Atlanta-based hotel investment advisory services firm Hunter Realty has set up shop in Miami. Stephen Taylor, the firm’s newly-minted vice president, will lead the Miami office into opportunities in Florida and the Caribbean.  “We believe Florida and especially Miami, Orlando and Tampa will be hotbeds of activity over the next 24 to 36 months as the economy recovers and the debt issues facing hundreds of hotel owners finally get resolved,” says Teague Hunter, president of Hunter Realty. Teague says Taylor’s 30-plus years of hotel real estate experience as a broker, operator, developer and consultant makes him a good fit to head the Miami expansion.

Taylor comes to Hunter from HTL Hospitality Advisors, where he was managing director of the firm’s Miami brokerage and consulting business. Before entering the hotel brokerage business, Taylor was founding partner, president, and CEO of Brookshire Hotels, a nationwide full-service hotel management and development company with a portfolio of about 30 hotels.  In his new role at Hunter, Taylor smells opportunity. He points to Smith Travel Research’s Aug. 14 report that shows Miami-Dade’s occupancy rose to 74%, up from 69% a year ago. Broward’s occupancy rate rose from 60% to 63% in the same period. Meanwhile, Orlando’s hotel occupancy climbed nearly 7% in July.

“The banks are starting to get a little bit more aggressive now,” Taylor tells GlobeSt.com. “They are more willing to loosen their purse strings. I expect to see more deals in Florida, and I think the state will recover more quickly than others. There’s a big pent up demand for vacations, so Florida as a tourism destination still has an advantage.”  Click here for full story from Globe Street…