SWFL hospitality sector adapts to September's slow reprieve

On State Road 80 east of Fort Myers, the gated entrance to Rooster’s Produce was locked and chained, with a red painted sign: Closed for summer. Open Sept. 29. 

In Midtown, a sign on the darkened door of Tony’s N.Y. Pizza & Pasta reported that the staff was on vacation. And at the Luxe 8 Flix across a parking lot still slick with late afternoon rain, three ticket holders attended a 7:20 p.m. showing of the bloody thriller Weapons in the deliciously cold, empty theater as the sun set on a sultry Sept. 3.  

September is the slowest month of the year for Southwest Florida’s hospitality industry, at the dead end of summer’s shoulder when seasonal visitors and tourists have yet to return en masse and many, too, are busy with school restarting.  

“It is also a great time to finish some projects and deep cleans around the resort and units,” wrote Katja Kunz, revenue and marketing director for Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina on Fort Myers Beach. “The highlight for us is always the Island Hopper Songwriter Festival, organized by our [Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau]. The closing pool party put on by iHeart Radio is always at the resort, so it brings a lot of locals and guests to the resort that weekend.” 

The 11th annual live music festival, which brings star performers to four destinations, is one of at least two big Southwest Florida events that have been organized to boost business in September. Island Hopper kicks off Sept. 19 and runs through Sept. 21 on Captiva Island, from Sept. 22-23 in Cape Coral, Sept. 24-25 in downtown Fort Myers and Sept. 26-28 on Fort Myers Beach. 

The festival helps increase visitation, fill hotel rooms and provide a direct economic impact to businesses. Lee VCB reports 13,586 people attended in 2023 and 10,645 in 2024, even with several days canceled due to hurricanes.  

“It just spoke to how much we want it, how much we need it and how it’s a boost to the area,” said Miriam Dotson, communications manager for the Lee VCB. “It speaks to the spirit of the community, too.” 

The annual Southwest Florida culinary event, Sizzle Dining, also exploded in popularity since Guy Clarke co-founded it in Naples nine years ago. It runs Sept. 3-30, with restaurants across the region participating in discounted breakfast, lunch and dinner menus.  

It used to take place just after Thanksgiving, then after Mother’s Day. But after the COVID-19 pandemic, Clarke restarted Sizzle in September, growing it from its previous peak of 69 participating restaurants in 2019 to 127 this year.  

“Restaurant owners almost unanimously said September is the worst month — if you’re going to do anything, move this bad boy to September,” Clarke said. 

Restaurants also donate $1 for each meal sold to Blessings in a Backpack to help feed elementary school children. 

Southwest Florida’s busiest season starts around Thanksgiving and ends around Easter or Mother’s Day with a lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The summers grow slower with the dog days arriving from August through October.  

Bartender and small business owner Morgan Schiller, 34, knows the routine. A Fort Myers native, she started in the industry as a server downtown about 15 years ago. 

“If you work in this industry for a long time you learn to save your money so you have a cushion during the summertime,” she said after mixing up a pair of espresso martinis with dollops of whipped cream studded with three espresso beans — one each for luck, happiness and success, according to several locals taking Happy Hour refuge from a sweltering Thursday afternoon at the River District art bar, Space 39.  

Schiller also has worked as a part-time jazz singer and is one of the owners of the window cleaning service company, Super Shiny Window & Glass Cleaning. In summer, the cleaning takes place before the afternoon rains. 

Schiller often travels in September or October but also doesn’t mind the heat, embracing the benefits of empty beaches, warm Gulf waters, billowing clouds and sunlit showers before the weather changes, hotel rates rise and work schedules ramp up for season.  

“Savor it,” she said. “Enjoy it. Because we’re going to be working the next six to eight months.” 

Hospitality industry by the numbers  

The Lee County food and beverage industry employed 28,465 people with total wages of $209.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. 

The recreation industry, including gambling, the arts and personal services employed 19,265 people with $200.2 million in wages. 

The lodging and hotel industry employed 3,605 people with $35.5 million in wages. 

The transportation industry employed 901 people with $13.5 million in wages. 

Lee County hotels often have the fewest guests in September. But in recent years some Augusts and Octobers have been nearly as slow or slower by small margins, bed tax collections show. Last season, collections reached a high of $8.1 million in March and a low of $1.9 million in September. 

Southwest Florida International Airport records show that fewer passengers flew in and out in September than any other month every year going back to 1984 — except for 2020, the first year of the pandemic. That year, lockdowns began in March and in April only 53,379 passengers came and went from RSW. Numbers had not been so low since the airport opened in 1983. 

In 2024, passenger counts ranged from a high of 1.5 million in March to 523,004 in September for a total that year of more than 11 million, the highest number in RSW’s history.