Today’s thought leadership post comes from Erin Duggan, President / CEO at Visit Sarasota County. She contributed this explanation of the tourist development tax in the Herald-Tribune, a local newspaper, providing readers with a breakdown of how the bed tax works — and why “what is beneficial to visitors is beneficial to residents.”

This tax is exclusively paid for by visitors. Not a single penny is charged to residents of Sarasota County. And yet, a substantial portion of these funds go toward improving the quality of life for locals through beach maintenance (23%), beach renourishment (10%), sports venues (14-18%), capital improvements (12%), aquatic nature center (8%) – also known as Nathan Benderson Park – and arts and culture (8%), among others.

“While this time of the year makes some folks think about spring break, it can also make folks think about tax season – and our team at Visit Sarasota County is paying close attention to one subset of collections: the Tourist Development Tax (TDT).

Sometimes referred to as bed or resort tax, TDT is a 6% charge on short-term accommodation stays of less than six months. It may then come as no surprise that you’ll hear the term “heads in beds” often in our industry. Traditionally, emphasis for tourism marketing efforts is placed on attracting visitors who will check into our hotels, resorts, boutique properties, or vacation rentals – so they contribute to our county’s TDT collection. And yes, even Airbnb and Vrbo stays count.

This tax is exclusively paid for by visitors. Not a single penny is charged to residents of Sarasota County. And yet, a substantial portion of these funds go toward improving the quality of life for locals through beach maintenance (23%), beach renourishment (10%), sports venues (14-18%), capital improvements (12%), aquatic nature center (8%) – also known as Nathan Benderson Park – and arts and culture (8%), among others.

With these sizeable investments in shared community assets, it’s clear what is beneficial to visitors is beneficial to residents. And it’s been an interesting journey of advocacy and community trust that’s led us here.

Back in the 1970s, Florida’s hotel industry asked state lawmakers to add a small tax to hotel stays to help promote local destinations. Their efforts led to the creation of the Local Option Tourist Development Tax in 1977.

But it wasn’t until 1988 that Sarasota County residents voted to start collecting a 2% tax to support tourism locally. The Sarasota County Tax Collector assumed the responsibility of collections in 1992, a duty the office still holds today. Once collected, the Sarasota County Tourist Development Council, which is appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, oversees the use of TDT revenue.

Over the years, with the backing of government leaders and, most importantly, our community, that tax has grown to 6%, helping to boost our region’s appeal to visitors.

You may be wondering where Visit Sarasota County fits within this equation. Just under a quarter of the TDT is designated for the promotion and marketing of Sarasota County, around 17-21% of collections with an additional 4% dedicated to sports tourism. As a responsible steward of these dollars, we ensure these funds are used effectively to keep visitors coming year-round and help drive economic impact for Sarasota County.

Research tells us that our promotions drive about a third of visitation to our community, and from October 2023 to September 2024, Sarasota County welcomed nearly 3 million visitors. For every dollar we spent on marketing, visitors spent $171 – a return on investment of 17,000%. And critically, because of TDT, each Sarasota County household saved $746 in taxes last year.

We believe strongly that transparency is the foundation of trust, and these numbers should be at your fingertips. In this spirit, we have a page on our website, VisitSarasotaCountyTransparency.com, to illustrate exactly how we’re allocating resources and making decisions to strengthen our relationships with stakeholders and the community. There, you’ll find information on our organizational structure, core values, financial accountability, audits, and reports that dive deeper into our research and reporting. We encourage you to check it out and reach out if you have any questions.

When you build a place people want to visit, you build a place in which people want to live, work, and invest. TDT collections help fuel this virtuous cycle. And sustaining its momentum is a core function of our work at Visit Sarasota County, one we take great pride in as we continue to put our coastal charm on the map – and, in turn, maximize the benefits for not only our visitors but also our local businesses and this community we all call home.

Erin Duggan is the president and CEO of Visit Sarasota County. She can be reached at 941-955-0991, ext. 108, or eduggan@visitsarasota.org.