MIAMI—Despite residential development showing signs of decreasing momentum, why do the hotel assets remain hot as an attractive investment in Miami? We caught up with Suzanne Amaducci-Adams, the Real Estate & Hospitality practice group leader at Miami-based law firm Bilzin Sumberg, to get her thoughts in this exclusive interview.

"With Miami seeing such major demand for hotel product and so many new projects in the works, it's no surprise that lenders are flocking to South Florida," Amaducci-Adams tells GlobeSt.com. "It all goes back to market fundamentals."

Amaducci-Adams points to the stats: Miami-Dade County's average daily hotel room rate rose 4.9%, to $168.52, in October 2015 compared to the same time in 2014. Revenue per available room rose 4.5 percent, to $124. And Miami-Dade's occupancy rate of 73.7% is well above the national average of 69.1%. 

"These numbers make the city extremely appealing to investors," Amaducci-Adams says. "Lenders have been fighting over loans to top borrowers. In fact, we recently saw five different CMBS originators compete for a $50 million loan  for a Doubletree hotel."

What's particularly interesting during this hotel lending cycle is that lenders are not just interested in pouring cash into South Beach product but looking at other up-and-coming areas of the city as well. Amaducci-Adams points to several examples:

"Bank of America recently closed on a $98.5 million loan secured by three hotels located near Miami International Airport," she says. "The Procacci Group recently closing on a $34 million construction loan secured by a dual-branded hotel in Sweetwater near the Dolphin Mall. And BB&T planning to close on a construction loan for a new Aloft by Miami International Airport."

Want more from Amaducci-Adams? Read the first three parts of this exclusive interview: Why So Many New Hotels?; Debate Arises Over Miami Hotel Supply; and Why Global Brands Are Entering Miami Market.