SIA Members Impacted in Florida
The Gasparilla Inn & Club
Everyone here on the island feels the appreciation and has the dedication and drive to repair. As discussed, please find the fund we are directing people for donations. Our employees are submitting applications for these funds daily and we have some influence. All of the funds will be used for island employees with deep connections to the area.
The Boca Grande Woman's Club Hurricane Ian Recovery Fund intends to provide assistance for post-Ian repair and associated expenses to individuals with island connections. If you would like to contribute, please mail a check to the Boca Grande Woman's Club at P.O. Box 65; Boca Grande, Florida 33921. Please indicate on your check the donation is for the Hurricane Ian Recovery Fund. Donations can soon be made through the club's website: https://www.bocagrandewomansclub.org/
Brent Cross | Assistant General Manager
The Gasparilla Inn & Club
www.gasparillainn.com
Timbers Company
We are the management company and part owner of the South Seas Island Resort in Captiva, FL. The property sustained significant damage and we are currently still without power, potable water, and road accessibility considering the Sanibel causeway is damaged. All 300+ of our staff were accounted for immediately following the storm. Some are without homes, vehicles, and electricity still. We are sharing with them the latest updates on free food and water distribution locations, shelters, etc. We are working with our capital partners to see what we can do for the entire team in terms of housing assistance, compensation, and benefits, or a combination thereof.
We will be starting a disaster relief fund which property owners and guests can contribute to. It might be months if not longer for our transient accommodations business to resume, but we are immediately focused on opening components of the resorts that we are able such as the marina and pool area.
We also had to make storm preparations at our Timbers Jupiter and Timbers Kiawah properties which were also impacted by Hurricane Ian, but thankfully we avoided any major damage.
Jesse Geremia
Senior Managing Director – Hospitality
Timbers Company
timberscompany.com
Tween Waters Inn
Dear Sanibel Captiva Beach Resorts friends and fans,
This past week, as the skies cleared and the sun returned to Southwest Florida, it almost felt like a normal October day — warm, breezy, delightful.
Fortunately, as our management team toured our flagship resorts – ‘Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa of Captiva, and West Wind Island Resort of Sanibel — our reactions, for the most part, were sunny too!
On Captiva, ‘Tween Waters survived the power of Hurricane Ian with grit, muscle and determination befitting more than 90 years of island hospitality. Our outstanding construction — and the protections we took prior to landfall — resulted in no significant damage to our 137 accommodations and cottages, our restaurants and our other facilities and amenities.
Old Captiva House — on the site of the first schoolhouse on Captiva, built in 1908 — still stands tall, proud, historic, with “not a scratch” on the interiors to show for the storm. Construction on our exciting new restaurant was not damaged. And even our Marina remains intact.
At West Wind Island Resort, we were very pleased with what we reviewed, although a small portion of our roof was sacrificed to 150-mile-per-hour winds.
Now, it’ll take some time for the infrastructure of both Sanibel and Captiva to catch up — electricity, internet, water will all require the round-the-clock work our government is investing.
But rest assured, your favorite beach resorts are here to stay, and about to evolve into experiences new, better and more satisfying than ever.
Tony Lapi
Tween Waters Inn