This was sent to me by a person I know.
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Stop the City of St Petersburg discriminating against LGBTQ, religious and special need families.
They are forcing families to stay in different cities or being forced to endure accommodations that are not suitable for their family’s needs.
After a long and challenging isolation, our families decided to rent a vacation rental property in St. Petersburg so that all our families can all get together as a family reunion before the children go back to school.
Our host recently contacted us to say they had to cancel the booking because short term rental properties are banned in the city of Saint Petersburg. I thought that this was some sort of scam, I reached out to an attorney friend who referred me to another attorney. Turns out this attorney is well aware of the city of Saint Peterburg's policies of restricting families from enjoying a peaceful and safe vacation.
Having a special needs child we purposely seek out vacation rental homes because in our situation, with our special needs child cannot stay in hotels motels etc. due to safety, sensory sounds and just general contact with strangers.
These types of places are very traumatic for my child and it is no place to have a vacation when your child is completely traumatized. This type of accommodation need's are very common amongst our support groups.
The attorney said there are people in the LGBTQ community who will not stay in hotels because they are uncomfortable with being stared at or poked fun at by the public and cannot go and enjoy the outside pool areas etc. They also stay in vacation rentals so they can enjoy a peaceful and safe vacation.
He said they were couples and families who had planned on attending pride week in Saint Petersburg but because of Saint Petersburg‘s policies were forced to go and stay in other cities because they have a more relaxed rental policy.
He also went on to give me a few more examples of a religious family that rents homes that have pools because of their religious beliefs they cannot be in bathing suits in front of strangers. The told me how they also have religious food restrictions and being able to cook food at home on vacation makes it a lot less stressful than trying to find food in hotel restaurants and other restaurants in the area.
When I reached back out to the owner of the home so I could I apologize for my reaction to the cancellation.
The owner went onto told me a story of a family that was set to have their child undergo major surgeries on their child and they needed a safe place to recuperate between surgeries. Their vacation rental home was perfect for this because a hotel was definitely not suitable for them to recuperate and have family members around between surgeries. They ended up also having to find a place in Tampa while the surgery is taking place in Saint Petersburg because Tampa allows short term rentals and is a lot less restrictive and welcoming to family’s needs than the city of Saint Petersburg.
It is disgraceful that a City like Saint Petersburg that portrays its self as a city that is welcoming for ALL tourists and vacationers and yet they are discriminating against families and communities who have special needs who cannot stay in hotels, motels bed and breakfasts etc.
Why must we be forced to stay with these types of accommodation that harmful and hurtful to the well-being of our children.?
Help protect the needs of groups of travelers who have special needs.
