Luxe hotels see tough times

Jorge Collazo, sales director at South Beach luxury resort the Setai, predicts that a sizable number of guests this winter will balk at its $1,100 standard daily rate, forcing him to extend a $620 weekday special into the weekend. He’s got plenty of company among high-end hoteliers, who think a global recession will hit them harder than any other event in their relatively brief histories. Many of Florida’s priciest hotels were either in the planning stages or only recently opened during the downturn brought on by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. A representative of the Four Seasons, located off Brickell Avenue, says roughly 40 percent of business travelers on any given year work for the financial sector, meaning an industry meltdown and layoffs will hit its reservation numbers hard.