High Tourism Numbers Bring Jobs
22.10.2009, 13:41
ST. JOHNS COUNTY, FL -- Last July, St. Johns county saw a record number of people staying in hotels.
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Ann Rogers benefited from that. She swept up a housekeeping job fast. She just walked in one day with her resume to Hampton Inn in St. Augustine Beach.
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"I started work the exact next day. It was good. It was really good," Rogers says with a smile.
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She's one of many who've landed jobs in St. Johns County because more tourists keep spending the night there.
Hampton Inn General Manager Robert Mucklin says, "We've had to increase staffing levels throughout the hotel to accommodate
customer service needs."
According to the Convention and Visitors Bureau, bed tax collection in the county climbed 14 percent in July. That's the highest ever for St. Johns county.
Why?
Barbara Golden with the Convention and Visitors Bureau says high gas prices drove many people to close-by destinations such as the beaches along the First Coast.
Also, Golden says publicity from the Super Bowl in February made an impact in the summer.
Mucklin hired five to ten new people since July.
Then, August saw a slump. Hospitality workers blame an early school starting date.
"That's not uncommon in the industry," said Mucklins. "If we have to cut hours, we cut hours. That hasn't been an issue."
Meanwhile, Rogers, like many others, is busy with a job in a county that's really cleaning up with the tourists.