Paul Brinkmann: LGBT club owner faces complaint.

An Orlando businessman who is opening a new LGBT nightclub and motel on International Drive has a checkered past.

The M Hotel and Revere nightclub held a soft opening Nov. 13, at a former Howard Johnson built in 1972, at 6603 International Drive.

One of its owners, Micah D. Bass, has a history of trouble with the law, including allegations by the Georgia Attorney General that he engaged in deceptive advertising with a recent business, Atlanta-based Emergency Services 24. The company specialized in fixing flood-damaged homes.

“Emergency Services 24 and Micah Bass tried to take advantage of consumers whose backs were to the wall,” said John Sours, administrator of the Georgia governor’s Office of Consumer Protection, in a March 2014 statement. “They seriously misled consumers concerning the costs of their services, the company’s geographic presence, its ability to respond in a timely manner, and its licenses, endorsements and affiliations. These are serious violations and we are accordingly responding with serious penalties.”

Attempts to reach Bass about the allegations in Georgia were not successful. His attorney and registered agent for the nightclub company, Barry L. Miller of Orlando, said in an emailed response that the events in Georgia should “are not relevant” to the new businesses.

The M Hotel is directly across Interstate 4 from Universal Orlando theme park and across I-Drive from the Magical Midway arcade.

Festooned with rainbow-flag colors, the hotel and club attempt to challenge Orlando’s long-time gay destination downtown, the Parliament House. It’s the first gay club in Orlando’s tourism corridor since Uncle Walt’s in the 1990s.

The Revere nightclub is a former restaurant that faces Interstate 4, where motorists can see a giant banner that says LGBT Club Open. The renovation is far from complete. Workers are still painting doors bright red and renovating rooms. Wayne McKay, a DJ who works at the club, said only a few rooms have started to undergo renovations.

M Hotel rooms are currently $39 per night, one of the lowest rates on I-Drive, and might go up to $59 per night after the renovation, which the owners are trying to accomplish by the end of the year. Parliament House room

The club is attempting to challenge longtime gay destination downtown, the Parliament House.