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Treasure Island hotel housing residents displaced by hurricanes

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Updated  November 12, 2024 5:56pm EST
Pinellas County
FOX 13 News

Bilmar Beach Resort temporarily housing people

FOX 13's Kylie Jones went to the Bilmar Beach Resort in Treasure Island where hotel rooms are now being used as temporary housing for those displaced by Hurricane Helene.

TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. - A landmark hotel in Treasure Island is helping house people who were displaced during the hurricanes.

The Bilmar Beach Resort faced major flooding during Hurricane Helene, like most homes and businesses on Treasure Island.

Clyde Smith, the hotel’s general manager, said the first floor had about four feet of flooding, so the rooms and event spaces had to be gutted.

"All the tear out has been done, remediation done as needed," Smith said. "Mainly, the first floor areas that had major devastation, and up to four feet of water in certain areas."

Smith said they were able to reopen hotel rooms on the higher levels to house hurricane victims who have applied for temporary housing through FEMA.

"We opened up the eight-story building first, and I had a long list of FEMA evacuees looking for some shelter," Smith shared. "Many of them are from our own community."

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Smith is one of those guests, after his family’s home on Paradise Island was damaged during Helene.

He said they also opened up rooms in the hotel’s four-story building, which filled up within 24 hours.

On Tuesday, Smith said they have 92 rooms housing FEMA applicants. While portions of the hotel house displaced residents, the repairs throughout other parts of the hotel continue.

"It's very difficult to see your hotel in this situation," he shared.

The Bilmar’s event spaces are still construction zones, and likely won’t reopen until next year.

"We've unfortunately had to cancel over 30 weddings at this point," Smith said.

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Smith said the recovery is a day by day process. He said being able to house displaced residents through FEMA has not only given those people in the community a roof over their heads, but it’s helped bring employees back to work.

"Our tourists will come back in 2025," he said. "We look forward to that. But in the short term, we're happy to be able to help in the community and have them help us by getting people back to work."

Sloppy Joe’s on the Beach, which is connected to the Bilmar, has been open. Smith said they’ve seen business start to pick up in the last week.

According to Smith, they’re hoping to reopen more hotel rooms for FEMA applicants next week.

However, he said first floor hotel rooms and their event spaces aren’t expected to open up until early next year.

They’re only able to house displaced residents through FEMA right now, and cannot accommodate walk-in guests.

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