After last year's red tide bloom, service industry grateful for a robust rebound

Season is ending in Sarasota-Manatee, and several businesses along the Gulf Coast said that, despite last year’s struggles, it was a good one.

At Siesta Key Oyster Bar, the busy season typically starts around Feb. 15. But this year, it arrived in full force Feb. 1, owner Beth Owen-Cipielewski said.

“It caught us off guard for a couple of days — it definitely started earlier than usual — but we’re still going strong,” she said. “Thank you Lord, thank you Lord, thank God, that’s all I can say.”

Last year’s red tide bloom devastated not only marine life in the region — it also hurt restaurants, hotels, vacation rentals, water sport equipment sellers and other businesses that rely on the quality of Gulf waters to boost their bottom line.

The impact of the algal bloom is reflected in collections of the tourist development tax, a 5% levy generated on short-term vacation rentals, including hotels and motels, and a measure of the health of the tourism industry. Tourist development tax collections in Sarasota County had fallen every month since August compared with the same month the year before, until February, when collections were up for the first time since last July.

Sarasota County brought in about $2,933,317 in bed tax revenue in February, an increase from $2,890,693 the year before.

In Manatee County, bed tax collections were down in August, September and October, but they’ve been increasing year-over-year since November. Manatee brought in $1,813,504 in bed tax revenue in February, up from $1,640,165 in the same month the year before.

Despite a slow January where hotel occupancy, room rates, revenue per available room and visitorship were all down compared to the same month the year before, Sarasota County saw a 3.6% percent increase in visitation in February, although hotel occupancy for that month remained basically flat compared to February 2018.

The average daily room rate in Sarasota also went down by slightly more than 4%, which Visit Sarasota County President Virginia Haley said had to do with all the new hotel inventory that came on line last year.

To encourage tourism from the Midwest, Visit Sarasota worked with a local public relations firm in Ohio to pitch stories about Sarasota and the new Allegiant Air flights to Midwestern destinations from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport at the end of January. They combined that with traditional advertising and a glass truck with sand, beach chairs and beach balls in the back that drove around promoting Sarasota County — partially during an uncharacteristically cold few days when an icy polar vortex gripped much of the nation.

As a result, tourism from the Midwest has increased this October through February, compared with the same time period in the fiscal year before. All other markets for the same time period were down.

“It’s kind of nice to see the payoff of a campaign like that,” Haley said.

In Manatee County, occupancy was basically flat in February compared with the same month the year before. The average daily room rate was up by 1%, and revenue per available room was also nearly flat, increasing less than 1% from February 2018. All of Manatee’s visitor origin markets except Canada and Europe were up in February, including the Southeast (23.2% increase), the Midwest (11.3% increase) and Florida (13.2% increase).

Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that tourism businesses in Manatee County are satisfied with the amount of business they got during season. He said he expects tourist development tax collections from March to be strong.

“We’re seeing strong reservations through the rest of this month, and May looks satisfying at this point. We’re focusing on blitzing the drive market so we can have a good summer season,” Falcione said, referring to people who live within driving distance who could vacation here.

At the Waterline Marina Resort & Beach Club on Anna Maria Island, occupancy for the first quarter of the year was up 14% over last year, said Norwood Smith, vice president of sales and marketing at hotel operator Mainsail Lodging & Development.

“We saw great activity in our restaurant as well as our resort,” Smith said.

Connors Steak & Seafood, which is nearing the end of its second season operating at Westfield Siesta Key mall in Sarasota, had a busy winter, managing partner Coby Leach said. Business was up by 20% in the first quarter of 2019, he said.

“We were new last year, so people were just getting familiar with us. But definitely this year, we got all the people we touched last year on top of all the people who had not come last year,” he said.

Snowbird migration

Nearly 500,000 Canadian snowbirds spend their winters in Florida, according to the 2018 Canada-Florida Economic Impact Study from the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service. In Sarasota-Manatee, snowbirds usually arrive in October or November and stick around until Easter.

Real estate purchases by Canadians in Florida are trending toward traditional retirement communities like Naples, Fort Myers and Sarasota and away from areas that tend to attract younger visitors like Miami and Fort Lauderdale, according to the report.

A separate 2018 report, this one from the National Association of Realtors, found that 41% of foreign home buyers in Sarasota-Bradenton-North Port are from Canada, making Canadians the largest cohort of foreign home buyers in the area. The second largest cohort is Europeans, who make up 32% of total foreign home buyers in Sarasota-Bradenton-North Port.

At the beginning of snowbird season in the fall, several snowbirds said they were excited to return to Sarasota, despite the unfavorable exchange rate of the loonie up against the dollar, red tide and unfavorable U.S./Canada relations.

Sid and Helene Rodaway have been making the trek from Eastern Ontario to Bradenton since 2010. The exchange rate has affected them a bit — they decided not to do any major renovations on their apartment this year — but overall, things have worked out well. Ultimately, it’s about looking at your finances and determining where you might need to cut back if the exchange rate isn’t favorable, Sid Rodaway said.

“I’d rather be here than be back north where the sky is gray and there’s snow on the ground,” he said. “We’re not here because there’s better entertainment, or because we laugh harder. I find it far more positive to be in the pool and look up at a palm tree rather than at gray overcast and cold, slushy weather.”

On a typical day at the peak of season, Connors will have 600 people on the books for the day, Leach said. But snowbirds are starting to go back home. On Thursday, April 18, Leach said 450 guests were booked — 200 for lunch and 250 for dinner.

“You can tell people are slowly starting to go back,” he said.

Labor problems

Owen-Cipielewski said this year’s season has been very busy. Business is up more than 10% compared to last season.

The biggest challenge, she said, is staffing. Since the economy is strong, it’s more difficult to find help, and candidates for hostesses, busers and other support staff are asking for higher starting wages. But these are good problems to have, she said.

“We are very, very thankful that that’s our only issue,” she said.