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Tourists congregate in the lobby at The Club of Brickell Bay on Monday morning, Aug. 17, 2026, where about 80 percent of the building’s units are rented on Airbnb and other vacation booking sites, in violation of the city’s laws. |
Miami police are called almost daily; on
Aug. 4 they responded to a 2 a.m. call about a 20-year-old
college student from Turkey who fell to his death from the
balcony of a 34th-floor Airbnb. His friend told police the
man had been drinking and smoking marijuana.
Hernandez’s order followed a Miami Herald article that
revealed how short-term rentals of less than 30 days thrive
at The Club despite hosts’ lack of required permits and
licenses. A hotel reservation system is installed in the
office.
Hernandez concurred in her order that The Club is in
violation of city laws. The Herald found that The Club, a
multi-family residential building, has a Certificate of Use
from 2007 that does not allow it to operate as a hotel and
that contains the forged signature of former owner Alex
Fornet, who has offered to help Miami’s city attorney
investigate alleged fraud at The Club.
In an email he wrote to the city, he says he is a retired
Miami-Dade police officer. Another CU, from 2011, allows a
company to rent out 30 hotel units -- although the board at
that time never approved it. The Club’s by-laws do not
specify rental restrictions, but they do require owners to
comply with local and state laws, including Miami 21 code
restrictions, and prohibit transient lodging.
Each of The Club’s five board officers works in the
short-term rental industry and none live in the building.
Some manage a dozen up to three dozen Airbnb units at The
Club. They were elected June 22 after a contentious campaign
and detection of forged ballots led to the defeat of
longtime board president Karl de Borbon, who lives at and
runs six Airbnbs at The Club. Partygoers stumble back at 4
a.m. March 30, 2026, to The Club at Brickell Bay, 1200
Brickell Bay Dr., Miami. Partygoers stumble back at 4 a.m.
March 30, 2026, to The Club at Brickell Bay,
Board’s response: Need 90 days The board replied to
Hernandez on Friday by asking for an exhaustive list of
public records and 90 days to analyze them. “The newly
elected board intends to work cooperatively with the city to
resolve any misunderstandings while protecting the interests
of our property owners and full-time residents,” board
president Maria Sindia Borras said in a statement to the
Herald. “We have made a detailed records requests of the
city and hired a law firm with expertise in land use and
zoning law. We also asked the city for a 90-day grace period
while we obtain and review those records.
“The board’s goal is to ensure that our community is safe
and well run, while preserving property values and
maintaining financial stability.” The board retained Bercow
Radell Fernandez Larkin & Tapanes, a politically connected
Miami law firm known for representing real estate developers
seeking project approvals, rezonings and variances from
local government.
‘delay game’
Longtime homeowner Colette Florez said she was disappointed
by the board’s response to Hernandez. “The fact that the
board is fighting the city and playing the delay game is
ridiculous,” Florez said. “I thought the new board would
care about us and do something about the disaster waiting to
happen here if there’s a fire or hurricane. “But they only
care about their investment income. They have been profiting
off our cash cow of a building for so long they do not want
to compromise and switch to monthly rentals.”
On Friday, via email to HOA members, the board made its
first announcement addressing both the city’s
cease-and-desist letter and the Herald’s July 18 article,
which it said was not “reflective of day-to-day life at The
Club at Brickell Bay” and focused on “just a handful of
vocal residents.”
Those residents, who have been complaining to the city for
years about disturbances, dangerous clientele and safety
hazards at The Club, said they had expected more
transparency from new board members. They expressed anger
over the board using HOA funds - owners’ monthly maintenance
fees - to pay lawyers to challenge the city’s order and
preserve investors’ Airbnb businesses. “We shouldn’t have to
play a game of hide and seek with our condo board. I didn’t
buy into an autocracy. No kings!” said Christina Lardon, who
has lived at The Club since 2008.
“The board is stealing our money to fight us so they can
continue their charade. They are self-dealing and have
broken their campaign promises to owners and residents.”
Lardon, among other owners, said she’s been unable to
communicate with board members. The Club property manager,
an employee of First Service Residential, told Lardon she
cannot share board members’ emails or phone numbers. Lardon,
among others, has also received cease-and-desist letters
from the HOA attorney whenever she complained about
short-term rentals. She says she is being targeted as a
whistleblower.
The board reiterated its vision for harmony between
investors who own Airbnbs in the building and owners who
live there. “Despite these challenging circumstances, the
board is confident that it can work constructively with the
city in a way that protects the lawful property rights of
unit owners and the property values of the community,” the
board wrote in the email to HOA members.
In the board’s reply to Hernandez, Miami attorney Javier
Zayas-Bazan said the HOA denies “operating a hotel or
lodging establishment.” The board also denies “having
directed its personnel to turn away any city inspectors.”
Hernandez criticized the board for denying access to the
building to code compliance inspectors who responded to
complaints. Emails between residents and the code compliance
department show that inspectors had been told to leave by
front desk employees. On another occasion last year, de
Borbon confronted two city inspectors who were issuing
unlawful lodging citations and shooed them out of the
building, saying they were trespassing.
Like de Borbon, the current board members also have a stake
in contesting the city’s attempt to shut down Airbnbs.
Sindia Borras, who served under de Borbon and is now board
president, owns two short-term rental units in the building.
Vice president Jessiana Escontrela is partner at Park Place
Properties in Miami and owner of five units at The Club.
“We maximize your revenue,” the website of the management
company says, “... ensuring properties succeed in the
competitive Miami market.” Treasurer Suad Yidios, who served
on the previous board, is CEO of My House Hospitality. She
has a “Stunning 2BR@Brickell free parking ocean view”
available Sept. 10 for two nights for the low season rate of
$807 on VRBO.
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A recent VRBO listing by The Club board treasurer Suad Yidios. The city says the short-term rentals violate local and state laws. VRBO |
