Western Miami Beach Is Located at 4101

¶ … Western Miami Beach is located at 4101 Collins Avenue, backing onto the beach and boardwalk, in an area a mile or two north of South Beach. This area is dense with hotels, including some very large and famous hotels to the immediate north (Fontainebleau, Eden Roc), and a cluster of smaller hotels in the vicinity of the Best Western. Collins Avenue has hotels for much of its length, stretching all the way to South Beach along the beachfront boardwalk. The Best Western backs onto the beach. There is little in the way of restaurants or night life in the immediate area, but there are numerous bus routes to South Beach and ample taxi cabs as well.

There are 186 guest rooms on 10 floors. The hotel is franchised, operating under the Best Western brand. It has a number of different facilities on the premises. These include direct beach access, pool, fitness center, restaurant on site, high speed Internet, and room service. There is a cocktail lounge on the 2nd floor, and the exercise facility is open 24 hours. There is a nearby parking garage for those arriving with a vehicle. Breakfast is available for a fee. The hotel is 100% smoke-free. Inside the rooms, there are further amenities. Cable and satellite television is provided, and there are in-room movies available on demand. There is a coffee/tea maker, and there is an AM/FM alarm clock provided as well. Most of the rooms are handicapped accessible and the hotel also provides services for the hearing or sight impaired. The strongest differentiation point is probably the Best Western name, which is reliable and trusted. Most of the other features are common to the area, including the direct beach access.

While the hotel is located in the Mid-Beach area, most customers are visiting South Beach or the Miami area in general. This opens the competitive area approximately to Miami Beach as a whole. There are 16,538 hotel rooms in the City of Miami Beach, and of course thousands more in Miami, which lies across Biscayne Bay. Occupancy in 2010 was at 68.1%, which was lower than usual levels due to the economic downturn and a steady increase in supply over the previous few years (City of Miami Beach, 2011).

The ADR for 2010 in Miami Beach was $188.75, which represents an upward trend. The price on Expedia shows $107 per night for this hotel in the low season (June). This puts the hotel with a cost leadership position by offering rooms at a rate much lower than most of the competition, in line with the 2 star nature of the hotel and the fact that it has a location away from South Beach. The reviews of the hotel on Trip Advisor are not great, and the hotel is ranked #135 out of 201 hotels on Miami Beach. This relatively low ranking is consistent, however, with the low price of the rooms. There are many complaints about the service and housekeeping, which is something that appears to be a significant and consistent weakness. The main strength of the hotel is that it has a recognizable name and is located right on the beach.