Miami Beach hotel to close and lay off hundreds of workers before change

Miami Beach admin June 23, 2026 0 Comments

Miami Beach hotel to close and lay off hundreds of workers before change

More high-end hotel construction is coming to the Miami area.

The W South Beach hotel at 2201 Collins Ave. will shut down this summer so that its new owner can start renovations. No timeline was given, but the hotel is letting go 337 employees effective Aug. 19, and providing them with no promises of future work.

That information comes from a letter sent by the hotel on June 18 to local officials, required as part of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, a federal law known as WARN.

WARN requires companies with more than 100 employees to give public notice ahead of mass layoffs or the closing of employment sites. It was signed by Alexandra Ain, the W’s director of human resources. The employees aren’t represented by a union.

The notice also mentioned that the Marriott will no longer operate the hotel after Aug. 20.

The W South Beach was once a Holiday Inn before Miami Beach resumed its efforts to win back high-end tourists and well-heeled foreigners. The Holiday Inn was demolished in 2006 and then the W went up, offering hotel rooms and private residences.

In late 2024, new owners came on board when the investment firm Reuben Brothers acquired the property for $425 million. The resort then had 175 hotel rooms and 173 private condos.

The firm is run by the British brothers David Reuben and Simon Reuben. It has properties in Rome, London, New York and Capri, including Hotel La Palma.

The W is located in the Collins Waterfront Historic District. In an application, the Reuben Brothers submitted to the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board this year, they indicated they wouldn’t demolish the building. They said the lobby and all the guest rooms would be renovated.

According to the filing, the pool deck and pool bar would get upgrades and the seating capacity at hotel restaurants and bars would increase by more than 700. A pâtisserie, a bakery of French caliber, is also in the works, and will come with an outdoor courtyard.

The new owners are also planning a new members club, a trend in South Florida. They also want to add a members-only drop-off at 23rd Street.

On April 14, after the presentation and discussion, the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board voted to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project but with conditions and limitations.

The board didn’t approve the building of a private club or the partial demolition requested of a wall that would allow the space to open up to the outside. The two parties agreed to revisit that, and the owners will have to return to the Board.

The project faces some neighborhood opposition, especially from those living next door at the Roney Palace Condominium, several whom aren’t happy about possible noise and traffic worsening on 22nd Street and Collins Avenue.

One unit owner in that complex, Dennis Wedlick, spoke virtually at the April 14 meeting and said a private club would turn into a live music venue. He and others also cited noise and traffic concerns.

Wedlick, an architect, said the owners’ presentation was “decidedly incomplete, preventing you and the public from properly assessing the project’s impact on the surroundings.”

In addition to going back to the board, the owners still have to get the Miami Beach Planning Board’s approval.