More than 1,000 new hotel rooms expected in Sarasota

More than 1,000 new hotel rooms are coming to Sarasota County by 2018, to be concentrated in the downtown center of Sarasota.

“We have not had this many new hotels open in such a short span of time in more than a decade,” said Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota. “With expanded sporting events, cultural offerings and meetings, there is a demand for more hotel rooms. I am optimistic that our expanded sales efforts during the past several years will keep these hotels full year-round. VSC has initiated a robust plan to aggressively market these new and existing rooms in inventory.”

Since 2016, two hotels have opened: The Zota on Longboat Key, with 187 rooms and 5,000 square feet of meeting space, and Aloft Sarasota, with 139 rooms in downtown. The following hotels will be opening soon, making a total of 1,112 new rooms by the end of 2018:

July 28, 2017
Westin Sarasota
255 rooms
26,000 square feet of meeting space

November 2017
Art Ovation Hotel an Autograph Collection by Marriott
162 rooms

Late 2017
Carlisle Inn (in Pinecraft)
100 rooms
4,000 square feet of meeting space

Early 2018
Embassy Suites by Hilton
180 suites

2018
The Sarasota Modern: A Tribune Portfolio Hotel
89 rooms