MIAMI—Miami Beach's hospitality industry is facing a sharp new blow after the operator of the celebrity-backed Goodtime Hotel said it plans to stop managing the South Beach property by the end of May, a move expected to eliminate the entire on-site workforce.
The decision hits one of the highest-profile lifestyle hotels on Washington Avenue, a property launched with the star power of Pharrell Williams and Miami nightlife impresario David Grutman, who is also known for his restaurant partnership with Bad Bunny at Gekkō.
According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, notice reported this week by the South Florida Business Journal, Highgate Hotels plans to cease operations at the Goodtime Hotel at 601 Washington Ave. on May 31, or within 14 days after that date. The filing says the layoffs would affect workers at both the hotel and its on-site Strawberry Moon venue and that the job cuts are expected to be permanent. The notice also states that the affected employees are not represented by a union and do not have bumping rights, meaning they cannot displace junior workers to stay employed.
What remains unclear is whether the Goodtime itself will shut down or continue under a different management company. As of Thursday, the hotel was still being marketed online as an active Marriott Tribute Portfolio property, and both Marriott's site and the hotel's own website continued to list rooms and amenities. That leaves open the possibility that the layoffs reflect an operator transition rather than the immediate end of the hotel itself. Still, for workers, the distinction may be academic. Losing 114 jobs at once is a major hit in a tourism-driven district where restaurants, hotels and nightlife venues are deeply interconnected.
The timing is especially painful because the Goodtime was supposed to symbolize a newer, shinier chapter for that stretch of South Beach. The 266-room hotel opened in April 2021 as a splashy hospitality venture between Williams and Grutman, wrapped in pastel design, pool-party branding, and a carefully cultivated celebrity aura. In late 2023, the property joined Marriott International's Tribute Portfolio, a move that suggested the hotel had found a path into a larger global system even while keeping its boutique identity.
But behind the scenes, the business picture has turned increasingly grim. In March, real estate outlets reported that an affiliate of Los Angeles-based CIM Real Estate Credit had filed a $149.3 million foreclosure action tied to the property, alleging that the borrower defaulted on the mortgage after missing interest payments and failing to repay the loan at maturity. The foreclosure complaint targeted Washington Squared Owner LLC, the hotel's owner.
That is not the only legal headache linked to the property. Commercial Observer reported that Miami Beach-based Link Hospitality also sued the hotel's owners, claiming it was owed more than $523,000 under a staffing agreement. The owners have denied those allegations in court filings, according to the same report.
Taken together, the layoffs and the legal fights point to a property under intense financial pressure at a moment when Miami Beach is still selling itself as one of the country's hottest hospitality markets. For the city's image, the Goodtime's troubles are awkward. For employees, it is much worse. In a town built on check-ins, cocktail tabs, and weekend crowds, 114 pink slips land with a thud.
