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In February, Miami Beach became the latest spring break destination to ban alcohol on the beach. While such measures may help keep beaches safe and clean, new evidence suggests they are also hurting hotel business.
STR’s School Break Report said beach alcohol bans hurt local markets by pushing college partygoers into competiting markets without bans, Hotel News Now reports. The report compared the performance of three spring break markets with alcohol bans to three markets without bans, and found those without bans all experienced stronger growth while those with bans either sharply declined or remained stagnant.
Panama City Beach implemented its alcohol ban in 2015 and hotels watched revenue per available room plummet 28.5% in just one year. Experts are waiting to see how Miami Beach reacts this year.
