Total collected through first quarter of this fiscal year down about 13.6%, compared to first quarter of FY 2024

For the third consecutive month of this fiscal year, the Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax — or, “bed tax” — revenue was down, compared to the total for the same month in the prior fiscal year, as shown in the new reports released by Sarasota County Tax Collector Mike Moran and his staff.
The December 2024 tally was $3,373,885.58, which is about 6.2% lower than the December 2023 total of $3,596,238.
However, this latest month-over-month drop is the lowest since the fiscal year began on Oct. 1, 2024. For October, the month-over-month decline, compared to the October 2023 revenue tally, was $830,518.64, the latest reports show. The month-over-month drop for November was $289,745.67, the reports note.
The year-over-year decline for the three months through December 2024 is $1,342,616.73, the reports show. The total revenue was $7,744,994.85, the reports say. For the same three months of the 2024 fiscal year, the amount collected was $8,963,343.30, the initial report for that period pointed out. That marked a quarter-over-quarter fall of $1,749,524.51 at that time.
Thus, given the latest figures, the first quarter total for the 2025 fiscal year is down approximately 13.6%, compared to the tally provided in the initial first quarter report for FY 2024.
Erin Duggan, president and CEO of the county’s tourism marketing office, Visit Sarasota County, has told the county’s Tourist Development Council (TDC) that the lower Tourist Development Tax (TDT) figures last year and into this year represent a “normalization” of tourism in the community. Sarasota County benefited significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic and its immediate aftermath by having so many large parks — and popular beaches. People were seeking outdoor recreational opportunities, since medical research suggested that being outdoors made infection from the virus less likely than when people were in indoor settings.

During the Jan. 9 Tourist Development Council session, Duggan did note the continued high amounts of the bed tax revenue, even with the recent decline. She had looked back through years of Tax Collector’s Office documents, she said, and found that, about a decade ago, the annual totals were in the $15-million range. Last year, the figure was $48,375,330.57; for 2023, it was $50,479,186.36.
A Sarasota News Leader review of the total for the 2012 fiscal year found it to have been $13,979,307.78; for FY 2013, it was $14,866,617.43.
The 6% tax is charged on rentals of accommodations for six months or less time. The revenue is used for a variety of purposes set forth in a county ordinance. They include beach maintenance and upkeep of the two Major League Baseball Spring Training stadiums.
Among other details in the new reports, the total revenue from Airbnb hosts this fiscal year added up to $1,132,088.80 through December. That is down about 25%, compared to the $1,514,384.81 collected through December 2023.
Altogether, the reports show, rentals of accommodations through online platforms — including those associated with HomeAway.com and TripAdvisor and all of their subsidiaries — represented 20.34% of the total funds for the first quarter of this fiscal year. For the same period of the 2024 fiscal year, the figure was 23.45%

Further, over the years, Siesta Key and the City of Sarasota have vied to take the title, so to speak, as the location where the largest amount of TDT collections originated. Last year, Siesta Key won. Through December, the city is ahead, with 31.9% of the revenue, compared to Siesta’s 11.44%.
County Commissioner Mark Smith, who lives on Siesta Key, told his board colleagues during their regular meeting on Jan. 28 that business in general is down about 40% to 50% on the Key, because of the ongoing recovery from the 2024 hurricanes, which devastated businesses and homes with storm surge flooding and wind damage.
For the first quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, the City of Sarasota accounted for 28.05% of the TDT revenue, compared to 22.08% for Siesta.
Yet other details of the latest reports are the facts that the month-over-month drops for October and November 2024 have been reduced. The previous data said the October total was lower by $839,153.77 than the October 2023 total. The new reports put the October 2024 decline at $830,518.64.
As for November: The previous reports showed the bed tax tally for November 2024 was down by $346,375.60, compared to the November 2023 figure. The new data show the drop was $289,745.67.
Staff members of the Tax Collector’s Office long have pointed out that audits and other enforcement actions can result in changes in the tallies from one set of reports to the next.
Complementing the TDT reports, Visit Sarasota County releases data each month from a Tallahassee firm, Downs & St. Germain Research, which it uses to collect further information.
The December 2024 Downs & St. Germain report shows that the number of visitors to the county was up 1.5%, compared to the December 2023 figure. The December 2024 total was 88,000; the December 2023 count was 86,640.
Other information in that report follows:
- Visitor spending rose 1.9% month-over-month — from $127,698,800 in December 2023 to $130,176,500 in December 2024.
- The number of room nights sold climbed 0.85% — from 245,800 in December 2023 to 247,900 in December 2024.
- The room occupancy rate was up 4.4% — from 58.6% in December 2023 to 61.3% in December 2024.
- The average daily room rate climbed 3% — from $257.75 in December 2023 to $265.71 in December 2024.