Tax Collector’s Office reports show third straight increase this fiscal year, compared to data for same months of 2024
In December 2025 — for the third month in a row this fiscal year — the Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax — or, “bed tax” — revenue exceeded the total reported for the same month in the 2025 fiscal year.
The new data released by Sarasota County Tax Collector Mike Moran and his staff show that the December 2025 revenue totaled $3,671,318.16, which was higher by $174,072.46 — nearly 5% — compared to the figure of $3,497,245.70 for December 2024.
Altogether, the funds turned over to the Tax Collector’s Office since the Oct. 1, 2025 start of this fiscal year have added up to $9,404,277.44. That number is up approximately 21%, compared to the report of $7,744,994.85, based on collections by hosts of accommodations from October 2024 through December 2024.
The revenue comes from a 6% county tax on accommodations rented for six months or less time. The funds are spent in accord with provisions of a county ordinance. They go toward beach maintenance, upkeep of the two Major League Baseball Spring Training stadiums in the county, and marketing of the area to tourists, among other uses.
Further, the latest data show that Airbnb hosts have accounted for $1,768,104.87 for the same period. That amount is about 56% higher than the $1,132,088.80 that Airbnb collected from October through December 2024.
Altogether, the new reports note that rentals through online platforms — including TripAdvisor and HomeAway and all of their subsidiaries — have represented 25.26% of the bed tax revenue for the first three months of this fiscal year. For the same part of the 2025 fiscal year, the figure was 20.34%.
Siesta Key and the City of Sarasota vie each year to see which will come out on top in terms of producing the largest percentage of the bed tax funds. The city “won” in the 2025 fiscal year, has it had in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years, as noted in the annual reports produced by the Tax Collector’s Office. Siesta prevailed in the 2024 fiscal year.
Through December 2025, the city had accounted for 25.54% of the bed tax money, while Siesta’s contributions made up 18.68% of the revenue.
Through the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, the city was well ahead of Siesta, with 31.9% of the total revenue collected. Siesta’s figure was 11.44%. However, staff of the Tax Collector’s Office and Visit Sarasota County — the county’s tourism marketing organization — had reported to the county’s advisory Tourist Development Council that Hurricanes Helene and Milton had wrought significant damage on Siesta in the fall of 2024, leaving many accommodations unable to host visitors for months.
Among other details in the latest data, the total revenue for both October and November 2025 has climbed since the Tax Collector’s Office issued its previous reports.
The October 2025 report put the month-over-month increase at $936,859.49. The new data show that has been revised to $953,218.41.
For November 2025, the initial uptick was put at $309,693.86. The new number is $350,218.41.
Staff of the Tax Collector’s Office has pointed out that audits and other enforcement actions can lead to changes in figures from one month to the next.
A team in that office strives to find renters of accommodations who have not been turning over the bed tax proceeds, as retired Chief Deputy Tax Collector Sherri Smith routinely told the members of the Tourist Development Council during her annual reports to them. Any time such accommodations are located, she explained, the owners have to pay the Tax Collector’s Office the funds due from the time the rentals began.
Along with the monthly reports from the Tax Collector’s Office, Visit Sarasota County issues data collected on its behalf by the Tallahassee firm Downs & St. Germain Research.
This week, the Visit Sarasota County staff issued data for both November and December 2025.
The November figures follow:
- The number of visitors was 82,900, down approximately 13%, compared to the 94,800 tally in 2024.
- Visitors’ direct expenditures added up to $106,796,000, which marked a decrease of close to 17%, compared to the $128,311,800 total in 2024.
- Lodging occupancy was 51.7%, compared to 64.8% in 2024.
- The average room rate was $282.40, which was about 17% higher than the November 2024 average of $240.40.
- A total of 201,000 room nights were sold, which was a drop of almost 20%, compared to the 251,800 figure for November 2024.
These are the December data:
- Visitors numbered 77,800, down close to 12%, compared to the 88,000 tally in December 2024.
- Visitors’ direct expenditures were $127,080,800, which marked a decline of approximately 2.4%, compared to the $130,176,500 total in 2024.
- The lodging occupancy was 52.7%, compared to 61.3% in 2024.
- The average room rate was $312.88, marking a rise of nearly 18%, compared to the average of $265.71 in December 2024.
- A total of 219,000 room nights were sold, which represented a drop of about 12%, compared to the tally of 247,900 in 2024.