Property Management in Bonita Springs, FL — Airbnb & Short-Term Rentals

Short-term rental and Airbnb management in Bonita Springs

Bonita Springs sits at the southern edge of Lee County, between Estero and the Collier County line. The city runs from Bonita Beach and the Gulf-front condominiums along Hickory Boulevard, through older neighborhoods around the Imperial River and the downtown Riverside Park area, to gated golf communities east of the interstate.

Property management in Bonita Springs covers that full range: Gulf-view condos that book by the week, river and canal homes for families, and golf-community homes that suit monthly winter stays. Short-term rental management here is shaped by the city’s own rental permit, which covers short-term and long-term rentals alike and comes with a three-year inspection cycle.

Where guests come from

Beach time comes first. Bonita Beach is at the city’s Gulf edge, and Lovers Key State Park, just north between Bonita Beach and Fort Myers Beach, adds kayaking, trails and a quieter shoreline. Closer to downtown, Everglades Wonder Gardens on Old 41 Road is a botanical garden and wildlife attraction.

Bonita’s location between two larger markets helps. Naples’ Fifth Avenue South and the Fort Myers spring training ballparks are each a drive away, and Florida Gulf Coast University is a short trip north. Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) is the nearest commercial airport, north of the city along I-75.

Bonita Springs short-term rental rules

The city’s Rental Permit Ordinance, Chapter 12, Article IV, requires every owner who rents a dwelling, whether the lease is transient (short term under six months) or long-term, to obtain a rental permit from the city before letting anyone occupy it. A permit is valid for three years from the date of application, and it stays in force as long as the per-unit fee is paid, the property complies, and the mandatory inspection has been done every three years.

The permittee must give the city the name and number of an adult who can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week, keep a list of tenants available to the city, and hand at least one tenant per unit the city’s pamphlet on living in a residential neighborhood. Owners who live outside the Twentieth Judicial District (Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Glades and Hendry counties) must appoint an agent living or with an office in Lee or Collier County. Repeated noise, parking, trash or occupancy violations can lead to permit revocation as a public nuisance.

Some properties fall outside the ordinance: buildings with more than six units that state law requires to have a property manager, apartment complexes with on-site management, and units the city manager exempts because tourist development tax is collected and the unit is regulated as a lodging establishment. The state DBPR license under §509.241 is required for any vacation rental.

Taxes on Bonita Springs vacation rentals

Short stays of six months or less owe Florida’s 6% sales tax under §212.03 and any county discretionary sales surtax. Bonita Springs is in Lee County, so the county’s 5% tourist development tax applies, collected by the county according to the Department of Revenue’s DR-15TDT. Collecting that tax is also one of the conditions for the city’s lodging-establishment exemption.

How Florida Hosts manages Bonita Springs rentals

Florida Hosts helps Bonita Springs owners with the DBPR license and the state and Lee County tax accounts alongside the city permit. In Bonita Springs we apply for or renew the city rental permit, schedule the three-year inspection, serve as the 24/7 contact and the local agent for out-of-area owners, and keep the tenant list the code requires. Our own cleaning and maintenance staff turn homes over between stays.

Our Airbnb management fee is 18–25% of booking revenue, quoted in writing, and a free rental projection comes back within one business day. Because the same permit covers long leases, owners can move between short-term, mid-term furnished and long-term rentals, with licensed brokers handling the leasing.