By Laura Finaldi, published 18 August 2020
Sarasota Herald-Tribune – USA TODAY NETWORK
Tourism in Sarasota County plummeted in April, May and June, the same time period when Florida as a whole saw a 60.5% drop in visitation.
In the three months ending June 30, visitation in Sarasota fell by 67.9%, with the number of visitors falling to 111,800 compared to 348,000 in the same three months the year before.
Tourism was virtually nonexistent in April, when visitor numbers fell by 94.6%, from 132,700 in April 2019 to just 7,200 people in April 2020. In May, the area welcomed 35,200 tourists down by 69.7%, from 116,000, and June visitation dropped by 30.1%, from 99,300 to 69,400 people.
“April was the worst month in our history, and we had our worst quarter ever,” Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County, said. “You started to see a little bit of pent-up demand in June, but it was still way down. When (COVID-19) cases started spiking again, things backed off a little.”
Coinciding with a drop in visitors, the county also saw major declines in hotel occupancy, which was 51% in June, compared to 63.8% in June 2019. May’s occupancy was 21.7% and April’s was just 9.2%, compared to 75.2% in April the year before.
The average daily room rate fell by more than half from $201.92 to $94.92 in April and from $165.74 to $149.57 in May, but it essentially leveled off again in June, when it fell by just 0.6% from $157.19 to $156.18. Haley said this is an encouraging sign.
“The rates are about equal to where they were last year, which is important in terms of eventual recovery,” she said. “If you start to bring business back on the basis of deep discounting, you are training customers to expect that discount, and they are reluctant to give that up.”
In its last fiscal year, Sarasota County collected about $23.4 million in tourist development tax funds. This tax, also known as the bed tax, is a 5% levy on short-term vacation rentals countywide, and the money generated from it is used to fund things like beach maintenance and renourishment, Visit Sarasota County, the nonprofit that runs Nathan Benderson Park, the arts and professional sports stadiums.
Haley said the county estimates it will collect a total of about $19 million in tourist tax funds for its current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. In anticipation of fewer funds to go around, Visit Sarasota cut back on its travel spending this year, for both safety and financial reasons.
Bed tax collections were down by 87.6% in April, 53% in May and 11.7% in June, when collections were about $1.6 million compared to $1.8 million in June 2019, according to the Sarasota County Tax Collector.
“If you look at us compared to other destinations, I can’t believe I’m celebrating (the tax), down only 11% in June, but there are a lot of places where the bed tax is down 70% to 80%. Those are largely convention center focused cities,” Haley said. “The fact that we’re an outdoor beach destination is the key to our success.”
According to research Visit Sarasota conducted in partnership with The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel, about 40% of consumers just aren’t going to travel. But there is another 40% that is looking for a quick getaway, or at least to get out of the house, Haley said.
“What money we are spending is highly targeted on those people who are willing to travel. There’s no point in spending money on people who aren’t,” she said.
According to the News Service of Florida, the state had 32.4 million visitors in the second quarter of 2019, compared to this year, when it welcomed 12.801 million people. Almost all of those travelers came from other states.
Just 235,000 visitors came from overseas and 9,000 came from Canada, though Visit Florida said that those numbers might be higher because the pandemic has impacted the way numbers are estimated, according to the news service. About $13 million has been set aside for a marketing rebound that will initially target Floridians and people from nearby states.
In Manatee County, the total number of visitors fell by 34.7% from 53,000 to 34,600 in May. In June, 70,600 people visited the Bradenton area, compared to 77,400 in the same month the year before. Hotel occupancy was 62.6% in June, down 16.2% from June 2019, by 43.1% in May to 38.8% and by 83.4% in April to just 12.5% occupied.
Visitation fell from 63,900 tourists in April 2019 to just 11,300 this April in Manatee, a 82.3% drop.
The area that seems to be suffering the most is the mainland, the data show. Hotel occupancy, revenue per available room and room rates were down significantly more on there than they were on either Anna Maria Island or Longboat Key.
Demand is stronger for beach getaways than it is for mainland properties, since conventions aren’t really taking place, said Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The bureau, in partnership with some mainland hotels, is currently running a special geared towards young families who might want to go to the beach but are perhaps inclined to stay at a downtown property.
Overall room rates in June were down 9.5% in Manatee County from $174.40 in June 2019 to $157.91 this June. Rates in May fell by 23.2% from $172.50 last year to $132.56 this year and they were down 26.4% in April to $147.96 from $201.10.
Bed tax collections fell by 68.8% in April, 49% in May and 12.7% in June in Manatee. Falcione said he expects business to retract a bit from now until possibly even November.
The visitors bureau continues to focus its advertising on the drive market — residents of Charlotte, North Carolina, or closer, with the exception of Miami and Fort Lauderdale — and its advertising is displayed on websites like Tripadvisor, Falcione said. The area is hoping to catch spontaneous travelers looking for a quick getaway.
The WNBA is currently holding its season at IMG Academy in Bradenton. Falcione said that could generate between 14,000 and 18,000 room nights.
“It’s for TV only — they’re in a bubble — but we’re really happy we’re able to get that type of business,” Falcione said.
