Island residents wondering why traffic on Manatee Avenue coming to the Island was backed up from the Gulf Drive-East Bay Drive intersection to 75th Street in Bradenton Feb. 1 had only to look at the calendar for a reason.
Wednesday, Feb. 1, was the start of the “high season,” said Jason Sato of Sato Real Estate, Anna Maria.
Unfortunately, a few visitors came to Anna Maria Island without a reservation, probably thinking it would be easy to find a rental, he observed.
It wasn’t.
“We’ve had all our three-month rentals booked for several months,” he said.
“There are a few open weeks here and there, but I was surprised at the number of walk-ins we had to turn away last week. They wanted three months on the Island and we just didn’t have any more.”
He’s advising people who want to come to Anna Maria Island next year to make their reservation now.
Likewise, Nicole Skaggs of Big Fish Realty, Holmes Beach, was deluged with phone calls and walk-in traffic Feb. 1.
“I couldn’t believe the number of people without a reservation, looking to rent for three months,” she said.
One family of seven told her they didn’t think it would be hard on a small island like Anna Maria to find a rental.
“I was the sixth agent they had visited that day and I couldn’t help them with anything more than a few weeks at one unit, then moving to another and so on. It’s high season and it looks like it’s going to be one of the best ever.”
At AMI Accommodations, Anna Maria and Holmes Beach, rental agent Rebecca Barnett also said there wasn’t much available for the next three months among the more than 200-plus units the agency manages.
All we can do for a long-term stay, is move people a week at a time from one short vacancy to another, she said.
She and other agents fielded calls all last week from visitors who came to the Island without a reservation.
“I was sorry to disappoint them, but we’ve been booked full for several months,” Barnett said.
Barnett said she can accommodate a one- or two-week stay, but someone looking for three months would have to move from place to place.
Larry Chatt, vice president of Island Real Estate in Holmes Beach and Anna Maria, said the season looks to be “the best ever.” Although the company manages more than 275 units, quite a few walk-in visitors last week looking for a lengthy stay couldn’t be accommodated.
Chatt said every rental property he manages is reserved March 31, the week before Easter.
He said it’s hard to believe that about five years ago, a visitor could walk into his office on Feb. 1 and get a two-or-three month rental unit with no problem.
The Island is no longer the “land that time forgot,” said AMI Chamber president Mary Ann Brockman.
“Just the other day, there was a story about the Island in the New York Post. We’ve been featured in major newspapers and magazines across the country and in Europe,” the past few years, she said.
Chatt said he lives on the Island and believes in his community. He’s pleased that tourism continues on the upswing, and at the same time wants to ensure that future arrivals understand the Island’s reputation, ambiance and local population.
He’s searching for the right balance to “keep the Island special.”
The vast majority of visitors enjoy their Island stay, respect the Island and plan to return, he observed. And residents welcome such visitors.
After reading all the negative comments recently about how vacationers are more of a nuisence than anything I am surprised about the above article.I wrote to the chamber recently as we have been enjoying the island for the past 6 years and always observe laws and codes and found the island very welcoming, nice to receive a reply saying overseas visitors are still welcome, i will find out later in the year if this is right.
Ambience and local population? Are you kidding me?? There is no local population left! And as for island real estate, what happened to your annual rentals? All the realtors on the island push for vacation rentals! Our business has not seen an upswing in people, we just barely hang on! Even the local beer distributors say that the traffic is up yet we are not seeing the numbers-but then again we are not a real estate company! All of these problems are contributed by the realtors on this island! Also the local tourism board! The island is scaring away the locals and only catering to the tourists! What is happening to this place?