VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Beachfront hotels along State Road A1A in Volusia County are preparing for the arrival of summer travelers eight months after Hurricane Matthew caused $67 million in damage along the coast.
Hotel managers like Greg Brown, who runs the Sun Viking Lodge near Daytona Beach, said that he has made upgrades ahead of the 2017 hurricane season, which began Thursday.
The massive storm closed his hotel and several others, some of which haven't reopened.
"(There was) a lot of roof damage," he said. "A lot of the awnings and stuff blew off. We had some damage on our pool enclosure."
Brown said he was able to quickly reopen his hotel, but it took some time to make repairs.
"It took a long time to get everything fixed," he said. "We got most of the rooms opened pretty (quickly), but (because of) the water damage, (it) took us a little while to get things replaced."
Brown said he has made upgrades, including better tie downs, straps, stainless steel screws, better awnings and more durable paneling.
"Every time we go through a storm, we get better prepared and better set up for the next storm," he said.