Another penny under the pillow?
The Manatee County Tourist Development Council unanimously agreed in a voice vote April 15 to recommend the county commission add a sixth cent to the resort tax.
The commission was expected to consider the recommendation during a 9 a.m. meeting Tuesday, April 23, after The Islander went to press.
The resort tax — also known as the bed tax or tourist development tax — is collected on overnight accommodations of six months or less, including vacation rentals and hotel rooms.
Manatee County first enacted the tax in 1980 and has previously raised the collection figure, with the most recent bump in 2009.
Based on the county’s 2023 tourist tax revenues, Manatee meets criteria to be a high tourism-impact county eligible for an additional 1% tourist tax.
Florida counties can collect a sixth cent of tourist tax — the maximum allowed — once they pass the threshold of $30 million a year in collected bed taxes. Hillsborough, Pinellas and Sarasota counties levy 6%.
Manatee collected $30,090,618 in tourist tax revenues in the calendar year 2023. Also, according to the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the county generated $625,890,749 in rental revenues.
A penny increase in the tax would generate another $6 million a year.
State law requires tourist tax revenues to be used for tourism-related programs and projects.
Elliott Falcione, executive director of the BACVB, pitched the penny increase to the TDC, highlighting capital improvements and projects funded with tourist tax dollars that benefit visitors but also residents, including beach renourishment, ferry service, pier reconstruction, airport expansion, preserve and park enhancements, cultural and heritage centers.
“We do not plan to ask for marketing dollars” from the sixth penny, Falcione said.
The vote to recommend the tax bump was unanimous.
TDC chair Ray Turner called the increase “insignificant for visitors.”
“It’ll be a good move. It’ll be seamless,” said Turner, county commissioner for District 5.
If the commission approves a tax increase, the collection could begin Aug. 1.
In addition to the bed tax, there is a 7% sales tax collected on short-term accommodations.
Measuring Manatee tourism
The estimated number of visitors to Manatee County in February outpaced the number in 2023 — 93,300 in February 2024 and 88,900 in February 2023, according to Anne Wittine, director of quantitative research for Research Data Services.
The economic impact of tourism also was higher — $227,622,800 in February 2024 compared with $214,439,600 in February 2023, said Wittine, who presented a report April 15 to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council.
However, room nights for February 2024 were down 1.6% from February 2023.
How can the impact dollars be higher and room nights be lower?
One explanation is accommodations cost more — the average room rate in February 2024 was $275.52 compared with $265.02 in February 2023.
— Lisa Neff