have been paid, local BP spokeswoman Vani Rao said Wednesday evening. BP is focused more on paying individuals’ claims than providing numbers, she said.

Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce President Beth Oltman said some local hotels have been paid. Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association spokeswoman Christina Johnson said Tuesday she thought most association members had claims or a claim number. The association has about 94 members in Northwest Florida, according to its website.

Local resorts have reported losing thousands of dollars as people call and cancel bookings. At Wednesday’s meeting, local Boars Head Restaurant and Tavern owner-operator Barry Ross said his business plans to file a claim soon. Others, like Wohlford, said they have already filed paperwork.

BP officials previously declined to say how the company decides to pay what to whom, but the federal government plans to take over the process. BP tentatively agreed Wednesday to put $20 billion in escrow to cover claims.

Bed tax numbers aren’t available to show whether the oil slick has left a mark on hotel stays in May, Bay County Tourism Development Council Executive Director Dan Rowe said Tuesday. Vacationers are waiting until the last minute to book, staying fewer days and moving up vacations from late summer to June. That could mean fewer visitors later this summer, but the TDC is working to create other ways to attract people to Bay County beyond the beach.

“I think the people who love Panama City Beach want to come to Panama City Beach,” Rowe said.

Meanwhile, the state has realized how important Northwest Florida is to tax revenue, Patronis said. The University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness Director Dr. Sean Snaith released a report showing a $2.2 billion loss in spending statewide should Northwest Florida counties lose just 10 percent of its tourism business.

“We’ve got to have a successful season in Northwest Florida or we’ll be looking at much more of a deficit,” Patronis said.

Vacationers fill up hotels, keep restaurants going and buy items at small businesses like Rosensweig’s Brew Thru, which relies on tourists buying groceries. Ray Green, the state restaurant and lodging association’s north-central regional director, encouraged hotels Wednesday to keep a day-to-day journal to document who canceled and why.

BP has promised to pay for revenue lost, he said.

“We can’t put our heads in the sand,” Green said. “If there are losses, you will be made whole.”