Hurricane Dorian boosts Haywood occupancy rates
Hurricane Dorian has slowly but surely been making its way toward the east coast of the United States, but Haywood County’s already been seeing some positive effects from the massive storm — evacuees seeking high ground, away from the coast.
“Yes, we have been getting calls already,” said Lynn Collins, executive director of the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority. “We’re usually pretty full around this [Labor Day] weekend anyway, so as the storm progresses we’re going to have to be on the watch.”
Collins was speaking last Friday, while the category 4 hurricane was still several hundred miles east of Florida but headed right for it.
“We have done call-outs for [lodging] availability, so we can help folks and we even have some property owners who rent out their homes who are calling to find a place to stay because their homes are rented,” Collins said. “So yes, we are getting calls and I’m sure that will pick up.”
As of press time on Tuesday, Sept. 3, Dorian sat nearly stationary off West Palm Beach with sustained winds of 120 miles per hour and was expected to track north during the week. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered along much of the eastern seaboard.
