TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — The Bilmar Beach Resort in Treasure Island has been fully occupied by local storm evacuees since mid-October who have their rooms paid for by FEMA, according to general manager Clyde Smith.

What You Need To Know

  • The Bilmar Beach Resort has been fully occupied by local storm evacuees since mid-October

  • Hurricane Helene damaged 27 guest rooms on the first level 

  • The Bilmar has been reopening in phases and expects to be full operational by February 

  • FEMA Emergency housing assistance has been paying for all the rooms

“We're just under market price for that and then FEMA pays us directly. So they aren't coming out of pocket for their room,” he said. “The people staying here, they’re our neighbors. They come from Madeira Beach, St. Pete Beach. A lot from Treasure Island.”

Bobby Smith, 63, said he has been displaced since his first-floor apartment in St. Pete Beach was flooded by Hurricane Helene on Sept. 26. The evacuee feels lucky he landed a room at the Bilmar a few weeks ago.

“There's a lot of people out there that are trying to get in here but it's full. A lot of other places are full and they're just couch hopping,” he said. “I'm very lucky to have this place right on the beach. You can’t beat that.”  

Smith said his emergency housing assistance from FEMA will allow him to stay at the Bilmar until Jan. 14.

“The Bilmar people have been absolutely wonderful. They've been taking good care of us,” he said. “I walked in with my I.D. and they handed me a key. They checked out my FEMA number and saw that I was eligible for emergency housing.”

The general manager is also a board member on the Tourist Development Council. Smith said the FEMA housing assistance also pays for the bed tax in Pinellas County, which will help the area recover faster.

In September, bed tax collections were down $1.3 million from the previous record-breaking year, which saw a collection of $98 million, according to TDC data released at the last meeting.

Smith said the resort has been reopening in phases. The first level of the Bilmar will be the last phase to reopen in February, after getting more than three feet of Helene’s storm surge inside, according to Smith.

“Twenty-seven rooms we lost out of 167 throughout the resort,” he said. “We lost that whole first floor.”

Smith said after both Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the resort restaurant, Sloppy Joe’s, was the first business to reopen in Treasure Island within 48 hours. One reason is because Sloppy Joe’s sits more than 4 feet above the beach.

“There was no sand, water. It was amazing. It was so fortunate,” he said. “It brought employees back to work, which is really one of my number one goals of my career is keeping people employed and as best as possible.”

Smith said he lowered the menu prices by about 25 percent to help out the locals. The general manager said he doesn’t expect to see any tourists at the Bilmar until the resort is fully operational.

“When our tourists come back, we want to give them the best experience possible,” he said. “I think a lot of us aren't ready to give that experience of tourism right now. So we're doing what we can to get ready.”

Smith said he expects tourism to come back next year in layers.

“I think by spring break as we get past Valentine's Day, that's usually when it starts to ramp up,” he said. “It's a very late Easter, late April, that usually stretches the season out a little bit.”