Collections $33,802 lower this June, compared to figure for June 2023
Sarasota County’s Tourist Development Tax — or, “bed tax” — collections were down $33,802.15 in June, compared to the amount for the same month in 2023, as shown in the latest reports issued by Sarasota County Tax Collector Barbara Ford-Coates and her staff.
However, through June, the total Tourist Development Tax (TDT) revenue is down only $1,598,273.91, compared to the figure for the same period of the 2023 fiscal year.
Each fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. Thus, three months of collections remain for this fiscal year.
The TDT revenue turned over to the Tax Collector’s Office this June added up to $3,708,469.84. That is down only about 1%, compared to the amount reported for June 2023: $3,742,271.99.
Overall, the tally of TDT funds through June was $40,291,145.79. That is about 3.4% less than the $41,702,340.33 turned over to the Tax Collector’s Office from Oct. 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.
The TDT revenue for the 2023 fiscal year surpassed $50 million, coming in at $50,067,031.97, the reports point out. That was a new record for the county.
The 6% tax is collected on accommodations rented for six months or less time. The funds are used for a wide variety of purposes allowed by state law. In Sarasota County, those include beach maintenance, upkeep of the two Major League Baseball Spring Training stadiums — for the Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves — and promotion of the county to tourists.
Thus far this fiscal year, the TDT revenue has been higher month-over-month only for February, March and May.
During a July presentation to the Sarasota County Commission, Erin Duggan, president and CEO of the county’s tourism office, Visit Sarasota County, explained that Sarasota County recorded high numbers of visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic and its immediate aftermath, because facilities in Florida were open, whereas tourism destinations in many other parts of the United States and across the globe were not. This year, she added, she and her colleagues believe the lower tourism figures are a sign that conditions are normalizing, reflecting pre-pandemic visitor activity.
Among other details in the latest reports from the Tax Collector’s Office, the total revenue that Airbnb hosts had collected through June was $5,773,181.04. That was up approximately 5%, compared to the figure of $5,495,968.35 for the same period of the 2023 fiscal year.
In related information, rentals of accommodations from all online platforms with which the county has agreements — including those handled through TripAdvisor and HomeAway and all of their subsidiaries — accounted for 21.38% of the total bed tax revenue through June. That compares to 20.54% from October 2022 through June 2023.
In regard to the percentages per location in the county, the City of Sarasota and Siesta Key wage a figurative battle for “bragging rights” each year over which collects the larger amount. The city won the past two fiscal years. Through June, Siesta Key is ahead, with 27.2% of the TDT revenue, compared to 24.74% for the city.
At the same time last fiscal year, the city was ahead, with 26.58%, while Siesta Key hosts accounted for 25.06%.
The latest reports also reflect the efforts that the Tax Collector’s Office staff members make to track down owners of accommodations who are not paying the tax due, plus audits and other types of enforcement actions. For almost every month of this fiscal year, the amount of TDT revenue has risen since the previous reports were made available in July.
For example, in May, the new figure for collections is up $191,941.13, compared to the total for May 2023. The previous report put the month-over-month increase at $131,056.57. That means the latest bed tax total for May is higher by close to 2%.
For another example, the month-over-month deficit cited for April was $659,022.46. In the new reports, that deficit has dropped to $640,282.21.
In yet another case, the month-over-month increase noted for February in the previous reports was $49,283.46. In the latest reports, that has climbed to $57,846.81.
Along with the monthly data released by the Tax Collector’s Office, Visit Sarasota County receives a report from a firm it uses in Tampa, Downs & St. Germain Research, which provides other details.
On her LinkedIn account, Duggan, the president and CEO of Visit Sarasota County, offered the following data from that firm for June:
• The number of visitors this June was 133,700, which was down about 0.7%, compared to the June 2023 tally of 134,580.
• Visitors’ direct expenditures this June were $145,529,700, approximately 3% less than the total of $149,947,500 in June 2023.
• Lodging occupancy was 65.2%, compared to 69.7% in June 2023.
• The average room rate was $252.71, which marked a decrease of only about 0.3%, compared to the June 2023 rate of $253.47.
• The number of room nights sold this June was 265,000, a count lower by approximately 6.2%, compared to the June 2023 total of 282,400.
Duggan also noted the following, based on the latest Downs & St. Germain report:
• Through June, the number of visitors to the county was down slightly year-over-year (-0.7%), and the total remains lower for the fiscal year (-9.3%).
• Shorter lengths of stay and larger travel party size resulted in the decrease in visitors being less than the decrease in room nights.
• From October 2022 through June, the number of visitors from Canada remained elevated when compared to the figure for 2023 (+4.8%).
• More than 1 in 4 June visitors (27%) were in Sarasota for the first time.