Miami-Dade, Miami Beach Order Hotels to Close With Coronavirus Around

Miami-Dade County hotels already reeling from dwindling occupancy from the coronavirus pandemic have been ordered to shut down.

Miami-Dade followed Miami Beach in ordering hotels and other lodgings, including short-term rentals, to shut down and accept bookings only from health care workers, state and federal staff members, the National Guard and other essential personnel as well as journalists.

The county said those who live in hotels under weekly or monthly arrangements because of exigent circumstances can stay. This includes people who can’t return home because of the pandemic or are victims of domestic violence.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued the order on the heels of Miami Beach mandating hotel and short-term rental closures by midnight Monday. The county’s order also says short-term rentals are to end by Monday.

The mandates come as hotels across South Florida already were faced with massive cancellations as visitors discarded plans as a precaution or due to travel bans.

Regional hotel occupancy dropped to about 60% in the second week of March, down a quarter from the same time during spring break last year.

The sharp booking decline came even before Gimenez issued an order Thursday shutting down all but essential businesses. A follow up mandate issued on Saturday expanded the closures to hotels. Public beaches and most bars already had been shut down, and restaurants were open only for the takeout trade.

Miami Beach officials imposed a citywide midnight curfew starting Tuesday. The order expanded a previous curfew that applied only to the entertainment district in an effort to disperse crows and prevent spread of COVID-19.

In Miami-Dade, hotel occupancy was 65.5% for the week of March 8, down 25.5% from the same time last year, according to hotel data tracker STR, based in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

In Broward County, hotel occupancy was 68.6%, down 22.5% from last year. In Palm Beach County, it was 69.2%, down by 22%, STR reported.

Rates were better in the first week of March — 75.6% in Miami-Dade, 80% in Broward and 85.5% in Palm Beach — but still less than a year ago, according to STR.

The key industry metric also suffered. The average daily room rate in the second week of March was down 10% in Miami-Dade, 8.6% in Broward and 12% in Palm Beach. The biggest drops were in the revenue per available room, a metric that combines the average daily room rate and occupancy rate, which dropped 30% in each county, STR reported.

It’s likely bookings slowed and cancellations jumped in the second week of March as the virus took hold in the U.S. and more restrictions were imposed on travel and large gatherings. In Florida, 520 people tested positive for the virus Friday, Broward led with 124 cases, Miami-Dade had 113 and Palm Beach 34. Ten deaths were recorded.

Hospitality is in a dire situation across the U.S. with 4 million jobs in the industry already eliminated or on the verge, according to American Hotel & Lodging Association.

The crisis is worse than what the industry saw during the Great Recession and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Chip Rogers, American Hotel & Lodging president and CEO, said in a news release. The trade group represents more than half of U.S. hotels.

Industry leaders met with Trump administration officials Tuesday to discuss bailout ideas.

California’s emergency order allows the state to commandeer hotels to house coronavirus patients.