Hotel owner on Ian recovery: 'It's like playing 3D chess with one eye closed'

1. The rebuilding process for many Southwest Florida businesses post-Hurricane Ian began to pick up speed at the end of 2022. As of mid-December, for example, 62% of Lee County’s hotel guest rooms had reopened — some 8,900 rooms, according to Visit Fort Myers, the Lee County Visitors & Convention Bureau. Many of those rooms were occupied by people helping with and assisting displaced residents, in addition to cleanup and restoration tasks. 

Another good Ian recovery sign for 2023: air service at Southwest Florida International Airport is returning to normal. Eurowings was scheduled to resume Saturday flights from the airport, RSW, to Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 17 and continue through March, Visit Fort Myers reports. Sun Country Airlines debuted weekly nonstop service from the airport to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on Dec. 19, and Avelo Airlines is scheduled to begin nonstop service to Wilmington, Delaware Feb. 3 and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, on Feb. 16.