FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla-- Seasonal residents usually rush to get down to Southwest Florida for the winter, but this year not as many are ready to go back up north.
"It wasn't a hard decision to stay," said Pat Doele.
For the past few years Doele has spent her winters in SWFL. She typically heads back to the Midwest in early April, but this year she's staying an extra month.
"Someone sent me through Facebook the other day sun dogs in our area and that's usually in the middle of winter so I think that summer is just skipping them this year," said Doele.
Doele isn't the only one deciding to extend their stay. Silver Sands Villas on Fort Myers Beach said it's seen an uptick in rentals.
"Oh yea I mean I've had several people who couldn't fly out so they were stuck and like 'do you have an extra night, do you have a couple extra nights?'" said Silver Sands Villas owner Andrea Grove.
Grove said the majority of her guests are repeat customers. But this year, her post-season demand has changed.
"More reservations than walk-ins which was odd, you get a lot of walk-ins but that was off this year," said Grove.
As long as business is booming owners aren't complaining about the longer season.
