Miami and its Beaches Are Open for Business Post Hurricane Irma
by Richard D'Ambrosio /
While Miami and its beaches were not hit directly by Hurricane Irma, lasting images of the damage to the city and region might still be prevalent in vacationers’ minds. That’s why Miami and Miami Beach are getting word out of how the city and its beaches are open.
“The majority of restaurants are open and welcoming guests,” the Greater Miami and the Beaches (GMCVB) convention and visitors bureau website posted Monday, Sept. 18.
“Cleanup efforts are taking place at anchor tourist attractions and eateries, and many other activities are geared towards making the neighborhoods even better than they were before.”
“A few of Miami’s attractions were impacted by Hurricane Irma,” the GMCVB said, though it did not provide any further details. Visitors and agents can access the latest information at the official Miami Beach website.
Miami Beach fared better than expected
“What we’re hearing from our guests is they want reassurance,” said Peggy Benua, chair of the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority and general manager, at the Dream, Miami South Beach.
“They are seeing photos and videos from other cities that were damaged. So we are reassuring them of what the beaches and streets look like.”
The Fontainebleau Miami Beach had more than 1,400 comments on a Sept. 13 Facebook post stating that the hotel had reopened. Of the 93 comments on the post recently, many were from future guests asking if the hotel would be okay for their upcoming stay.
Since Sept. 13, the Fontainebleau has posted only one exterior photo, from a guest, showing poolside palm trees fully intact.
At the Dream, which is adjacent to the former Versace Mansion and about 50 yards from the beach, all of the rooms are available for booking, Benua said, and the hotel is close to full for this coming weekend.
Wendy Kallergis, president and CEO for the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association, said agents and consumers may not be seeing the full extent of the city’s recovery, because most hotels and tourism officials were focused last week on helping employees and facilities recover.
“Everybody is getting internet back. Last week we were challenged with posting. You should be seeing more marketing and digital media this week helping show Miami Beach is up and running,” Kallergis said.
Kallergis said Miami Beach’s main attractions fared well.
“I was driving by Miami Beach this morning, and the sidewalks are clean,” Kallergis said. “There is still some sand on the boardwalks (from the storm surge), but the beach chairs and umbrellas are being set up.”
The Broward County beach manager said area beaches are narrower as a result of erosion from Irma.
West Coast of Florida still struggles
On the West Coast of the Florida peninsula, the tourism news was much less sunny.
In Naples, FL, 37 percent of local residents were still without power as the city slowly regained normalcy this week. As of Monday, Sept. 18, several top attractions are closed and working to make repairs, including Naples Botanical Garden, Naples Zoo, Everglades National Park, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, and the Naples Pier.
The 450–room Ritz Carlton, Naples and the 726–room JW Marriott Marco, Island were still closed at the beginning of this week, and there was no indication about when the luxury properties would reopen. The JW Marriott said it is waiving cancellation fees through Oct. 2.
In Southwest Florida, Collier and Lee counties issued precautionary swim advisories for their beaches late last week. The counties recommend staying out of the water until it can be tested for bacteria.
According to local news reports, the Naples-area beaches were some of the hardest hit in South Florida, with “extensive damage” from erosion and in some places, severely compacted sand.