GULF SHORES, AL — Vacation rental companies are on the front lines when it comes to the tourist economy that drives Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.

Any ban or restrictions placed on visitors on any aspect of their experience here would first show up in booking numbers, would first have an impact on this front-line business.

So, banning alcohol from the beaches in front of the gleaming condos and sprawling beachfront houses for about six weeks during spring break would first be felt there.

Gulf Shores’ City Council is planning on doing just that. From March 4 through April 16 in 2017 no alcohol will be allowed on any of the eight miles of white sand in the city.

“It’s the last thing we want to do,” Councilman Steve Jones said, “but it’s the right decision.”

It’s a follow up to a ban quickly implemented on March 18 when unruly groups of spring breakers congregated by the thousands on multiple days near the San Carlos Condominiums and Best Western on the Beach on the city’s east side.

“We had literally had thousands of kids on our beach binge drinking, using narcotics, using profanity and trashing our beach,” Police Chief Ed Delmore said. “We actually felt like it had become a dangerous situation so we had, on at least two different dates, went to the beach and declared an unlawful assembly and began removing spring breakers from the beach.”

When Bill Brett of Brett-Robinson first got wind of the ban, he wasn’t so sure.

“I thought, ‘oh no, is this a good idea,’” Brett said after a Nov. 21 council meeting.

It didn’t take long to change his mind.

“It was like a miracle,” he said of the ban’s immediate impact the morning of March 19.

Delmore echoed his sentiments.

“The day after that ban was enacted there was a night-and-day difference,” the police chief said.

Brett’s company manages 400 rental properties in Gulf Shores alone. And he was just one of a handful of rental property representatives speaking before the council in support of the ban.

Others who came forward were David Bodenhamer of Young’s Suncoast Vacation Rentals, John Bolden of Gulf Shores Rentals, Michelle Nelson of Meyer Vacation Rentals and Bobby Thompson of Best Western on the Beach.

“I’m in 100 percent support and appreciation of the action the council took last year in the middle of the melee on the beach,” Brett said.

The spring season, Brett said, was expected to be a slow one in 2016 because of the Easter holiday falling during the month of March. He says bookings for spring break 2017 at Brett-Robinson are 4 percent higher than at the same time last year.

Reggie Pulliam of Coastal Alabama Insurance in Orange Beach came to speak on behalf of business owners concerned about the economic impact the ban could have. He cited huge losses suffered by Panama City in bed taxes and other tax revenues after its council implemented an alcohol ban to curb unruly spring breakers.

But Thompson of Best Western on the Beach said the aim of Gulf Shores differs greatly from the approach taken by Panama City in the years leading up to its alcohol ban.

“Panama City has promoted itself as the spring break capital of world for years,” Thompson said. “We have promoted this area as a family-destination resort area. That’s who we are. That’s not what our saw this past spring, that’s not our identity.”

Nelson of Meyer Vacation Rentals says economically for her company spring break brings more costs.

“Spring break costs us significantly more money in operations than any other time of the year,” she said. “Our management team works 24 hours a day. It’s such a drain for us to maintain our properties.”

Mayor Robert Craft said the economic impact wasn’t a factor in his decision to back a continuation of the ban.

“I personally don’t look at this as an economic consideration,” Craft said. “I consider the safety of the young folks we had on the beach and our inability from our lifeguard force, our paramedics force and our police to ensure the safety and security with that large mass of people.”

Councilman Philip Harris expressed a different kind of economic concern.

“What’s the economic impact if we do nothing is what the question should be,” Harris said. “I think our message needs to be strong, I think it needs to be solid and I think we’ll send a message to the group that cannot behave on our beaches, does not respect our community that they are not welcome with that behavior here.

“It also sent a message to those that come to Gulf Shores to enjoy the family atmosphere they’ve enjoyed for so long. We let them know that we are committed to protecting their beaches and their environment for that reason.”