W Hotel South Beach Closing, Leaving Marriott: What’s Next For The Property?

The W South Beach, one of Miami Beach’s most well known hotels, will soon be closing for an extensive renovation. When it reopens, it won’t be affiliated with Marriott anymore, so this should get interesting…

The expectation is that the hotel will be undergoing a major renovation. However, when completed, it won’t reopen as a W Hotel. Instead, it will end its affiliation with Marriott, and it remains to be seen what the future holds, in terms of when it reopens, and what brand it will belong to. As part of this transition, we’re unfortunately going to see the permanent termination of nearly 340 employees.

The W Hotel South Beach has nearly 350 rooms, and for the W brand, it punches above its weight, and at least for years was a “cool” party hotel that many people enjoyed staying at. The hotel has easily had among the highest average daily rates of any property in the W system.

What does the future hold for the W Hotel South Beach?

What does the future hold for this property? Keep in mind that the W Hotel South Beach underwent a roughly $30 million renovation in 2020, so it’s not like the hotel was in dire need of updates, or anything. Furthermore, with employees being terminated and the future of the property unclear, it sounds like this hotel is undergoing some major work, and might not reopen for a couple of years.

What do you make of the W Hotel South Beach closing, and how do you think it’ll be rebranded?