OCEAN PINES – As the seasonal housing shortage continues, a local restaurant management company is asking Ocean Pines homeowners to consider hosting J-1 students this summer.
Matt Ortt Companies – Ocean Pines Association’s food and beverage operator – began this week seeking local host families for this year’s J-1 student workers.
The company is expected to have between 80 and 100 students assigned to its six restaurants this summer, according to co-founder Ralph DeAngelus. A seasonal housing shortage, however, has Matt Ortt’s team calling on community members for assistance.
“Any time we’ve had societal issues, like COVID for example, Ocean Pines residents have stepped up,” DeAngelus said. “They are a super generous community … and it just popped in my head that they might be interested.”
Each summer, roughly 4,000 international students on J-1 work and travel visas arrive in Ocean City and surrounding areas to fill some of the resort’s 12,000 seasonal jobs. In 2020, however, the program was essentially shut down because of travel restrictions and federal directives related to the pandemic, resulting in a labor shortage that had businesses scaling back operations. More international students were in Ocean City last summer, but far less than typical.
lol, house a super spreaded J1 student into your home.
No thank you
I understand the challenge, but it is his and the city’s issue to address, not passing the problem on to the community
I know they are wonderful people, but I do not need them dragging covid into my house.
You have had this issue for decades, don’t you think its time to fix it properly
WHY should RESIDENTS supplement housing for this foreign (for profit) workforce? Why not have a tax incentive if you can provide housing a benefit by housing a member of your family? Give residents a benefit for supporting American seasonal workers.
Why don’t the employers just house their employees in their own house if they need and care for them so much
that’s rich! or not! lmmfao! so you want people to subsidize their rent cause you dont want to pay them and pocket the money! cant make this crap up!
international students? rofl! more like kids being taken advantage of by greedy business owners!.
All the pretty RUSSIAN GIRLS can stay at my house for FREE !!!! Romainian Too !!!!
Um Um !!!!!