Miami hotels prepare for layoffs and other budget cuts as occupancy plummets
West Palm Beach’s Kolter Group is planning a new 134-room hotel for the vacant land near Delray Beach’s Old School Square Cultural Arts Center. The developer picked up the 1.8-acre site in December for $3.7 million and is currently in talks with Hyatt Place, Courtyard by Marriott and Hilton Garden Inn for the hotel’s branding. Hyatt is said to be a front-runner for the spot. According to Kolter executive Bob Vail, downtown Delray Beach is in need of a $100- to $200-a-night lodging option, and that’s what he intends to provide. But Vail isn’t the only one jockeying to break into the city’s hotel market, though. For the past year, New York’s Benita Goldstein and her husband, Jordan, have been working to renovate the historic Hartman House near the Intracoastal Waterway, which they bought for $400,000 last year. Next month, they’ll reopen the property as a bed and breakfast with a 1920s theme. [Palm Beach Post]
