Why were people living in unlicensed Myrtle Beach motel when roof collapsed? What we know
More than a dozen people in Myrtle Beach were displaced by Thursday’s hotel roof collapse, but no one was supposed to be living there at the time.
The oceanfront Summer Wind Inn & Suites, at 1903 S. Ocean Blvd., does not have an active business license and wasn’t allowed to be housing anyone, according to city spokesman Mark Kruea.
It had a building permit in place to make repairs and improvements, Kruea wrote in an email to The Sun News, and it has now been deemed “uninhabitable” after a portion of the roof caved in following Thursday morning’s storm. No injuries were reported, and a portion of South Ocean Boulevard was closed about five hours, according to Myrtle Beach Fire Department.
Myrtle Beach business records show the property last received its license to operate as a hotel during September 2021, which would’ve expired after April 2022, the end of the city license year.
That license was actually issued to a previous entity operating the hotel, but an ownership change occurred October 2023, and the current operator, VK Summer Wind LLC, has never been issued a license, according to Kruea.
The same is true for VK Southern Breeze LLC, which operates the adjacent Southern Breeze Hotel, at 1901 S. Ocean Blvd., Kruea noted. Both LLCs were registered by Vipul Patel, according to S.C. Secretary of State filings. Contact information for Patel could not be found.
Myrtle Beach Police issued two tickets Friday for operating without a business license, one each for the Summer Wind and Southern Breeze motels, to a man named Kunal Chhatrola, of Johns Creek, Georgia, though it’s unclear what his role is with operating the hotels.
Chhatrola, reached by phone Friday, told The Sun News he couldn’t disclose any information about the hotel’s ownership, including whether he was the owner or not.
Businesses operating in Myrtle Beach without a license are subject to fines up to $1,092 per day and imprisonment, according to the city’s Financial Services Division.
The city previously cited a person named Jaye Allie, whose role is also unclear, in January for operating the Southern Breeze and Summer Wind motels without a business license, according to Kruea. Allie, who couldn’t be reached for comment, pled guilty and paid a $1,087 fine for each violation, online court records show.
Summer Wind has also received a fire department citation for unsecured vacant structure, while Southern Breeze received 12 citations — one for each occupied room — for improper fire watch procedures, Kruea wrote.
The Summer Wind property is currently owned by YK Summer Wind LLC, which purchased the property in August 2021 for $2.2 million, Horry County property records show. The four-story motel was originally built in 1969.
Jaynil Patel, of Brookhaven, Georgia, is the organizer of that LLC, according to documents filed with the S.C. Secretary of State. Patel and his listed address on those documents are associated with HKB Hotel Group.
That company has a portfolio of more than 30 hotels — including the Southern Breeze — across 10 states, according to its website. Messages left for HKB and Patel were not returned.
While Summer Wind has a website that appears to accept hotel bookings, its unclear if they’ve been housing tourists since their business license expired.
Court records do suggest the property has been housing long-term residents. The motel has filed to evict residents on 13 separate instances since July 2023. Christina Somerlott told The Sun News Thursday that she had been living there since September 2023.
