Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, and if you own a vacation home near the parks while living in New Jersey, Toronto, or London, the worst part is familiar: watching a forecast cone on TV with no ability to do anything physical about it. The fix is a plan that executes without you. Here it is.
Before the season (do this in May… or today)
- Walk the exterior on camera. Photo-document the roof line, screens, fence, and lanai — your “before” evidence for any future claim.
- Fix the small stuff now. Loose gutters, wobbly fence panels, torn screens, and doors that don’t latch become projectiles and entry points at 70 mph. (These are exactly the finds from a routine wellness visit.)
- Know your furniture plan. List everything loose outside — patio set, grill, potted plants, pool toys — and where each goes. A written list means anyone can execute it.
- Confirm your people. Who physically preps the home on 48 hours’ notice? “I’ll figure it out” is not a name. Every vendor in the corridor is slammed in the two days before landfall — standing arrangements beat frantic calls.
- Check insurance basics remotely: policy current, wind deductible understood, insurer’s claim app installed on your phone.
When a storm is named and the cone includes Central Florida
- Guest lane (you / your booking manager): contact upcoming guests early; follow county evacuation guidance and platform extenuating-circumstances policies for refunds. Guests appreciate decisiveness far more than optimism.
- Home lane (your local team): patio furniture and grill secured inside, pool equipment set per manufacturer guidance, loose items off the lanai, doors and windows locked and checked, fridge set cold in case power blinks, water heater and main-area photos taken on the way out.
- Paper lane (you, from anywhere): screenshot reservations for the affected window and note prep completion time — tidy records make platform and insurance conversations painless.
The 48 hours after
Most storm damage gets worse by waiting: a lifted shingle becomes a ceiling stain, a screen tear becomes a wildlife invitation, standing water finds its way in. The post-storm check — from the ground, safely — covers the roof line and soffits, pool cage and screens, fence, drainage against the foundation, power and AC operation, and every interior ceiling. Photos first, cleanup second: your insurer wants to see what the storm did, not what it looked like after tidying. Every HostCare plan includes this check within 48 hours of the all-clear, with the photo report sent to wherever in the world you are.
The bottom line
A hurricane plan for a remote owner is three named lanes — guests, home, paperwork — each with an owner and a checklist, agreed before June. Set it up once, and a forecast cone becomes a set of texts confirming things are handled instead of a sleepless week. If you’d rather not build the home lane yourself, that’s literally what we’re for.