The Eden Roc Miami Beach and Benihana laid off 727 employees, as the pandemic continues to devastate South Florida’s hospitality industry.
The Eden Roc, at 4525 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, laid off 458 employees, according to a WARN notice filed with the state. The 418-room hotel, owned by Key International, said the cuts include 142 permanent and 316 temporary layoffs, according to the notice.
Aventura-based Benihana National of Florida Corp. laid off 269 employees at its three South Florida locations, according to WARN notices. They include 128 employees at 1665 Northeast 79th Street Causeway in North Bay Village; 78 employees at 3261 Southwest 160th Avenue in Miramar; and 63 employees at 276 East Commercial Boulevard in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
Earlier this week, additional WARN notices revealed several other hotels in Miami Beach laid off a total of 319 employees: the Palms Hotel and Spa laid off 230 employees; Circa 39 laid off 44 employees; and South Seas and the Richmond Hotel, combined, laid off 45 employees.
Also, Hard Rock Cafés in Miami, Hollywood and Key West furloughed 354 employees.
South Florida’s hospitality industry has been hit hard by coronavirus, as many hotels have been forced to shut down and restaurants can only offer takeout and delivery. Earlier this month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a statewide stay-at-home order, requiring all non-essential businesses to shutter. The order followed previous decisions by individual counties and municipalities, including in some cases, ordering hotels to close.
The governor announced this week that restaurant and retail restrictions will ease across the state starting on Monday, but not in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties.
Earlier this month, WARN notices revealed additional layoffs at SLS South Beach, Rosetta Bakery, Zuma, Miller’s Ale House, JW Marriott Marquis Miami, Boulud Sud, the JW Marriott Miami, Nobu in Miami Beach and Miami International Airport restaurants. In addition, South Beach Hotel Group laid off over 700 employees at most of its hotels.
South Florida’s hotel industry is also facing over $4 billion in debt payments on commercial mortgage-backed securities loans, including the $975 million CMBS loan for Jeffrey Soffer’s Fontainebleau Miami Beach. CMBS loans are often deemed riskier than conventional loans.