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LAKELAND, Fla. (FOX 13) - Bay Area hotels are booking up fast as East Coast residents begin to evacuate.
Several hotel managers in Polk County tell FOX 13 they are either completely booked or almost at capacity.
"Why people wait around or sit it out I don't know," said Fritz Spitzmiller, who traveled with his wife and two dogs from Vero Beach, Florida.
Zury Cohen, the general manager at the Hilton Garden Inn in Lakeland, says it's an understatement to say people are trickling in.
The Staybridge Suites in Lakeland also reported a high number of last-minute bookings.
While some evacuees are just now arriving, others boarded up and left over the weekend.
"We wanted to sit it out, but we kept getting so much grief from our kids, and relatives, and everyone else about leaving, we decided to head over toward this way," said Scott Hovey, who evacuated with his wife and dog, Nelly, from Indialantic, Florida.
Hovey said he's glad he made his hotel reservation when he did.
"They were starting to fill up, and we found this one," said Hovey.
Many evacuees aren't sure when they will return home, considering Hurricane Dorian's slow churn through the Atlantic.
For now, they are waiting, watching, and worrying.
"Wondering when it may go by and when we might be able to go home again," said Spritzmiller.