2024 hurricanes affected October 2024 figure, Visit Sarasota County points out
In October — the first month of this fiscal year — Sarasota County experienced a jump of nearly $900,000 in Tourist Development Tax — or, “bed tax” — collections, compared to the total generated in October 2024, as shown in the latest reports released by Sarasota County Tax Collector Mike Moran and his staff.
The Tourist Development Tax (TDT) generated in October of this year added up to $2,614,207.30, which is up close to 52%, compared to the figure for October 2024, which was $1,723,927.18.
In October 2023, the Tax Collector’s Office data showed, the bed tax total was $2,536,095.65. Thus, the total for this October was up slightly over 3%, compared to that number.
In its report on October, Visit Sarasota County, the county’s tourism marking organization, pointed out, “October [2024] metrics were shaped by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, likely shifting the visitor mix (e.g., recovery workers, displaced residents, property-check trips) and affecting year-over-year comparisons.” The number of visitors recorded this October, the report added, was 93,600, which marked an 8.1% increase, compared to the October 2024 tally of 86,600.
The 6% tax is collected on rentals of accommodations for six months or less time. The funds are used for a variety of purposes, as directed by a county ordinance. Beach maintenance and the upkeep of the two Major League Baseball Spring Training stadiums in Sarasota County are among them.
Another detail in the new reports from the Tax Collector’s Office is that the TDT revenue generated by Airbnb hosts this October was $524,870.89.
The Tax Collector’s Office reports for October 2024 did not include the Airbnb total, When The Sarasota News Leader inquired about that omission, then-Chief Deputy Tax Collector Sherri Smith responded in an email, “I made the decision to remove Airbnb from that report” since its total could not be verified by the deadline for the data to be released.
That was a factor of the mail disruptions created by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, she indicated.
Smith retired earlier this year.
All of the bed tax revenue generated by hosts of accommodations rented through TripAdvisor and HomeAway — including all of their subsidiaries — plus Airbnb accounted for 28.19% of the total funds the Tax Collector’s Office received for October, a separate chart shows.
The second highest amount of the revenue — 26.23% — came from accommodations in the city of Sarasota, the latest data note. Siesta Key accounted for only 16.13% of the funds.
In October 2024, the city generated 51.73% of the revenue, while Siesta was credited with only 3.7%. Online platforms provided 4.58% of the money that month, the reports showed.
Siesta accommodations were damaged extensively by both Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the fall of 2024, former Chief Deputy Tax Collector Smith told members of the Sarasota County Tourist Development Council early this year. Even as late as May, some of them were not yet open for business because of delays in the county permitting process, Siesta resident Lourdes Ramirez, president of a nonprofit organization Protect Siesta Key, told the County Commission in the spring.
Over the years, the city and Siesta Key have vied annually for the “boasting rights” in regard to which location generated the largest amount of the TDT revenue. While Siesta won in the 2024 fiscal year, the city prevailed the two previous years and for the 2025 fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30, based on the Tax Collector’s Office data.
Usually, the annual TDT report is released by the Tax Collector’s Office in February.
Other October data released by Visit Sarasota County follow:
- Visitor direct expenditures were $93,760,000, up 14.7%, compared to the $81,713,200 recorded in 2024.
- Lodging occupancy was 46.6%, compared to 49.2% in October 2024.
- The average room rate was $245.15, which marked a jump of 34.2%, compared to $182.65 in October 2024.
- 191,200 room nights were sold, which was down 3%, compared to the 197,100 tally in October 2024. Visit Sarasota County noted that hotel occupancy was down 20.9%; however, the occupancy rate for vacation rentals jumped 90.4%.
In its report, Visit Sarasota County also pointed out that New York City remained the top market for visitor origin, “followed by Orlando–Daytona Beach–Melbourne, Tampa–St. Petersburg, and Miami–Fort Lauderdale.”
Further, Visit Sarasota County President & CEO Erin Duggan noted, “We are seeing and hearing optimism from our industry for the season ahead.”