As I write this post, Hurricane Dorian is decimating the Bahamas and may or may not cause some major damage to the eastern half of Florida.
Because it’s inland, Central Florida doesn’t get nearly the amount of damage that can be seen on the Atlantic or Gulf coasts of the state (hurricanes need to be over warm water to gain/keep their strength, so as they go over land, they lose some of their steam). Granted, we still get our share of major issues when big storms come through. Roofs blow off houses, trees come down, mobile homes are destroyed, we lose electricity for days or weeks, etc. We, thankfully, just don’t get the same level of devastation that the coasts get, is all.
ABOVE: Hurricane Charley, 2004. 110mph winds knocked down our neighbor’s tree, which landed on our tree and roof
Of course, Orlando International Airport also shuts down for big weather issues such as hurricanes, since it’s obviously not safe for planes to fly in that sort of weather (although this Allegiant plane full of passengers did during Hurricane Florence in 2018???)
So between people from the coast evacuating inland, others being stranded because their flights are canceled, and having over 120,000 hotels rooms in the area because we have a lot of theme parks, we tend to get an influx of visitors when a hurricane is aimed at Florida.
Some hoteliers would take advantage of this and raise prices, gouging people when they’re in the most need. But there’s one hotel owner in Central Florida who does the opposite…
Central Florida hotelier Harris Rosen is opening the doors of his eight Orlando-area hotels with special distress rates for those affected by Hurricane Dorian, as per a press release put out by Rosen Hotels & Resorts.
The rates are:
$59.99/night
Rosen Inn International, 7600 International Dr. Orlando
Rosen Inn closest to Universal, 6327 International Dr., Orlando
Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando, 9000 International Dr., Orlando
Clarion Inn Lake Buena Vista, 8442 Palm Parkway, Lake Buena Vista
Midpointe Hotel, 9956 Hawaiian Ct, Orlando
To book, call (866) 33-ROSEN (1-866-337-6736)
www.orlandohotels4less.com/hurricane
$79/night
Rosen Plaza, 9700 International Drive, Orlando
To book, call (800) 627-8258
www.rosenplaza.com
$84/night
Rosen Centre, 9840 International Drive, Orlando
To book, call (800) 204-7234
www.rosencentre.com
$89/night
Rosen Shingle Creek, 9939 Universal Blvd., Orlando
To book, call (866) 996-6338
www.rosenshinglecreek.com
Of course, applicable taxes will be added, but even so…
Rosen offers these rates when a tropical storm or hurricane warning is in effect for any area in Florida and remains in effect as long as the situation is threatening. Rates also are offered as long as needed to those who are displaced after a storm.
Rosen Hotels & Resorts had a similar offer last year, when Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 hurricane, threatened the state of Florida in October, 2018, as well as during Hurricane Irma, which was a Cat 4 when it reached the Sunshine State in September, 2017.
Harris Rosen // PC: Rosen Hotels & Resorts
Harris Rosen, who is in his 5th decade in the hotel business, is well known in Central Florida for his philanthropy. He has donated millions upon millions of dollars for college scholarships, to benefit impoverished Orlando neighborhoods, to send medical supplies and personal hygiene items to Haiti, and much more. He was named the Orlando Sentinel‘s Central Floridian of the Year in 2011, the most influential person in tourism in Orlando by Orlando magazine in 2016 and Philanthropist of The Year by the Orlando Business Journal in 2017. So offering discounted hotel rates for those impacted by hurricanes just sounds “right” for him.
We wrote about the interesting, unusual history of Harris Rosen several months back – click here to check it out.
Meanwhile, please keep everyone in Hurricane Dorian’s path in your thoughts.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
