"Study cites need for new hotel on Miami airport grounds"

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Study cites need for new hotel on airport grounds
By Eric Kalis
Miami (FL) Today


A consultant's conclusion that a new hotel on the grounds of Miami
International Airport would be a moneymaker for the airport has led aviation
department officials to begin laying plans.

"Ultimately, we found a need for a three-star, four-diamond hotel in Miami
International Airport," said Chuck Martinez, principal of Miami hospitality
consultant Adelfi, a 2-year-old company paid $150,000 by the aviation
department in September to explore construction of a second on-site hotel.
"It would have a natural advantage over the hotels in the airport perimeter
area."

Mr. Martinez said the company found successful hotels inside the airports in
several major cities. A new hotel inside Miami International would be
especially convenient for thousands of business travelers, he said. There
has been a hotel in Terminal E of the airport since 1959.

"We conducted interviews with current hotels that fit the profile and are
part of the competitive set," Mr. Martinez said. "There are similar hotels
in cities like Detroit, Hartford, Orlando and Pittsburgh. More airports do
not have hotels than those which do, but it is not so rare."

Now, Mr. Martinez said, it is up to airport and county officials to hire a
developer and choose a hotel site.

"Our firm prepared a market study, which we presented to the aviation
department," Mr. Martinez said. "This was all submitted to the county in
January. Now [the project] is at sort of a standstill."

José Abreu, aviation department director, said he hopes to list physical and
financial specifics at summer's end and request qualifications in the fall.

For the hotel to become a reality, Mr. Abreu said, the department must seek
a private/public partnership to ensure a steady stream of revenue for the
airport.

"We want to try to have a pool of investors," he said. "The issue with
bringing in a third-party developer is, while it is a great deal for the
community, the potential for our income is limited. If we have a partnership
with somebody else we can have a share of the rent."

The department in 2004 sought a partnership with a company to refurbish and
run the circa 1959 Miami International Airport hotel but failed to gain
interest. About 19 companies studied the offer but declined the deal.

Sherwood Weiser, chairman and CEO of Continental Hospitality Holdings, said
his company declined after spending $200,000 studying the proposal for the
259-room hotel. The county's terms presented "insurmountable hurdles," he
told county officials at the time.

Just where a hotel would rise is uncertain, Mr. Abreu said. "We have not
gone into much detail about the physical aspects of the hotel. We have not
determined the best part of the airport to build it. By fall we will put a
plan on the table."

One location, he said, could be seven acres near the South Terminal parking
lot that the Department of Transportation bought for joint development.

"The hotel could be part of that," Mr. Abreu said, "as long as there is
sufficient parking."

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