Palm Beach County Workers Hit During
Slow Season

Slower Tourism Months Affect Year-Round Staff and Residents

By Kevin King, Staff Writer

A recent study indicates that September is the month with the least amount of travel to Florida.

In October, however, many flock to the state from other parts of the country in order to take advantage of the warmer weather. To further investigate this trend, iPulse visited a local business that thrives due to seasonal work.

“We are a job heavily affected during the season with snowbirds,” said Michael Porco, a valet at Seagate Beach Club. “April through October can get very slow here, when we make substantially less money than we do [during the season.]”

The term “snowbird,” according to Miriam Webster, was first used to describe men who enlisted in the armed forces to get food and clothing during the winter months and then deserted as warm spring weather approached. Today, the term is used to describe those, often retired, who seasonally stay in a warm part of the county.

In 2019, during the snowbird season, visitors were estimated to have contributed over $95 billion to Florida’s economy. In turn, as estimated by Florida Realty Marketplace, they supported over 1.6 million seasonal jobs in the state.

“It gets so busy during peak season that we have to look elsewhere for employees,” said Jack Moran, a Lynn University senior and valet at Seagate Beach Club. “We have a program for the less fortunate; we offer them jobs and house them at the hotel [and] it benefits everybody.”

While the seasonal residents help out Palm Beach County, their actions do affect the year-around residents in some negative ways. For instance, the rental market experiences lower inventory because owners prefer to leave their residences empty.

“It really affects housing,” said Maxx Ricci, a Lynn senior and year-round resident. “During the summer, you look down A1A [and] the storm shutters are closed, condos are empty, lights are off. Year-rounders are forced to move farther away from the beach and school because of the snowbirds.”

When snowbirds leave their Floridian nests for the spring and summer months, the state and its communities transform, impacting seasonal workers and residents alike.

Empty tables during the slow season at the Seagate Beach Club. Photo/ K. King.