The Coral Gables City Commission could ask their county and city of Miami counterparts on Tuesday to ban hourly rates at motels and hotels, like the Miami Executive Hotel in Little Gables, on the City Beautiful’s border.
“It is well established that hotels/motels that allow for the hourly rental of rooms, are frequented by individuals engaged in prostitution and/or human sex trafficking, as well as other illegal activity,” reads the memo on the agenda item, adding that Florida ranks third nationwide in human trafficking cases.
But a last minute cease and desist letter from a lawyer representing the Miami Executive Hotel and three other such establishments along Calle Ocho may mean the item gets pulled from Tuesday’s agenda.
The letter from attorney Robert Fernandez is addressed to Vice Mayor 
Vince Lago, who sponsored a resolution (along with Commissioner Pat Keon) and it asks city officials to stop calling the hotel a “prostitution place,” insisting that there is no proof that the hotel is a hub of prostitution and threatening legal action if the hotel is continued to be defamed.
“This Resolution and previous public comments attempt to simply equate pervasive prostitution and human sex trafficking with any hotel/motel that offers short term rentals and those are just false and prejudicial blanket statements,” Fernandez wrote in the letter dated Monday.
“There is no factual evidence and/or criminal statistic data included in the 
Resolution to claim that prostitution and human sex trafficking are an ongoing and much more serious problem at hotels/motels that offer short term rentals versus hotels/motels that do not in the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County,” Fernandez said.
“MEH objects to the negative broad brush assertions made against hotels/motels that offer short term rentals and this is especially true when MEH is singled out for ridicule. Therefore, let’s clarify the record herein because the continuous disparagement of MEH’s business and professional reputation without any supporting facts has not been helpful and frankly disappointing.”
Miami Executive Hotel and its short term clientele have been in the Gables 
political sphere for several months, at least since the commission campaign earlier this year that ushered in Commissioner Jorge Fors, who campaigned against annexation. Many believe the five mystery attack mailers sent on his behalf were financed by the hotel’s owners, who are also against annexation.
The city passed an ordinance in 2016 that prohibits hourly rates at hotels, probably in foresight of the anticipated annexation, which was thwarted by a Miami-Dade commission committee last month Fernandez, on behalf of the owners, also spoke against the annexation before the committee.
Read related: Little Gables annexations dreams dashed by staged ‘grassroots’ effort
In his letter to the city, Fernandez says that during a Sunshine meeting after that decision, Police Chief Ed Hudak said there were seven incidents at the hotel, 4350 SW 8th St. — but none were prostitution or human trafficking related
“MEH is respectfully requesting that the city of Coral Gables public officials immediately cease and desist from referring to MEH as a ‘prostitution place’ because it is absolutely false and defamatory.
“It is not the intent or desire of MEH to initiate defamation litigation against the City of Coral Gables or its elected officials but MEH cannot continue to allow others to disparage its business and professional reputation for self serving political reasons,” Fernandez threatened.
He also said that Miami Executive Hotel was supportive of an interlocal agreement and “joint enforcement zone” between Miami and Coral Gables specifically to crack down on prostitution and street crime.
“Because it is an important public safety issue and these criminal activities are bad for legitimate businesses that operate on S.W. 8th Street,” Fernandez wrote in the letter.
In fact, Fernandez said, the hotel owner, Julio del Rey and family, have been cooperative allies with the Miami and county police since 1983, attaching documents that show their hotels have been used sites for prostitution stings.
But that seems like it could be the very proof the lawyer says doesn’t exist that these hourly hotels are more convenient for prostitution. Why would police 
stage a sting at these hotels if they are not conducive to that kind of, er, business? Why not do it at The Biltmore? Or the Hyatt?
Maybe because they don’t have rooms with stripper poles, mirrored ceilings and a “patented love chair”?
The hotel boasts being one of the “hottest hotels four couples” and says that “passion requires no reservations” on its website, where it shows themed rooms like “the cave” and the “jungle suite.”
To be honest, the hourly rates must make it an attractive place for people who also charge by the hour. But Ladra is certain that the fantasy-themed rooms are also good for teenage trysts, date night and extramarital affairs.
Because it is unlikely the cave room is being used by a family with a layover on their way to Disney.
Hourly hotel attorney to Coral Gables: Stop defaming us or else added by Ladra on
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