Vacation Rental Management
Vacation Rental Management in Sarasota, FL
From Lido Key condos to cottages a few blocks off the bayfront, Fairly runs Sarasota vacation rentals for owners who want a nearby caretaker at every turnover, listings on Airbnb, Vrbo and Fairly.com, and the county tourist tax and Florida sales tax collected and remitted on every booking.
4.8
Average review in Sarasota, FL
Fairly is an Airbnb Superhost, and our homes average 4.84 stars across 21,000+ guest reviews. Fewer than 4% of stays rate below four stars. Better reviews attract better guests, at higher prices, maximizing your revenue.
Sarasota market overview
Sarasota faces the bay rather than the Gulf. Downtown and its bayfront look across to St. Armands Circle and Lido Key, a causeway away, and Siesta Key's beaches sit just to the south. Travellers come for the sand, but also for a city with more culture than most beach towns: the Ringling museum and its circus collections, Selby Gardens, and a season of concerts and theatre that runs through the winter.
That winter sets the calendar. February and March are the peak, filling better than eight nights in ten at the highest rates of the year as snowbirds and spring-break families overlap, with January and April strong on either side. Summer holds at around half full on a family and drive-in trade. Then the market falls away: September and October are the quietest months, under a third full, before bookings build again through November and December. Up the coast, Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island has its own page; down the coast, so do Rotonda West and Port Charlotte.
What homes earn in Sarasota, FL
The figures above describe the top of the Sarasota market: homes listed on Airbnb and Vrbo with a review score of 4.8 or better, available or rented at least 300 days a year. Earnings in that set lean hard on late winter. February and March carry the year, summer adds a steady middle, and early autumn earns little, so the rate a home holds through the peak matters more than the nights it fills in October. You can customize a projection for a specific home.
| Month | Total rent | Occupancy | Avg. daily rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | $3,735 | 59% | $260 |
| Feb | $5,264 | 84% | $314 |
| Mar | $6,246 | 84% | $342 |
| Apr | $3,946 | 60% | $293 |
| May | $2,764 | 48% | $269 |
| Jun | $3,226 | 54% | $304 |
| Jul | $3,119 | 54% | $288 |
| Aug | $1,771 | 39% | $241 |
| Sep | $996 | 28% | $209 |
| Oct | $1,179 | 31% | $220 |
| Nov | $2,010 | 41% | $249 |
| Dec | $2,835 | 47% | $262 |
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This is based on properties listed on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com with an average review score of 4.8 out of 5 or higher, limited to homes available or rented at least 300 days a year. Earnings vary based on the unique amenities and qualities of each home.
A guaranteed $5,000 increase in earnings
We guarantee that homeowners coming from self management or other managers will make an extra $5,000 in their first year with Fairly.
Vacation Rental Taxes and Regulations in Sarasota, FL
Yes, your Sarasota home can be a vacation rental, by the week
Inside the City of Sarasota, which takes in downtown, the bayfront neighbourhoods, St. Armands and Lido Key, vacation rentals are allowed. The rule that matters is length of stay: the minimum for every vacation rental in the city limits is seven full days and seven full nights, condos included. Most of Siesta Key, and everything else outside the city, falls under Sarasota County instead. The county allows stays under 30 days only in multi-family property zoned RMF on the barrier islands (Siesta, Casey and Manasota Keys); a house elsewhere in the unincorporated county may be rented only for longer than 30 days. The county's zoning FAQ explains how to look up a parcel's district.
Lodging and occupancy taxes
Every stay of six months or less carries 13%. Sarasota County's 6% tourist development tax goes to the Sarasota County Tax Collector, with each month's return and payment due by the 20th of the following month. The other 7% is Florida sales tax, the 6% state rate plus the county's 1% surtax, filed with the Florida Department of Revenue.
Registering a home inside the city
Start with the state: a Florida DBPR vacation rental licence, issued as a dwelling licence for a house or townhouse and a condominium licence for a condo unit. Open the two tax accounts next. Then, for a house or a two- to four-unit building in a residential district, apply to the city for a vacation rental certificate of registration; condominiums, cooperatives and owner-occupied rentals don't need one, though the seven-night minimum still applies to them. The certificate is issued after an inspection and records the bedrooms, the parking plan and one or two designated responsible parties. Occupancy is two guests per bedroom plus two, up to ten in single-family districts and twelve in multi-family ones, not counting children six and under. Every listing has to show the certificate number, the occupancy and the seven-night minimum. Certificates run to December 31 and renew each year, with a fresh inspection, in a summer window that closes October 1.
How Fairly handles it
Fairly registers your home for both taxes and collects, remits and files them on every booking. We assist with the DBPR licence, the city certificate and its yearly renewal, and your caretaker can serve as the home's designated responsible party.
Operating a vacation rental in Sarasota, FL
Sarasota is low, coastal and humid. Salt air works on hardware, air conditioning and moisture control are a year-round job, and June through November is hurricane season.
Inside the city the seven-night minimum shapes the work: changeovers come at most once a week per home, but in February and March they land back to back with no slack between stays. The city also expects a named responsible party who answers the phone around the clock and can be at the property within an hour of a call from a guest, a code officer or the police. Your Fairly caretaker lives nearby and can be that person, and is already in the house at every turnover. Each yearly renewal brings a fresh inspection, so the posted guest information and parking plan have to stay current.
Frequently asked questions
A flat 20% commission on the rental revenue your Sarasota home earns, with no long-term contract and no hidden fees, so Fairly is paid only when the home books. The rate covers your listings on Airbnb, Vrbo and Fairly.com, pricing, guest messaging, and collecting and remitting the county tourist tax and Florida sales tax.
Inside the City of Sarasota, including downtown, St. Armands and Lido Key, yes, for stays of at least seven nights, with a city certificate of registration for houses and small multi-unit buildings. Most of Siesta Key is in unincorporated Sarasota County, where only multi-family property zoned RMF on the barrier islands may take stays under 30 days.
13% on every stay of six months or less: Sarasota County's 6% tourist development tax, remitted monthly to the Sarasota County Tax Collector, plus 7% Florida sales tax (the 6% state rate and the county's 1% surtax) to the Department of Revenue. Fairly registers your home for both and remits the full amount on every booking.
Within the city, two guests per bedroom plus two more, capped at ten in single-family districts and twelve in multi-family districts. Children six and under don't count toward the limit. The city counts only rooms that meet its bedroom definition, and every listing has to show the approved occupancy alongside the certificate number.
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Fairly Vacation Rental Management
Serving Sarasota, FL and neighboring areas
Available 24/7