Miami Tourism, Hotels in Miami

Miami tourism most likely won’t be affected by the city’s decision to ban hotels in Miami from serving alcohol on the beach. Officials were advised by the city attorney that beachfront hotels in Miami are no longer allowed to sell or serve alcoholic drinks to customers on the beach.City Attorney Jose Smith says that's against the law for hotels to peddle tropical drinks through their oceanfront concession stands in hopes for more Miami tourism.

President of the South Beach Hotel and Restaurant Association, David Kelsey, said almost every oceanfront hotels in Miami from serves alcohol to customers on the beach. The timing he said was unfortunate because of these weeks Urban Beach Week which bring hundreds of thousands of Miami tourism visitors over Memorial Day weekend.

Last month following a commission meeting where many complained about littering and drinking on the beach during a spring break, Smith’s office began looking into the issue. There decision: The commissioners told police they want strict enforcement of the city's littering and drinking laws, which ban alcohol consumption and sales in public places.

That raised the question of whether hotels in Miami were allowed to serve alcohol to customers on the beach. Only if the city manager or city commission have given a vendor permission, do the city's laws grant alcohol sales on public land. He was not aware of any such exception.

Smith said for beachside concession agreements, most do not address beverage sales. One references ``beach drinks'' and another references ``food and beverage'' but none specifically allows alcohol sales.

Based on Smith's legal analysis it’s unclear what kind of enforcement the city would enact. Punishment for violating the city code regarding liquor sales on public land range from fines to jail time.