So far this fiscal year, county has taken in about 14.4% more of the funds than in 2025 fiscal year
Once again, the Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax — or, “bed tax” — revenue has set another monthly record, as shown in the latest reports released by Sarasota County Tax Collector Mike Moran and his staff.
In June, the collections totaled $4,377,279.36, the reports note. That is the first time that the June figure has exceeded the $4-million level, based on a Sarasota News Leaderreview of data from past years. The tally is up $590,523.50, or about 15.6%, compared to the June 2025 total of $3,786,755.86, the reports say.
In fact, the initial reports for June 2025 showed the collections down by $24,032.01, compared to the total for June 2024.
Moreover, with just three months of collections left this fiscal year, the Tax Collector’s Office has taken in $44,647,548.76. As of the end of June 2025, the Tourist Development Tax (TDT) total was $39,036,063.55, the reports showed at that time. Thus, the figure for this June is higher by almost 14.4%.
The fiscal year will end on Sept. 30.
The 6% tax is collected on rentals of accommodations for 30 days or less time. The use of the funds is specified in a county ordinance. Among the designated expenditures are those for beach maintenance and renourishment, upkeep of the county’s two Major League Baseball Spring Training stadiums and the marketing of the county to tourists.
Yet another detail in the new reports is that the revenue that Airbnb hosts have collected through June added up to $7,755,442.99. That marks a hike of nearly 42%, compared to the tally through June 2025, which was $5,468,007.31.
Altogether, the new reports show, rentals of accommodations through June via online platforms — including TripAdvisor and HomeAway and all of their subsidiaries — has made up 23.36% of the total revenue. Through June 2025, that figure was 21.06%.
Every year, the City of Sarasota and Siesta Key vie to win the proverbial title for taking in the most Tourist Development Tax revenue. Through June, Siesta was ahead, with 24.32%; the city’s portion was 22.45%.
Through June 2025, the city accounted for 24.35% of the funds, with Siesta at 22.35%. However, Siesta began the 2025 fiscal year with many rental units damaged by the 2024 hurricane season, as leaders of Visit Sarasota County — the county’s tourism marketing organization — and staff of the Tax Collector’s Office pointed out. It was not until late spring that Siesta began catching up with the city, which did end up prevailing in the figurative battle for that fiscal year’s title.
The new reports also show that the revenue figures for April and May have jumped a bit, compared to the previous totals.
For May, the difference between the tally for that month in 2025 and that month this year has climbed from $483,010.30 to $592,660.82.
For April, the new reports show a month-over-month jump of $630,210.08; the prior data put the difference at $590,119.47.
Representatives of the Tax Collector’s Office have explained over the years that audits and other enforcement actions can lead to changes in the figures from one month to the next. Members of the staff search diligently to find hosts who have not been turning over the tax revenue to the office, those representatives have pointed out. Any host who had not been paying the tax has to pay all of the overdue revenue to the county.
Along with the regular reports from the Tax Collector’s Office, Visit Sarasota County provides data collected on its behalf by a Tallahassee firm, Downs & St. Germain Research.
Those figures are as follows:
- The number of visitors this June was 145,900, up 11.7%, compared to the count of 130,600 in June 2025.
- Visitors’ direct expenditures this June were $147,875,400, marking a 6.7% increase, compared to the $138,630,500 tally in June 2025.
- The lodging occupancy this June was 61.6%, down slightly from the 62% figure in June 2025. However, for hotels alone, the occupancy rate this June was 70.5%, compared to 68.3% in June 2025.
- The number of room nights sold this June was 252,900, up 3.6%, compared to the 244,100 total in June 2025.
- The average lodging room rate this June was $304.78, which was higher by 6.3% than the $286.81 average in June 2025.
The Downs & St. Germain report further noted that, through June of this fiscal year, the locations responsible for the largest numbers of visitors to Sarasota County were New York City, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia. The top regions of origin for tourists this fiscal year through June, the firm added, were the Midwest, with 31.5%, and the Northeast, with 28.7%.
Downs & St. German also reported that the number of international visitors has continued to be lower so far this fiscal year, though — through June — all domestic regions had demonstrated year-over-year increases, with the West having the highest uptick: 18.2%.