South Florida’s hotels and restaurants reported 655 more layoffs as the coronavirus pandemic continues to pummel the tourism industry.
JW Marriott Marquis Miami and Boulud Sud in downtown Miami, the JW Marriott Miami on Brickell Avenue, Nobu in Miami Beach, and Miami International Airport restaurants filed WARN notices with the state.
MDM Group’s 313-room JW Marriott Marquis Miami, Hotel Beaux Arts and Daniel Boulud’s Boulud Sud, all at 255 Biscayne Boulevard Way, furloughed 277 employees. MG Hospitality, tied to MDM, operates the businesses, which closed on March 20.
MDM’s 298-room JW Marriott Miami at 1109 Brickell Avenue, closed March 23 and furloughed all 128 of its employees, according to its WARN notice filed by MG Hospitality.
Nobu Miami Beach at 4525 Collins Avenue laid off 123 employees. The restaurant closed March 17.
And AREAS USA MIA, which operates restaurants at Miami International Airport, laid off 127 employees.
Last week, additional WARN notices released by the state revealed that South Beach Hotel Group, led by longtime Miami Beach hotelier Alan Lieberman, laid off over 700 employees at 13 of its 16 boutique Miami Beach hotels, including the Catalina Hotel, the Harding Hotel and the Riviera Loft Hotel.
In addition, the Trump Organization’s Mar-a-Lago resort and Trump National Doral furloughed hundreds of employees. The Standard Spa in Miami Beach also laid off 236 employees, and the bayfront InterContinental Miami in downtown Miami, laid off 377 employees, while the Four Seasons Hotel Miami furloughed 312 employees.
Earlier this month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a statewide stay-at-home order, requiring all non-essential businesses to shutter. The order followed previous decisions by individual counties and municipalities, including in some cases, ordering hotels to close.
Hotel occupancy in Miami stands at about 20 percent, a drop of nearly 76 percentage points from the same time a year earlier, according to the latest report from hotel research firm STR. Revenue per available room is hovering at about $18.
The hotel industry is also facing over $4 billion in debt payments on commercial mortgage-backed securities loans. The loans are harder to restructure than conventional loans and are more likely to head to foreclosure, according to industry experts.