he turn of the summer visitor season and back to school was certainly eventful as we experienced our first named storm of the year. Tropical Storm Debby certainly impacted many residents and businesses but as usual, we saw a unified community eager to help Chamber Notes Tropical storm shows fabric of island community By Rod Turnage President, IOP Chamber of Commerce BUSINESS 10 IslandVibesIOP.com T Cooper River Photography by rachel basye now booking fall beach photo sessions! www.cooperriverphotography.com one another. This was demonstrated through business-to-business outreach, the DeepWater Church providing clean-up efforts to Isle of Palms Baptist Church, neighbors helping neighbors and a 24/7 emergency response from the city, fire, police and emergency response teams. The Isle of Palms Chamber of Commerce would like to say “thank you” for your collaborative and exhaustive efforts. Storms have a way of showing the fabric of the island. We often toss aside our differences and extend a helping hand. They can show that all of us truly care about the well-being of our neighbors and community and reveal to us the importance of a unified community in real-time. Storms highlight the significance of city leadership, the safety of our citizens and just how lucky we all are to call Isle of Palms “home.” We often see a collaborative effort to live in harmony one day at a time. Over the last few months, the chamber has been acutely focused on collaboration and has experienced that true collaboration requires listening while putting our personal differences aside. We have been proactively organizing meetings with smaller teams from “all sides.” This approach allows for open communication and the submission of difficult questions without bias. It has allowed the participants to lift the siloed approach and discuss the facts. As a result, we have found we all have one common goal: protecting and preserving the quality of life on Isle of Palms. Most of us want to effectively address the issues of a growing metro and live out the reasons we chose Isle of Palms as “home.” From a business perspective, we are learning that net profits will be down in 2024 versus 2023 for most of our island businesses. Some key indicators are found in the year-todate short-term rental data: Average Daily Rate decreased 2.5 percent at $604/night in 2024 versus $620/ night in 2023; Paid Occupancy is down two percentage points year-todate at 38 percent in 2024 versus 40 percent in 2023. Additionally, some food and beverage businesses have shared how increased expenses will likely hurt their collective end of year results. The next IOP Chamber meeting will be Sept. 24 at the IOP Exchange Club from noon-1 p.m. Attendance is open to all, free of charge and membership is not required. We will hear from member speaker Mayor Phillip Pounds as we continue collaborating with the city on behalf of residents and the business community. Stay informed about our community and the IOP Chamber by following @IOPchamber. Thank you for your continued support in making the Isle of Palms a world-class island to live, work and play. We cherish being your neighbor!
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