written by John Lai, President and CEO, SanCap Chamber of Commerce
& Dolly Farrell, Executive Director, Charitable Foundation of the Islands
Dear Sanibel and Captiva Community,
It’s no secret that the economic health of Sanibel and Captiva islands relies on the hotels and other vacation accommodations, the majority of which were devastated by Hurricane Ian. Helping this vital industry recover requires a mighty effort by those who care about these unique islands.
The SanCap Chamber of Commerce and Charitable Foundation of the Islands (CFI) have worked more closely than ever over the past year to restore and revitalize the accommodation industry while also supporting businesses currently open and assisting those in the process of reopening.
Among those efforts is a collaboration with the City of Sanibel, the Lee County Office of Economic Development, and the Lee County Visitors & Convention Bureau to commission a business climate survey to study key indicators for the islands’ recovery. The three-year survey will be undertaken with Florida Gulf Coast University’s Regional Economic Research Institute, under the leadership of Dr. Amir B. Ferreira Neto. The goal is to better understand the timeline challenges and opportunities faced by the accommodation industry as it returns to full operation.
Returning the industry to pre-Ian days requires grappling with complex issues, such as permitting, rising building costs, labor shortages, and supply chain problems. The proposed study can address these issues with an economist’s perspective, helping to streamline and expedite the rebuilding process and thereby allowing the industry to return to full capacity more quickly.
This will ultimately benefit all local businesses, whose fates rest, in large part, on the accommodation industry’s speedy recovery. Donations collected from CFI’s Sanibel-Captiva Recovery Fund will fund the first year of the three-year study, with an annual cost of approximately $10,000. Meanwhile, the chamber aims to help support the 104 businesses currently open until the hotel and accommodation industry on Sanibel and Captiva fully recovers. The chamber is also pursuing operating support totaling close to $1 million from government grants and private philanthropic sources (click here to see Snapshot of the Chamber).
We thank you for your ongoing concern and support. We are all in this together.
It’s time for them to let people be able to rent for a week. I have to stay off island due to restrictions on home and condo rentals to a month!!! It’s their loss.
Certainly this is needed. It would certainly help residents, owners of houses, owners of condo units, business (!), contractors, and vacation rentals to EXPEDITE permits for the myriads of things needed. Adding extra staff for permit approval would GREATLY help. It has held up rebuilding/ recovery SO much – when we all want things to get back to “normal” on this beautiful island.