CHARLESTON, SC — March 7, 2022— The Indigo Road Hospitality Group (IRHG) has added The Alexander Hotel in Miami Beach, FL to its growing family of hotels across the U.S. This all-suite, oceanfront resort marks the hotel and restaurant management company’s first managed property in the coastal resort city. IRHG has been tasked with turning around the distressed hotel operation and returning it to its former position as one of the leading luxury hotels of Miami Beach.
“While not our first priority as we embarked upon Indigo Road’s entry into the hotel management industry, Miami Beach has been on Indigo Road’s radar from the very beginning,” said Larry Spelts, president of Lodging & Lifestyle Adventures at IRHG. “With such a strong and vibrant tourism industry, the city has done tremendously well throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and is slated to grow significantly in the coming years. We are truly humbled by the opportunity we’ve been given to be part of that.”
The 229-unit property opened its doors to Miami Beach visitors as Millionaire’s Row’s only all-suite hotel in 1964. In 1991, it converted to condominiums with the hotel operations onsite becoming a condo-hotel (also known as a condotel) operation. The emergence of the short-term rental (STR) industry and platforms, such as Airbnb, VRBO, and Miami-based STR rental agencies, combined with a recent history of ineffectual hotel operators resulted in many unit owners abandoning the onsite hotel program and placing their units into other platforms for their rental unit and property management.
In 2020, a group of unit owners displeased with the onsite hotel management banned together and purchased the commercial spaces of The Alexander in 2021. They then brought the operation of the STRs into compliance with the owners’ association’s by-laws and began the process of making the most important change to The Alexander Hotel, which would move the property into a new era — replacing the former management with effective, responsible management.
After a lengthy search for the right management company to step in, the hotel program owners selected IRHG to begin the process of turning around The Alexander on January 1, 2022. IRHG immediately tapped Gabriel Perez, a 30-year hospitality industry veteran, as the property’s general manager. The process of implementing IRHG’s culture, service standards, and a product improvement plan for renovating the condotel’s units that have been in unacceptable conditions and making them competitive as high-end lodging is expected to take at least 18-24 months.
“Adding the first hotel management contract in Miami Beach to our family of boutique properties is a major win for Indigo Road,” said Steve Palmer, founder and chief vision officer of IRHG. “An energetic and a colorful city, Miami Beach is known for its world-renowned Art Deco Historic District, sandy beaches, thriving nightlife, and second-to-none hospitality scene. We look forward to contributing the same experiential, high-touch hospitality we deliver at all our properties to The Alexander.”
