MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The city of Myrtle Beach began its council meeting Tuesday retracting its social media post that would have extended the amount of time hotels and motels would be prohibited from accepting new reservations.
Myrtle Beach City Manager, John Pedersen announced officials accidentally published an unapproved executive order that extended the date hotels and motels would be banned from accepting new reservations because of the coronavirus. Pedersen says this extension was never approved by city council.
Last month, the city of Myrtle Beach issued an executive order to prevent hotels from accepting new reservations until May 1 to help slow the spread of the virus. Pedersen says he drew up a draft for council’s approval to potentially extend that date to May 15. Myrtle Beach officials say the draft was accidentally posted to the city’s social media pages before it had been reviewed by council.
“I realize that’s all very confusing, and I apologize on behalf of the entire administration for the anxiety that this has caused some of our hoteliers and business people. That was something that we were considering, and I sent a draft to city council for their consideration. It was never meant to be published until I had a clear reading from council, and that’s not something at this point that council has endorsed,” Pedersen said during Tuesday’s meeting.
Pedersen says the hotel ban will remain in effect until May 1; the date has not changed.
The city issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon:
“We apologize for the confusion that was created about whether the emergency order prohibiting new hotel reservations had been extended. It has not been extended at this time. Mayor Brenda Bethune did sign an extension of the city’s emergency declaration for 30 days, and that remains in effect. However, we inadvertently published a draft of an updated emergency order regarding accommodation rentals and amusements. That draft order has not been approved and was published in error. The dates contained in emergency orders 3A, 3B and 3C have not changed,” the city said in an email.
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