![The Florida Keys has a workforce housing crisis, exacerbated by Hurricane Irma. “The need is so critical [in the Florida Keys]. You could probably build 10 projects, and they would lease up on [certificate of occupancy] day,” says Marty Flynn, operations adviser and strategist, Tri-Star Affordable Development.](https://housingfinance.stg.zonda.onl/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/thierrydehove-marathon-39.jpg?w=1024)
Millions of Americans flock to the nation’s sandy beaches and ski slopes for vacations each year. It’s not always a holiday, however, for the tourism sector, first responders, and other local workers in these destination towns.
The need for affordable workforce housing has reached crisis proportions in some of the country’s most-popular tropical and mountain getaway spots. Scarce and high-cost land, growth restrictions, and loss of housing to vacation-rental booking platforms are just a few of the barriers to creating housing for workers. And low wages combined with high housing costs leave renters without many options.
On the following pages, we look at developers in four popular travel destinations—the Florida Keys, Hawaii, Colorado’s ski resort towns, and Jackson Hole, Wyo.—to see how they’re delivering housing in these challenging markets.