Coutesy: Chris McGinnis/News Source: sfgate.com

With Super Bowl weekend just around the corner, the Miami hotel scene is hot-hot-hot. But it sounds like things might be a little cool at the Trump International Beach Resort Miami.

On Tuesday the hotel sent out a press release stating: "With Super Bowl LIV around the corner and hotels quickly getting sold out, the independently-owned and operated Trump International Beach Resort Miami has announced that it still has rooms available. The resort is just 9.5 miles from the Hard Rock Stadium (20-minute drive), and is also conveniently located approximately 20 minutes from both Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale International Airport."
The release stated that the hotel still had rooms going for $798 per night.

Based on SFGATE's previous reports about sky-high pricing and near city-wide sellouts at top tier hotels and Airbnbs, that seemed surprising. Typically during events like the Super Bowl, most rooms at the big, brand-name hotels are scooped early up in room blocks or total sell-outs by the NFL and corporate sponsors.
Take a look at the slideshow above for a look inside the Trump Miami.

I did a hotel search on Expedia.com for four- and five-star hotels in Miami, and found only a handful of recognizable brand name properties with rooms still available. The few that did have them were priced well over $1,000 per night. (Yes, folks, this is the Super Bowl and people, or their companies or sponsors, pay rates like that all the time without batting an eye. In this case, a $798-per-night rate at the Trump Miami is a relative bargain.)

For comparison, on Tuesday, we found rooms at the new Hyatt Centric Brickell going for $999 per night, the Ritz-Carlton South Beach for $1,899 per night, the SLS LUX Brickell at $1,400 per night. All the big Marriott, IHG and Hilton branded hotels appeared to be sold out.

In that Expedia search, I also found the Trump National Doral Miami on the list of hotels with excess capacity, with its rooms similarly priced at around $700 when everything in that class was far more expensive than that. The Washington Post reports that performance at this hotel has been in a steep decline since Trump took office.

While Trump's Washington, DC hotel has frequently been booked by supporters, lobbyists, foreign diplomats and others potentially seeking to curry favor with the administration or just gawking at the hotel itself. However, the hotel reportedly experienced a weak 57 percent occupancy rate in 2019 (well below competitors), and is currently on track to be sold.

So what's the deal? Are Super-Bowl-bound people and corporations staying away from Trump hotels for political or image reasons? Or is it something else? We've reached out to the hotel to find out if its affiliation with the Trump brand helps or hinders bookings. A spokesperson said, "To clarify, this property is independently-owned and operated." Like many other hotel brands, the Trump Organization licenses its name to be used by hotel owners; it only owns a handful of Trump-branded hotels.

Take a look at the slideshow at the top of this post for a look inside the Trump Miami, which the hotel describes as "A refined, yet relaxed oceanfront retreat, this Forbes Four-Star resort offers guests 360 spacious, stylishly furnished rooms and suites, a full-service spa, a grotto-style swimming pool and poolside cabanas, complimentary children’s program, and 22,000-square-feet of indoor/outdoor event space."

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Chris McGinnis is SFGATE's senior travel correspondent. You can reach him via email or follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Don't miss a shred of important travel news by signing up for his FREE biweekly email updates!

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