Winter looks better for tourism this year.
As Art Basel Miami Beach heralds the unofficial launch of the “high” tourism season this week, demand has finally begun to rise for South Beach hotels and Miami Beach vacation properties. That could signal a turning point for a hotel market besieged by discounted rates and weak demand, trends that have pushed some of the region’s flashiest hotels to the brink of foreclosure.
Severe cutbacks in travel spending haven’t stopped art buyers from driving up hotel rates in Miami Beach this week. The cheapest rooms at the Delano are $825 a night this weekend and $345 next weekend.
After the country’s largest contemporary art show turns off the lights at the Miami Beach Convention Center on Sunday the real test begins.
Peter Sahora, general manager of the Z Ocean Hotel in South Beach says, “It looks like the slide is either slowing down or reversing. We’ll see what happens in January and February.”
Miami Beach tourism is still suffering even through the high season. Miami Beach hotel revenues and occupancy numbers are decreasing even more quickly than they did after September 11th. Miami Beach tourism suffered a great deal after September 11th due to people’s reluctance to fly. Miami’s Guide will guide you in the right direction and help you find everything you need for the perfect trip.
Revenue for Miami Beach hotels in February 2009 was low and occupancy rates dropped between 10 to 73%. Miami Beach hotel room prices declined an average of 15% to $180 per night. Aside from the global decline, Miami Beach tourism is also suffering because of the increased hotel room supply. There are 10% more Miami Beach hotel rooms this year than last year. Despite the decrease in numbers, Miami Beach tourism gets along well compared to other US top tourist destinations. Vacationers in Miami Beach take advantage of incredible deals on accommodations and usually prefer to stay in Miami Beach vacation rental properties. Miami Beach hotels averages per room are the highest in the country. Use Miami’s Guide to make educated decisions and save while traveling.
South Beach is recognized for its gorgeous people, beaches and top-notch nightclubs. Every street is lined with bars, hotels, stores, Miami Beach vacation rentals, restaurants and the best Miami night clubs. It is not uncommon to see celebrities at theBest Miami night clubs. As a tourist who wants to party, know that none of the best Miami night clubs start before 11 PM. The best Miami night clubs offer non-stop music, dancing and cocktails.
The biggest party animals are sure to be satisfied by the best Miami night clubs. Following are some of the best Miami night clubs to visit while you travel Florida:
South Beach and Miami Beach nightlife is changing before our eyes. A major South Beach nightclub, Miami Opium Garden with Prive, just closed its doors and is moving to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. Is this the beginning of a new trend or just an isolated event? The Miami Opium Garden along with its VIP Prive has been the leading Miami Beach nightlife nightclub in South Beach for decades.
The crisis afflicting South Florida was probably the major factor behind this move. Miami Opium Garden will reopen at theSeminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in mid-March. Even the world-renowned Winter Music Conference will hold events there for the first time.
The city of Miami Beach became anti-nightclubs and quoted thousands of violations made by Miami Beach clubs in the past 10 years. Miami Beach vacation rentals attract a large variety of vacationers including clubbers. This aggressive stand by the city might endanger the future of Miami Beach nightlife and reputation as a trendy, hip city. TV series such as CSI Miami have attracted a lot of tourists because of their depiction of the glamorous Miami Beach nightlife. What will become of Miami Beach if the Miami Beach nightlife disappears? Miami Opium Garden was hit with so many noise violations that it decided it could not operate anymore in such a hostile environment. The city noise ordinance was unbearable. The Opium Group sued the city but ultimately lost the fight. Opium Group continues being a part of Miami Beach nightlife and operating Mansion, SET and the Louis Bar Lounge in the Gansevoort hotel.
The Seminole Hard Rock Casino is one of the major entertainment centers in South Florida with a casino, restaurants, concert venues, stores, hotels and night clubs such as Passions, Pangaea and Gryphon. The Seminole Hard Rock Casino is very popular among locals and has a slightly older crowd than you will find within the Miami Beach nightlife.
Brownes Beauty is more than a beauty supply boutique in Miami. It has an extensive salon, spa and yoga studio privately tucked away upstairs.
The Miami salon has wide open spaces for its menu of services including nails and hair styling.
The spa in Miami has eight different treatment rooms named and decorated after exotic destinations including Mumbai, Marrakesh, Mykonos and Shanghai.
Last-minute gift certificates are available online. In order to attract locals, owners Gary Feinberg and Nikki Mallon have fixed the prices at lower rates than those at South Beach hotels. Some of the more popular treatments are:
• The Yonka Aroma Facial: A 60-minute deep-cleaning with extractions and a mask $90
• Black Pepper Slim & Detox: A 60-minute treatment for cellulite patches $120
• Dr. Hauschka Rosemary Footbath: A 45-minute treatment for the relief of sole fatigue $40
• Darphin Facial: A 75-minute wrinkle-repair $145
With this, receive a free make-up consultation or eyebrow shaping
Offers are good thru January 17th, 2009. Brownes Beauty is located at 841 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. For extra information, call 305-538-7544 or visit www.brownesbeauty.com. It is perfectly located close to the most popular hotels and Miami Beach vacation rentals.
The 2010 Pro Bowl will be played on January 31st while the 2010 Super Bowl will be held one week later on February 7th. In recent years, the NFL has discussed having the Pro Bowl game and the Super Bowl played in the same city.
Miami was named the place for the 2010 Super Bowl three years ago for the 10th time. Months ago, the discussion about whether or not to bring the Pro Bowl to Miami in 2010 began.
The Pro Bowl has been held in Honolulu since 1980. Before that, the game site rotated annually and came to Miami in 1975.
The NFL has not yet announced the move of the Pro Bowl from Honolulu to Miami for 2010, but Hawaii’s governor and Honolulu’s mayor both confirmed the rumors. It is quite possible that after 2010 the Pro Bowl site will rotate between different destinations.
Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle said, “While I am disappointed the Pro Bowl likely will not be played in Hawaii in 2010, I respect the NFL’s decision to play the post season all-star game in the same city as the Super Bowl, one week before the Super Bowl, on a one-year test basis.” She hopes to make a deal before the 2011 game for the game to return to Honolulu even if only every two or three years. The Pro Bowl is very important to Hawaii because it generates about $30.5 million in visitor spending and taxes.
The internet is a very convenient invention but it also comes with nuisances such as fraud. A large number of fraud attempts take place on the internet and have made their way into travel news.
Vacationers, beware! It should be easy to identify and avoid fraud if you carefully abide by travel tips.
Miami Beach vacation rentals ads are posted on free classified vacation rental websites such as craigslist, backpage or kijiji. Travel news has taught us that owners post ads on a daily basis to rent their vacation rentals or sometimes their alleged vacation rental.
The drawback to these free sites is that the ads are not checked or verified by anybody. This does not mean that renters should not browse those websites but that they should just be extra careful and follow travel tips when booking. Caution should be exercised and following are a few travel tips to help you do that.
Renters should:
• Look at the quality of the ad.
• Research and search travel news to find out whether the vacation rental is offered by an individual or a company. A company is less risky because it can easily be checked.
• Make sure that a local phone number is posted on the ad
• Call the owner or agent and ask a ton of questions. Try to assess how accurately he/she responds.
• Send emails
• Be cautious if you cannot speak with the owner because he “lost” his voice
• Make sure that you sign a real contract indicating what is it that you have reserved
• You may request proof of ownership
• Do not send cash! You may transfer money by wire transfer to a company if it can be checked out and if it has a track record of a reputable Miami Beach vacation rental agency.
• Always check with the Better Business Bureau and travel news.
The City of Miami Beach ordinance has been fighting the allowance of vacation rentals of single family homes for the past 8 years.
The city finally decided to discontinue the renting of “party homes”, villas rented by operators for 1 or 2 nights for an organized commercial event.
The events were disturbing neighbors so the City of Miami Beach took drastic measures to put a stop to the nuisance. Unfortunately, by the same token they have affected the entire industry of home vacation rentals in Miami Beach.
Owners and managers of a vacation rental house in Miami Beach have been severely limited in their ability to rent their homes. They can rent their properties a mere 3 times a year, no matter the term of the rentals.
City of Miami Beach inspectors have been on the lookout for violators of this legal interpretation that will soon be added to the city codes.
Home owners in Miami Beach have received fines and have watched their homes get raided by police to enforce a misfit regulation for one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.
Nonetheless, vacationers should follow tips for travel and be careful when staying at a vacation rental. Maintain the serenity to your vacation in order to avoid such consequences.
Some vacation rental property owners advertise on websites or magazines under the false indication that their vacation homes are located in Miami Beach when, in fact, they are in other neighborhoods of Miami.
Make sure to get travel information such as the address of the house when you reserve it. If it is located in Miami Beach, you should be prepared to risk expulsion. Otherwise, follow tips for travel and avoid this vacation rental house entirely.
If the vacation villa is located in other areas of Miami such as North Miami Beach, Miami or North Miami, you can peacefully enjoy your stay. Always make sure to follow tips for travel and ask the Miami vacation rental agency if there are any restrictions or other travel information you should know.
The cities of Miami, North Miami and North Miami Beach are not targeted by this ordinance.
Miami attracts tourists from all over the world with different eating habits. Therefore, tourists come with all sorts of different needs and requirements. There are Miami Beach vacation rentals that are specifically adapted to accommodate them.
Being a hard core vegetarian or eating kosher is not complicated for tourists anymore.
It is easy to find ingredients and foods such as Kosher foods, Hallal foods or vegetarian foods in Miami grocery stores, being that Miami is such a cosmopolitan city. Miami vacationers with special diet needs have found their match through the exploding popularity of vacation rentals.
[caption id="attachment_129" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption="Miami Beach Luxury Vacation Home Rental"][/caption]
Maintain your eating habits in your home-away-from-home. Visitors can take advantage of the great Miami restaurants, Kosher Miami Beach Restaurants or Vegetarian Miami Beach restaurants. Hereunder, find a list of restaurants. Alternatively, you could also visit our section dedicated especially to restaurants.
Miami is taking steps to become a bike-friendly city.
City leaders recently approved a plan that strives to achieve that by 2012. Get ready to get those dusty bikes out of your garage or rent a bike in Miami and start practicing.
You may not forget how to ride a bike but you definitely get rusty.
Commission Chairman Joe Sanchez wants bike routes to be included in all street plans for here-on-out. A bike coordinator will join the transportation department.
Meanwhile, the city is working with Miami Parking Authority to create 24 bike parking areas.
The bike-friendly Miami action plan is made up of four points:
Construct a set of bike paths
Improve bike safety through education and outreach plans
Develop a bike master plan
Implement a practice of assessing and advancing bicycle proposals
Miami is taking steps to become a bike-friendly city.
