Spillover from oil: Perception to reality

There's no oil on the beaches of Lee County, but Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson Jr. says the area is feeling the effects anyway.

Henderson appeared on financial news channel CNBC on June 14 while he was attending a mayors' conference in Oklahoma City. “What we are concerned with now is the loss of revenue through the perception that we have a problem and people are canceling [hotel] reservations,” he told the network.

Despite the fact that Fort Myers is an inland tidal community on the Caloosahatchee River, Henderson says he's worried that uncertainty over the oil spill will also impact real estate sales in the city. That's already happening on barrier islands such as Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach, where some sales are on hold until there is more clarity on the outcome of the spill.

It's a reminder that sometimes geography doesn't matter when it comes to big disasters. For example, hotels and restaurants in Lee County felt the effects of Hurricane Katrina despite the fact that it hit Louisiana.

Henderson's advice: Start documenting the impact and file a claim with BP, even if you're far from the beaches.