Investigating how much vacation rental visitors spend in 16 destinations in Florida during a typical week of Spring Break.
HomeToGo, the world’s largest search engine for vacation rentals, has plunged right into the upcoming Spring Break vacation period by looking at the economic benefits this annual holiday brings to Florida. Featuring 16 destinations in The Sunshine State, the study focuses on newly released data about the surprising spending power of visitors who stay in vacation rentals. The table also brings to light the range of Spring Break accommodation pricing in Florida: Widely-visited Orlando tops the affordability ranking, whereas Key West and its deep sea reefs is better suited for those with deep pockets.
The first stage of the research process involved HomeToGo examining our own data on the number of vacation rentals, occupancy levels, and group size between March and mid-April in 16 Floridian destinations. Combined with data provided by the state’s non-for-profit tourism corporation, Visit Florida, about how much a typical visitor spends, we were then able to estimate how much visitors staying in vacation rentals spend in each town during a typical Spring Break week. HomeToGo’s own data was also used to rank the destinations based on the affordability of accommodations.
The list of destinations, daily spending, and accommodation prices during Spring Break are viewable below:
| Destination | Daily Spend, Vacation Rental Visitors | Accommodation Price* |
| Panama City Beach | $12,408,701 | $27.28 |
| Destin | $7,725,599 | $39.43 |
| Sanibel Island | $6,551,634 | $37.67 |
| Fort Lauderdale | $6,271,905 | $33.49 |
| Miami Beach | $6,182,306 | $38.12 |
| Orlando | $5,528,678 | $23.29 |
| Clearwater | $5,212,988 | $36.75 |
| Fort Myers | $5,188,648 | $37.99 |
| Anna Maria Island | $4,384,956 | $44.21 |
| Daytona Beach | $2,989,679 | $26.90 |
| Cape Coral | $2,398,559 | $33.31 |
| Siesta Key | $2,164,598 | $38.92 |
| Key West | $1,878,570 | $59.17 |
| West Palm Beach | $1,680,897 | $36.54 |
| Pensacola Beach | $1,410,906 | $25.18 |
| Miami | $1,401,810 | $37.31 |
*Per person per night
- Some more hot findings:
- 121.4 million tourists are thought to have visited Florida in 2017, the highest number ever recorded
- 1.4 million jobs in Florida are supported by tourism, up from 1.2 million in 2015
- Orlando is the only city out of the 16 destinations that is not located on the coast
- 9 of the 16 popular Spring Break destinations are located on the Gulf of Mexico
- 5 of the 16 popular Spring Break destinations are located on the Atlantic Coast
- The remaining destination, Key West, is located in between the two in the Straits of Florida.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
