Businesses in Daytona Beach are reporting economic losses after videos of an unsanctioned spring break event called the Daytona Takeover went viral, with property managers and hotels fielding cancellations and concerned inquiries from potential guests. The pop-up event brought an estimated 9,000 to 10,000 people to the city during the first weekend of spring break, occurring the week before colleges and other states began their spring breaks.
“It’s detrimental to our entire economy. We are a tourist-based economy, whether anyone wants to recognize that or not. So, when major events like this happen that are negative and continuously pushed it impacts all of our income, all of our bottom line,” said Krista Goodrich, who manages vacation rental properties throughout beachside Volusia County. Videos from the unsanctioned event on March 14 spread rapidly across social media platforms, showing large crowds gathered in the area.
Goodrich said the viral footage has created immediate business challenges for property managers and vacation rental operators. “We had not only cancellations but owners reaching out to us, we had investors reach out to us that aren’t interested right now,” she said. Airbnb hosts and hotels are reporting questions and cancellations directly tied to the viral videos, forcing property managers to work actively to reassure guests that Daytona Beach remains a family destination.
The Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has invested millions of dollars over recent years in marketing campaigns targeting major cities including New York, Atlanta and Nashville to rebrand the area as family-friendly rather than a spring-break party destination. “Some people remember us from decades ago and while they probably had a great time while they were here, we’ve grown up and so have they and this is now a different destination. If you even look at our hotel product, it’s changed so much,” said Lori Campbell Baker, Executive Director of the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The economic impact comes as Daytona Beach has worked to transform its image and attract different types of visitors to the area. Property managers are now actively reaching out to customers to emphasize safety and the family-friendly nature of the destination, attempting to counter the negative publicity generated by the viral videos from the takeover event.