4 Florida Hotels Raise More Than $7,000 for Hurricane Ida Victims

TAMPA, FL — Just four days after Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama as a Category 4 hurricane around noon on Sunday, three Tampa Bay hotels and one in Fort Myers hastily hosted fundraisers, presenting the American Red Cross with a check for $7,000 to help the victims of the hurricane.

Joe Collier, president of Mainsail Lodging & Development, said the success of the fundraisers was due to the employees and customers who were determined to help.

“It came together fast, but we wanted to give our guests and neighbors a way to quickly and directly help those affected by Hurricane Ida,” Collier said. “It was great to see so many come out at our four hotel rooftop bars to support the cause, with some guests making private donations, including one $1,000 donation from another local business.”

On Thursday, Sept. 2, EDGE Rooftop Cocktail Lounge at the Epicurean Hotel in Tampa; Hi-Fi Rooftop Bar at the Fenway Hotel in Dunedin; Vantage Rooftop Bar at The Karol Hotel in Clearwater); and Beacon Social Drinkery at the Luminary Hotel & Co. in Fort Myers simultaneously hosted “Raise the Roof for Hurricane Ida Relief” events, donating half of the evening’s sales to the Red Cross to support those impacted by the storm.

Hurricane Ida made landfall with 150-mph winds and 8 to 12 feet of storm surge, causing massive powers outages and flooding streets. The destruction continued as the storm headed north, spawning tornadoes and bringing torrential rains that resulted in widespread flooding.

On Wednesday night, more than 2,200 people had taken refuge in 34 Red Cross and community shelters across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas.

Anyone who would like to make a donation toward the Red Cross Hurricane Ida response effort can click here.