Lingering hotel and rental closures impact bed tax collections in Pinellas

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — Bed tax collections in Pinellas County have been down for two months in a row with a major contributing factor coming from hotels and short term vacation rentals which have remained closed since last year’s hurricanes, according to Visit St. Pete-Clearwater.

“The majority of the shortfall is coming from… vacation rentals and some of our lower areas of Pinellas County,” said Eddie Kirsch, VSPC Dir. Digital and Data. “St. Pete Beach and a little bit of Madeira and Treasure Island areas as well.”

St. Pete Beach currently has four large hotels that have not yet reopened. These include The Postcard Inn, The Beachcomber, The Bellwether and the Dolphin Resort. According to the latest VSPC data, 704 rooms remain closed in St. Pete Beach, with only 66 percent of the hotels open.

“The Postcard’s coming back, the Beachcomber’s coming back. We all expect those pretty soon,” said Charlie Justice, Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce Pres. & CEO. “The Bellwether’s still a little bit longer term, the Dolphin still a little bit longer term. And so we’re seeing it’s a long haul for some of these folks.”

The Beachcomber has confirmed it will reopen on October 30.

“Since closing, the iconic property that’s home to the legendary Jimmy B’s Beach Bar has restored its hurricane-damaged areas,” stated spokesperson Jessica Milton. “Including its first-floor guest rooms, meeting and event spaces, hotel lobby, swimming pool, and courtyard.”

Justice said The Bellwether was severely damaged by the hurricanes and he expects the hotel to reopen in 2026.

“They had so much of their infrastructure in the lower levels where the sand and the water infiltrated everything,” he said. “The damage was worse than they thought. So this does take a little bit longer.”

At the Tourist Development Council meeting in August, it was revealed that bed tax collections were unusually down.

“The TDT collections in June of 2025 was just shy of $7.5 million,” said Kirsch. “This was a little bit irregular from the previous few fiscal years for June. Ultimately, it was down about 12.2%.”

Kirsch also said demand has slowed a lot in many areas of Florida. The Tourist Development Tax collections for July, the most recent data VSPC has available, showed the month was down 9.8% from the previous year. The total fiscal year to date TDT collections are down 5.46%.

While the overall numbers have been down recently, Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector pointed out that some areas of Pinellas County are still doing well.

“Dunedin, St. Pete and Clearwater had a really good month,” he said. “We spent as a city $85 million to get back quickly.”

According to VSPC, 94.8% of hotel rooms in Pinellas County are open. Captain Dylan Hubbard, the owner of Hubbard’s Marina at John’s Pass in Madeira Beach, said his business had its best June ever.

“It’s tough because right to our south, right to our north, we have neighbors that are suffering,” he said. “So it’s hard to be on top of a mountaintop screaming, ‘Hey, this is the best year ever. We’re doing great.’ When other people around us still haven’t been able to open up or haven’t been able to recover or are still struggling.”

Justice said the hotel closures in the south Pinellas County have caused a major drop in foot traffic, which has been affecting nearby businesses. He’s encouraging locals to visit those beach towns.

“Be a tourist in your own hometown,” he said. “Come out to the beaches and enjoy what the tourists get to enjoy.”