Disaster Relief Resources For Florida & How RVshare Owners Can Help

By Megan Buemi
Last updated October 14th, 2024
Industry News
map of the path of hurricane milton

Our hearts go out to all those dealing with the devastation of these recent storms. With Hurricane Milton rapidly approaching and preparing to be catastrophic for many parts of Florida, we wanted to build a resource center that can help those looking for shelter and assistance. We will work to keep this page updated with helpful information for those who are evacuating, and anyone displaced and unsure of where to go.

Resources for Floridians

Follow Along with Real-Time Happenings

Emergency Accommodations

These portals have been opened to provide real-time information on hotel availability for any residents or visitors who need a place to stay.

Sign Up For Alerts

  • Follow FLSERT on X (formerly known as Twitter) for real-time updates from Florida’s Emergency Response Team
  • Visit Alert Florida to sign up for emergency alerts and other public safety notifications in your community 

RVing Resources

The Aftermath

  • Disaster assistance from FEMA
  • FloridaDisaster.biz for emergency resources for businesses. The Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program has been activated, making $50 million available for businesses impacted by Hurricane Milton.
  • Business Damage Assessment Survey to self-report any physical and economic damage caused by Hurricane Helene, allowing Florida to expedite recovery efforts by gathering data and assessing the needs of impacted businesses.
  • Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline: Report violations online or via the Attorney General’s Price Gouging Hotline at 1-866-966-7226. 
  • State Assistance Information Line: 1-800-342-3557 
    This call center runs 24/7 and can answer any Hurricane Milton or Hurricane Helene related questions in English, Spanish, and Creole. 

How to Help

For RVshare Owners:

  • Offer discount rentals – Many people are without homes and looking for places to stay temporarily. Offering your RV at a discounted rate can help those affected until they can find a more permanent housing solution.
  • Advertise your RV as “Disaster Response Eligible” – Updating your listing title and description is a great way to let renters know you are here to help.
  • Be flexible and communicative – Many renters do not know when their living situation will stabilize. Be understanding and stay in contact with your renters to ensure you and the renter feel comfortable with the temporary situation.

Things to watch out for:

  • Last-minute booking requests – Be diligent when communicating with potential renters, especially when the renter requests a last-minute or urgent booking. The likelihood of fraud increases with last-minute bookings.
  • Off-platform bookings – Never take a booking off the RVshare platform. RVshare does credit and fraud checks in addition to insurance screening. We can’t protect your RV if we don’t see the payment.
  • Verified and Covered Renters – On the reservation details page in your dashboard, validate the renter’s identification and check that the driver is covered before accepting a booking.
  • Personal information – Most renters mean no harm in asking for personal contact information, but this can be a sign of phishing. Never share the location of your RV until after a booking is confirmed.

Stay safe out there! If you know of a great resource that we missed, please feel free to share it with us.

Megan Buemi
Megan Buemi
Megan is the Senior Manager of Content Marketing at RVshare. She loves helping others discover their new favorite place in nature and has contributed almost 400 articles and counting to the RVshare blog doing just that. While at RVshare she launched guides to national parks, state parks, local travel, events, and more to make choosing where to take that next RV trip as easy as possible. When she’s not helping travelers make memories she’s making some of her own exploring with her husband, daughter, and rescue dogs. Megan received a bachelor’s degree in communications and has been a content creator for over a decade and a senior-level content marketer for 7 years.

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