National Guardsmen on storm duty, Red Cross personnel and utility crews snap up scarce motel rooms.
By BETH N. GRAY
Published September 9, 2004
The signs at Hernando County's motels are more reminiscent of mid winter than mid September.
"No vacancy" or "No rooms available," they read.
But the guests aren't snowbirds - or vacationers. Mostly, they are local residents who simply could cope no longer without air conditioning or hot water in their homes.
So, they have sought refuge.
At the Comfort Inn Weeki Wachee on Wednesday, desk clerk Ruth Stetler had to reply in the negative when a distraught Neil McCown of Spring Hill inquired about a room for Wednesday night.
All 68 rooms at the motel on Cortez Boulevard have been occupied since Aug. 30.
"Mostly local people," Stetler said of occupants as she scanned the guest registry.
Stetler said hours have been increased for a second, part-time desk clerk to cope with the onslaught of inquiries and guests.
The motel has experienced only a few glitches since Frances passed through over the weekend. A sign on the motel door Wednesday announced: "No cable today." A guest stopped by the desk to report that the phone in his room was out of service. But the motel had electricity after only a two-hour outage Sunday morning, Stetler said.
Power was what McCown was in search of. His family, which lives on Philadelphia Avenue in Spring Hill, has been without electricity since Saturday.
The worst, he said, is that the food in the refrigerator has spoiled and there is no air conditioning.
"I wouldn't mind so much for me - I could stand it - but it's for my kids," said the father of a 3- and a 4-year-old.
McCown hasn't slept in three days, he said Wednesday morning.
In his neighborhood off Spring Hill Drive, "there are people in tears out there," he said.
He said that when he has phoned Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative to inquire when a repair crew might reach his part of town, he has gotten no further than to be put on hold.
His patience having reached its limit, he was making the rounds of motels, hoping to obtain at least a night's respite. Finding no room at the Comfort Inn, he shrugged and said: "It's still early in the day."
Stetler gave him names of other county motels. He drove off to continue the search.
There was no relief at the nearby Best Western Weeki Wachee, where all 122 rooms have been full since Sept. 1.
"We're now filled up with mostly (local) people out of power," general manager Scott Guthman reported.
Red Cross crews and out-of-area utility workers are occupying about 25 percent of the quarters. There are also some people from Melbourne, close to where Frances made landfall, Guthman said.
The motel also is providing rooms to its staff, he said, for their safety and to maintain a work force. The housekeeping staff is working lengthened hours.
The Best Western Weeki Wachee never lost power, but Tuesday it was without water usuallyprovided by an on-site well. Guests didn't leave, however. They took buckets of water from the swimming pool to flush toilets.
"We're still without cable (television), but we can live without that," Guthman said.
The motel is fully booked through the next week to 10 days with people anticipating a hit by Hurricane Ivan.
At the fully booked Best Western Brooksville at State Road 50 and Interstate 75, 10-year-old Brandon Cross of Brooksville stepped to the desk with his father, John, to lock in another night.
"It's like we've been living here," the youngster said, although Wednesday was only day two for the family, which also includes mom, Kelly, and son, Aaron, 6.
"This is an excellent place to be," said John Cross, explaining that the family home has been without power since Saturday.
Gesturing to Kristin Horony, director of sales, he said, "She worked real hard to get us a room."
Horony said the guest log for 121 rooms was primarily taken up by National Guardsmen from Pennsylvania, Alabama and Jacksonville who have been deployed to various storm-damaged areas of the state from the Hernando County Airport.
Also lodging there are crews from Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative and Bell South. Remaining rooms are occupied by local residents without power or water at their homes. And there are a few lingering evacuees from Florida's east coast, Horony said.
Between answering nonstop phone calls about room availability, Horony smiled at Brandon as he left.
"He's been helping at the front desk," she said.
Help is appreciated since many employees have called in sick, perhaps timid about driving on tree-littered roads, fearful of leaving their homes or maybe making home repairs and cleaning up storm litter, Horony and motel manager Joel Hernandez surmised.
Dressed in work clothes rather than executive suit, a sweaty Hernandez trudged in from the motel grounds.
"We're still cleaning up tree limbs," he said.
The Best Western Brooksville is fully booked for the next two weeks, Horony said, mainly with National Guard troops.
Frances didn't interfere with the motel's power.
"We were very fortunate," Hernandez said.
At the Best Western's adjacent sister facility, Hampton Inn of Brooksville, staffer Joshua Davenport said of telephone inquiries: "First thing they ask, "Do you have power?' "
"Yes, but no vacancies," he answers.
Most of the current guests at the 75-room motel are Hernando residents whose homes have lost power, Davenport said.
"Some are from where the hurricane hit," he added.
The inn has also suffered from no-show employees. Davenport, a night auditor, has been pressed into front desk work while front desk employees have taken to cleaning rooms, he said.
And a full guest load wasn't expected at a time of year when occupancy is generally at 60 percent, Davenport noted.
