PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The highest concentration of red tide in more than 20 years that hit Pinellas County beaches in March during spring break did not negatively affect occupancy rates, according to new data released by Visit St. Pete/Clearwater.
“It was very unusual to have red tide in March,” Clyde Smith said. Bilmar Beach Resort general manager “We only had a few days you might say.”
What you need to know
Occupancy rates at Pinellas beach hotels and rentals have been higher this year
The higher numbers came despite the highest concentration of red tide in 20 years on area beaches
Visit St. Pete/Clearwater (VSPC): The occupancy rate for hotels and vacation rentals in Pinellas County was 84% in March, up 0.08% from last year
In accordance with Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission maps, which date back to 2000, the last red tide bloom to hit Pinellas beaches during March was in 2017 and only affected the southern half of the county. The only other times red tide came ashore in March were in 2005 and 2004. It was a low bloom, affecting only areas of St. Pete Beach and Fort De Soto.
Smith said the Bilmar didn’t have many cancellations because of this year’s red tide bloom, which had been affecting the Gulf Coast since October, after Hurricane Ian devastated Fort Myers.
In accordance with Visit St. Pete/Clearwater (VSPC)the occupancy rate for hotels and vacation rentals in Pinellas County was 84% in March, up 0.08% from last year.
“Occupation was flat until 2022, but that’s not a bad thing because there are a lot of open markets now, cruise lines, the Caribbean,” said Smith, who is also a member of the Tourism Development Council (TDC). “So we’ve had more competition than we’ve had for the last two years.”
Pinellas County broke tourism records in 2021 and 2022.
“We didn’t think we could break the records from ’21 and we did,” Smith said. “It was exciting, but we were hoping it would level off.”
According to a breakdown of the March data, the beach occupancy rate was down 1 percent, but up 2 percent inland, which is any property east of the intracoastal coast. Smith believes it is due to returning from business meeting trips.
“You’re getting more meetings going to your downtown,” Smith said. “The center of St. Petersburg.”
For some Pinellas Beach businesses, spring break wasn’t as profitable as expected.
During a special Clearwater City Council meeting on March 27, Beachcomber restaurant owner Sheri Heilman said it had been the toughest spring break in decades while voicing her support for Brian Aungst as the next mayor .
“This has been the toughest spring break in Clearwater Beach in our 75 years of business at the beach,” Heilman said. “Brian is credited with being the catalyst for attracting economic development to a previously dormant Clearwater.”
At the April 19 TDC meeting, member Phil Henderson, who is also the president and CEO of StarLite Cruises, said there were fewer visitors on their ships in March.
“We’re behind. I look at it with my own business and, for example, I’ll share it with you. I was down two and a half percent for March in actual passengers, but I was up five and a half percent in revenue.” he said. “That’s great for income, but guess what? My expenses have gone up.”
Henderson also said he was concerned about softening summer projections and urged VSPC to spend more money on marketing. According to VSPC, the employment rate is expected to drop by 11 percent in May, June and July.
Smith said he is focusing on attracting more Floridians to increase summer travel numbers.
“We’re actually going to take advantage now and really go after the staycation market because we’ve outgrown that motoring market a little bit over the last few years,” he said. “Now we’re in a position to say, ‘OK, it’s your turn,’ and so we’re bringing Lakeland, we’re bringing Orlando to the beach.”
According to VSPC, high travel prices are taking into account these summer projections with an increase of more than 35 percent since March 2021. The biggest component of this strong increase has been the prices of hotels and tickets of plane with no real sign of softening.
