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Visit St. Pete/Clearwater reports record December, shows recovery in hotel demand and rising ad recall
Summary
Visit St. Pete Clearwater staff told the Tourist Development Council that December 2024 produced record TDT collections, driven by Clearwater Beach and St. Petersburg hotel demand; marketing recall rose and vacation-rental inventory is still recovering after recent hurricanes.
Visit St. Pete Clearwater reported on Feb. 19 that December 2024 produced record tourist-development-tax collections and that several indicators point to a continued recovery in visitation across Pinellas County.
The monthly report and staff presentation highlighted a year-over-year increase in TDT collections — staff described roughly a half‑million‑dollar increase and an 8.5% jump compared with the prior year — with particularly strong performance on Clearwater Beach and in St. Petersburg.
Why this matters: Hotel tax collections fund marketing and capital projects that support the county’s tourism economy. Staff said the December surge matters because it shows demand returning strongly to core beach and urban visitor zones after storm-related disruptions.
Key takeaways from staff presentation
- Record December: Staff described December as “record breaking,” surpassing a prior record set in 2022, and said the growth was concentrated in Clearwater Beach and St. Petersburg. Staff attributed the result partly to high hotel demand and to increased revenue in key beach communities.
- Vacation rentals: The vacation-rental supply and demand picture is still recovering after recent hurricanes. Staff said supply dipped with storm impacts and is incrementally returning; vacation rentals remain the county’s second-largest source of TDT collections.
- St. Pete Beach hotels: Staff showed demand beginning to recover faster than supply; several larger hotels remain offline but were described as targeting spring or summer reopening windows.
- Visitor profile and marketing: Market surveys collected in December indicated larger travel-party sizes, a rise in group and family travel, and a high advertising-recall rate; staff reported a 77% advertising recall in the December surveys, a notable increase over prior months.
Quotes from the meeting
“We had a record breaking December,” staff said during the presentation, noting the increase in collections and the role of Clearwater Beach and St. Petersburg in driving demand. On marketing recall, a staff member said the organization has “never spent as much money on marketing and advertising in the Greater Tampa Bay Area,” and added that the spending likely contributed to the jump in recall.
Board discussion and requests
Board members asked staff to disaggregate inland and vacation-rental figures in future reports and to compile reopening estimates for the larger hotels still under repair. Staff said they would revert to more granular reporting and that some properties are targeting spring and summer reopening dates.
Ending: Staff provided preliminary January figures that showed similar trends to December and said it will continue to track supply and demand across hotel and vacation-rental inventory through the spring season.
