Gulf Coast hotels booked up from Florida residents

Since yesterday, Mississippi has seen a huge influx of evacuees from Florida looking for a place to stay during Hurricane Irma.
Hotels along the Coast are almost to full capacity from Florida residents, even hotels in Wiggins and Hattiesburg. Linda Hornsby with Mississippi Hotels and Lodging Association says some rooms are still available in the casinos, but are expected to be filled up tonight.
Most families are trying to book their stay up until next Tuesday and hotels along the Coast have been very generous with their fees and prices for the evacuees. “I will say the hotels have been great. The people, when they call, have such anguish in their voices, a lot of them are looking for pet-friendly hotels and so a lot of the hotels have waived their pet policies and are even taking them with no fee or just a small fee,” said Hornsby.
At a time of high demand, Hornsby tells News 25 she’s never seen such reasonable rates with some hotel rooms under $100 and some offering special rates.