Thursday, December 23, 2010

Tourists return to Panhandle-area hotels

Tourists return to Panhandle-area hotels

Tourists return to Panhandle-area hotels

Posted: 22 Dec 2010 07:29 PM PST

Pensacola-area tourism officials are calling a slight dip in lodging revenues this year a victory after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill devastated Escambia County's high tourism season.

Revenues from hotels, condos, camp sites and other rental units in the area topped $127 million between Oct. 1, 2009 and Sept. 30, 2010. That's a nearly a 5 percent drop from the $133 million brought in during the same period the previous year.

Tourism dropped off after the April 20 disaster sent oil into the Gulf and Panhandle beaches in counties including Escambia. But the area saw a rebound once the threat of oil had faded to occasional tar-ball sightings.

In September, after the well was capped and following a summer of marketing efforts by the Pensacola Bay Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, revenues were up 17 percent over the previous year.

-- HANNAH SAMPSON

• Florida bank losses hit $2 billion: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. surpassed $2 billion in losses in Florida for 2010, with last Friday's regulatory seizure of the Bank of Miami, according to a new Condo Vultures ``White Paper.''

Before its closure, the Bank of Miami was a 46-year-old institution with three branches, 101 employees and $448 million in assets. At the height of the real estate boom in December 2005, the Bank of Miami -- formerly known as the International Bank of Miami -- had assets of nearly $1 billion and 165 employees, according to FDIC data.

The Deposit Insurance Fund, which enters into loss-share agreements on failed banks, realized a loss of $64 million with the Bank of Miami failure, according to the FDIC.

-- INA CORDLE

• Porsche expanding: Porsche will expand its Latin American office in one of Miami's top high-rise buildings. Wachovia Financial Center on Wednesday announced six new tenant leases, including Porsche's move from a 3,600-square-foot office in the downtown tower to one with 5,800 square feet. Details about the expansion weren't available, but Wachovia said Porsche signed a five-year lease.

The biggest renewal for Wachovia: the Duane Morris law firm, which re-upped for seven years on the 34th floor, with about 23,000 square feet.

-- DOUGLAS HANKS

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