A Few Notes Before the Fourth

Before I take off for a three-day Fourth of July weekend of fireworks, barbecue and guitar-pickin’, please allow me to clean off my desk a bit:

• Florida’s hotels always find a way to fill up for special occasions, no matter how bad the economy gets. A report from the Miami Herald shows few rooms remain available heading into this weekend, and those will likely be taken up by locals at the last minute.

If you had any hopes against crowded beaches and theme parks because of the recession, forget about it. People still find a way to dig into their savings for family fun, allowing personal sanity to overrule finances. And people still love Florida, but they love discounted pricing on rooms even more.

While we’re on the subject of hotels, GlobeSt.com continues its Webinar Series this Monday with “Distressed Hotels: How Bad Will It Get?” If you miss hearing it live, it will be available for replay for a while yet. Click here to register and for more details.

• The University of Florida’s consumer confidence index bounced around a bit more in June, falling three points to 68. Reasons for the most recent slide vary, from 10% statewide unemployment to General Motors’ bankruptcy.

“We do not expect Florida consumer confidence to decline much more over the next couple of months, barring some unforeseen change here in Florida or nationally,” says Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in Gainesville. But he also cautions that a recovery will take a while, adding that unemployment may move higher before things get better overall.

• Justin Greider, a prominent fixture at International Council of Shopping Centers events within the state, has joined Orlando-based Crossman & Co. as a senior associate on the retail leasing team. Greider, who has an MBA from Rollins College, is a five-year retail veteran and was recently elected state chairman of the ICSC Next Generation Program.

• Florida is well represented on the National Multi Housing Council’s new board of directors. Named to the NMHC executive committee are Marc de Baptiste with Apartment Realty Advisors in Boca Raton, and Nathan Collier and Andrew Hogshead, both with the Collier Cos./Paradigm Group in Gainesville.

• Last but not least, we’re getting a lot of notices lately from brokers crowing about early renewals on office leases as tenants take full advantage of the down cycle. Trouble is, they aren’t being forthcoming with any details of transactions, as though paying less-than-average rent is a secret anymore.

We know landlords are getting beaten up on rents lately, and if companies are hiring tenant reps then those folks probably know all the terms of recent deals anyway. Might as well fess up!

On that note, have a safe and happy Independence Day. Careful with the coals and fuses.