Tuesday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 1/3/2017

Airbnb grows Florida's tourism industry

Home-sharing is a growing trend as an alternative to hotels and condos when traveling on vacation and is bringing in big money to Florida. According to Airbnb, the company claims to bring 1.5 million people and $273 million of revenue into Florida. More from WJHG.

Office Depot sells European business

Boca Raton-based Office Depot has completed it sale of its European office supply business to The Aurelius Group. Office Depot has said it is divesting international holdings to focus on its North American business. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Sarasota-Bradenton area hotels gear up for championship guests

Hotels in Sarasota and Manatee counties are seeing spill-over from the tens of thousands of fans who will descend on the Tampa area to witness the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship. More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

What's new at Florida cruise ports in 2017

2016 was a good year for Florida cruise ports as far as shiny new ships are concerned and 2017 promises to bring more of the same. The biggest of those is MSC Seaside, a new class of ship designed to sail year-round from Miami. More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Clearing red tide may boost Gulf coast's stone crab season

State officials say a red tide is clearing off southwest Florida's coast, which may be good news for stone crab fishermen. The stone crab season began in mid-October and runs through May 15. Hurricane Matthew delayed the setting of thousands of crab traps along the Gulf coast. More from the AP and the Naples Daily News.

Out of the Box
Fake Reader at Florida Libraries

Chuck Finley appears to be a voracious reader, having checked out 2,361 books at the East Lake County Library in a nine-month period this year. But Finley didn't read a single one of the books, ranging from "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck to a kids book called "Why Do My Ears Pop?" by Ann Fullick. That's because Finley isn't real.

» More from the Orlando Sentinel.

Business Profile
Breezy Boards

When did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? Can you point to the moment that planted that seed? Brianna Enders, 24, can. Her journey to Breezy Boards, a custom-made skateboard company, started at age 10.