Siesta Key Leads Sarasota County in Bed Tax Without New Hotels. What Does That Mean for Rental Condo Buyers?

Most of Siesta Key's high-rise hotel proposals have stalled, yet the island now collects more tourist tax than the City of Sarasota. Through June of fiscal year 2026, Siesta Key accounted for 24.32% of Sarasota County's bed-tax revenue and the City of Sarasota for 22.45%, according to The Sarasota Record. The island got there with condos, cottages and vacation rentals already on the ground, not with new hotel towers.

For a second-home buyer looking at a rental-ready condo, the more useful number is how that revenue was earned. Countywide, the summer of 2026 was a story about higher nightly rates and fewer booked nights. On an island where lodging supply is barely growing, that changes what a unit's rental history can tell you.

Four proposals, one building permit

Several hotel proposals have made headlines on Siesta Key since 2021. As of this fall, here is where each one stands:

• The Hotel Siesta, 5810 Midnight Pass Road. Dave Balot's 112-room, five-story hotel sits on a 2.15-acre former Wells Fargo bank site. Commissioners approved it unanimously on Oct. 26, 2022, with a maximum height of 59 feet and 315 parking spaces on the first and second floors. The Sarasota News Leader reported that the county issued the building permit on May 7, 2026, and that test piles were being drilled in early June. No opening date has been announced.
• Calle Miramar and Beach Road. A revised proposal for four parcels at the edge of Siesta Village called for about 163 rooms in a seven-story building. The News Leader described it as a pre-application request, not an approved project.
• Benderson Development on Ocean Boulevard. Benderson's 2024 revised application listed 147 rooms on parcels at 5221, 5229 and 5239 Ocean Boulevard. The News Leader reported that county staff had declared the company's proposed amendments withdrawn after months without action.
• Old Stickney Point Road, near the south bridge. This plan called for a 120-room hotel on roughly one acre. In early March 2026, commissioners voted unanimously not to process the code amendment it needed, and WFLA reported county officials saying the hotel application "may not proceed as is." A separate comprehensive plan amendment filed in May 2025 could still move forward if the applicant chooses.

In the same WFLA report, Siesta Key Association president Catherine Luckner said the commission "voted our way." The station also reported that hotels on Siesta Key are currently limited to 26 units per acre.

Add it up and the only new hotel supply with a permit is 112 rooms on Midnight Pass Road, with no announced opening. Over the next few seasons, the competition for a Siesta Key condo rental is largely the island's existing stock.

The island took the lead with the rooms it already had

That makes the bed-tax shift more telling. In fiscal year 2025, the City of Sarasota led with 24.35% of collections to Siesta Key's 22.35%. The Sarasota Record noted that many island rental units were still damaged from the 2024 hurricanes and didn't catch up until late spring. The FY2026 reversal reflects existing units coming back into service and earning more. New construction played no part.

The county-level totals show the scale. Bed-tax collections through August of FY2026 reached $51,857,328.34, compared with $45,331,760.47 through August 2025, about 14.4% higher, as reported by the Sarasota News Leader. The Sarasota County Tax Collector's comparison report lists August 2026 alone at $2,845,079.10, against $2,600,905.20 a year earlier.

How guests book has shifted too. Through June, Airbnb hosts accounted for $7.76 million in bed-tax revenue, up 42% from $5.47 million a year earlier. Online platforms as a group made up 23.36% of total collections, up from 21.06%.

Where the money came from in August

A tax total doesn't show whether owners earned more by filling more nights or by charging more per night. The August 2026 tourism report from Visit Sarasota County does, as summarized in the Herald-Tribune's coverage. These are countywide figures, compared with August 2025:

Both kinds of lodging raised prices by similar amounts. Hotels held more of their occupancy, so their rate gains turned into revenue gains. Vacation rentals lost enough booked nights that the higher rates didn't quite cover the gap. Countywide occupancy across all lodging was 46.1%, down from 49.8%. Visit Sarasota County attributed the drop to visitors taking shorter trips and traveling in larger groups.

June followed the same pattern. Hotel occupancy rose to 70.5% from 68.3%, while overall occupancy including vacation rentals slipped to 61.6% from 62%, and the average lodging rate rose 6.3% to $304.78. August is a slow month and June is not, yet in both months vacation rentals saw softer occupancy than hotels.

Why a rate-driven market changes how you read a condo's rental history

Put these pieces together and you have the mechanism behind a Siesta Key rental condo right now. Supply is close to fixed, because the only permitted hotel is a 112-room building with no opening date. Demand is arriving in shorter stays with larger parties. The revenue that pushed the island past the city came from units charging more, not from units booked solid.

That changes how a seller's rental statement reads. A unit can show fewer booked nights than the year before and still bring in more money. The reverse also happens, where a full calendar at a discounted rate trails a quieter unit that held its price. Since the county's own vacation-rental numbers in August 2026 showed occupancy falling 13.2% while rates rose, a unit with a drop in nights isn't necessarily underperforming. The figures to compare are nightly rate by month and total revenue, measured against the same months a year earlier.

The countywide data can't tell you how the Village, Crescent Beach or the south end performed individually. Those breakouts aren't published. A unit's own records, month by month, have to fill that gap.

The Hotel Siesta still matters if you're shopping along Midnight Pass Road near Siesta Public Beach. The 2022 plan reported by Siesta Sand included a 150-seat restaurant and public space with a bar and a coffee-and-bagel shop, which Balot said would be open to the public. Those details come from the approval stage, and the plans could change before opening.

The timing works in your favor if you're shopping this fall. In the Herald-Tribune report, Visit Sarasota County president and CEO Erin Duggan said:

"August tourism numbers show that for four consecutive months, we've seen year-over-year increases in visitation and visitor spending locally. That's an encouraging sign heading into peak tourism season, which begins in earnest in November and runs through April."

A buyer who closes this season will be renting into those months, so the November through April rate history is the part of any rental statement to study most closely.

FAQ

What exactly is the bed tax? The Sarasota County Tax Collector describes the Tourist Development Tax as a 6% charge on revenue from rentals of six months or less. The Sarasota Record reports the revenue goes to beach maintenance and renourishment, the Ed Smith Stadium and CoolToday Park spring training facilities, and tourism marketing through Visit Sarasota County. This is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. If you plan to rent a unit, confirm your own obligations with the Tax Collector and a qualified tax professional.

Is The Hotel Siesta under construction? The county issued its building permit on May 7, 2026, and test piles were being drilled in early June. Balot had also applied to remove a Grand Oak on the site, which he said had declined after the 2024 hurricanes. No opening date has been announced.

Are there island-only occupancy figures? The monthly occupancy and rate figures from Visit Sarasota County are countywide. Siesta Key's 24.32% share of bed-tax collections through June is the clearest island-specific number available right now.

If you're weighing a rental-ready condo on Siesta Key, I'd be glad to go through a unit's month-by-month rates and revenue with you before peak season starts, and to keep you posted on The Hotel Siesta as it moves forward. Reach out through Christa Spalding and let's connect.