Room rate growth will be under pressure in Miami as the market absorbs all the new product coming on line, Sydell Group CIO Matthew Livian tells us. That's one reason we want to hear more from Matthew and other hospitality and restaurant experts at Bisnow's Miami Restaurant, Retail & Hospitality Renaissance event on May 14 at 1 Hotel South Beach, starting 7:30am.
The market that gets the most attention and has the largest stock of new hotels coming on line is naturally Miami, Matthew says. But he expects rate growth to be muted in the near term, considering that there are over 8,000 new rooms either in planning or under development in the market. Also, the strong dollar and recent weakness in the Brazilian economy are going to impact the number of international travelers, who tend to stay longer and spend more.
Even so, Matthew says, he's bullish in the long run on the lower- and mid-priced segments of the South and Miami Beach markets because beyond projects already in the ground, it’s become cost-prohibitive to add anything new that isn’t either luxury or residential. "We expect to see conversions of existing stock, as opportunities for ground-up development become increasingly scarce," he says. Pictured: The pool at Freehand Miami, Sydell's reinvention of a Miami Beach hotel.
Goldman Properties CEO Jessica Goldman Srebnick, who will also speak at our event, tells us that new urban frontiers are found by those who are passionate about revitalizing and creating vibrant neighborhoods. "Seeing a place for what it can be as opposed to what it is is an imperative characteristic for pioneering development," she says—in places where new retail, restaurants and hotels can flourish.
Jessica stresses that neighborhood revitalization isn't for the faint of heart. "Today, the market is thriving with development and differentiated product, all of which are creating an incredible fabric that we call Miami." Snapped: A Wynwood Walls mural by artist Jesse Geller. Few initiatives to differentiate a neighborhood in Miami are more dramatic than the Wynwood Walls and Doors, conceived by the late Tony Goldman in 2009. Sign up here for our Miami Restaurant, Retail & Hospitality Renaissance event.
