Miami news, Miami local news

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.

Due to the economic struggle that industries are currently facing, Miami restaurants are slashing prices in order to lure customers. Miami Spice, a month-long event where top Miami restaurants offer discounted meals, normally takes place in the summer because it is considered the slow season.

Now, the new Winter Miami Spice by the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau has come into effect and will run from January 12th to February 12th. Over 30 Miami restaurants will participate in Winter Miami Spice and offer a fixed menu for lunch for $23 and dinner for $36. For more information on Winter Miami Spice, visit ilovemiamispice.com.

Miami Holiday Rentals & Florida vacation rentals - Find amazing accommodations in Florida and Miami for your next Miami vacation.

Today is another new beginning for Miami-Dade’s northbound I-95. Drivers will be introduced to a new traffic system on some of the busiest sections of I-95. Drivers will no longer be able to dive freely into expressway traffic. Now, they must wait for a green light at the entrance ramp to merge in during rush hours. These traffic signals will await motorists at eight different northbound I-95 ramps between NW 62nd Street and the Golden Glades interchange.

This new addition to the driving system is meant to ultimately manage congestion and ease any merging madness on this very busy Florida expressway. This, much like the implementation of the new northbound toll lanes, will require some adjustment. Drivers should pay extra attention when entering I-95 as the new traffic signals create a huge potential for rear-end collisions.

Drivers that are not used to red lights on an interstate ramp may not stop and end up rear-ending drivers ahead of them that obey that traffic signal. Florida Highway Patrols hope that, like the new I-95 toll lanes, people will come to understand the purpose of the traffic signals and adjust after some initial chaos and confusion. A trooper will be set up at every traffic signaled ramp to enforce the new regulation. Violators may face penalties including a $160 ticket and three points on their license. Ramp backups will be monitored by sensors under the ramps and expressway lanes as well as surveillance cameras. When ramps get too backed-up the sensors will signal to speed up entries. If you are traveling to Miami and you plan to rent a car, these traffic signals may not be foreign to you.

There are several like these that already exist in other parts of the country. If you want to avoid them, maybe you should look into Miami Beach vacation rentals and Florida vacation rentals which are within walking distance to many of Miami’s attractions.

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Tourism in Miami and Fort Lauderdale was not strong enough to get either of the two South Florida destinations onto the list of the Top 10 US Destinations being booked for 2009.

According to a survey conducted by travel leaders, both cities are competing to be ranked 11th. Orlando, the former number 1 top ranked destination, slipped to number 2 under Las Vegas.

Orlando holidays are still extremely popular among domestic and international travelers while tourism in Miami, despite a small hiccup, is still strongly booking for 2009. Europeans are taking advantage of the present strength of the Euro to get great deals for Miami hotels and Miami Beach vacation rentals. Hotels and lodging in Miami Beach are offering large discounts to attract visitors. Visit our online guide of Miami to prepare for a fulfilling vacation in Miami.

Though the number of carpoolers was decreasing from 1980 to 2007, the numbers recently got a little higher after gas prices rose.

About three-quarters of American workers drive alone. Soon, commuters will have an option that allows them to carpool if they decide to do so at the last minute without committing to a daily arrangement.

This is possible through an application that was made for iPhones called Avego (www.avego.com) that is connecting drivers and passengers depending on planned and desired routes.

Avego, based in Ireland, requires that drivers who are willing to offer rides to download the application and input their preferred route. Place the iPhone on the dashboard and it records your entire route and sends it to the network for potential passengers to see.

Passengers are not required to have an iPhone to use the program. They can simply go to the Avego website, call or send a text message.

Carpoolers can identify each other by photographs or PINs that are used to authorize transactions. Passengers are charge 30 cents per mile, of which 85% goes to the driver and 15% goes to Avego.

All payments are made through automated online accounting. Avego will take some time to establish an abundant collection of passengers and drivers.

Currently, there is a similar iPhone application called Carticipate (www.carticipate.com).

This matching-service application was released in October and already has over 10,000 downloads. Drivers interested in carpooling register and set up a profile for other people with iPhones to search and find them.

Europeans commuting from one country to another find Carticipate very useful as it is much cheaper than a train ride. If you are on vacation yourself and have an iPhone, you may rent a car in Miami and everything works the same.

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.

[caption id="attachment_131" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption="Miami Vacation Condo Building"][/caption]

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.

Rent a vacation rental in Miami Beach and eat at home when you are craving you favorite foods. Holiday rental properties always come fully equipped with cooking resources.

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.

For years, solitary commuters have been finding creative ways to fool the system and use the South Florida HOV lanes on I-95 without any real companion passengers. Commuters have used ploys such as blow-up sex dolls, life-size celebrity cardboard cut-outs, faceless store mannequins, wigs on passenger-seat head restraints, dolls in baby seats, kick boxing dummies, Safe-T-Man and even balloons with a face drawn on them. In reality, only 12 percent of highway commuters carpooled. Sales for these travel “companions” will likely drop due to the seven-mile carpool lane being replaced with new variable-priced toll lanes on northbound South Florida I-95. Next year, the same will be done to the South-bound lane and by 2011, the pay-to-go lanes are expected to run through to Broward County. Lone travelers can now save some money with a $4.99 investment in a South Florida SunPass Mini sticker versus a $24.95 blow-up doll.

A Miami event you should be part of. This year, the Miami Book Fair International will celebrate its 25th round in Miami. On November 9th through the 16th, thousands of people will attend this Miami event and listen to readings and discussions about and with international best-selling authors. The Miami Book Fair International is held at Miami-Dade College Wolfson campus in Downtown Miami. Programs will include a week-long reading series called Evenings Withe, a Spanish program called Ibero-American Authors, kid activities called Children’s Alley, student sessions called Student Literary Encounters and a rare book showcase called Antiquarian Annex. The Miami-Dade Wolfson campus is located at 300 N.E. 2nd Ave.

Don’t miss it. The street fair of this annual Miami event will be on THIS WEEKEND!

For additional information, call 305-237-3258 or visit http://www.miamibookfair.com

Start to plan your participation in the 2009 Miami Book Fair by visiting www.miamibookfair.com. You  must have in mind the accommodations during important Miami events get packed, so it is highly-recommended to book your Miami hotel now or considered other options like Miami vacation rentals, which might offer more value.

Gertrude Silverstone Muss Gallery

This Miami exhibition and recommended event is comprised of approximately 80 works on paper by some of the 20th century’s most renowned Spanish artists, as well as artists from other countries whose careers were impacted by Spain.

This event in Miami showcases rarely seen sketches and illustrations by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Sonia Delaunay, Juan Gris, Picabia and Joaqui­n Torres-Garcia.

Where: Miami Bass Museum of Art

2100 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL - (305) 673-7843

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When: Aug 23rd to Nov 2nd, 2008