Condo Hotels Offer Luxury and Great Investment Potential
by Joel Greene

New Option in Vacation Home Ownership,
Not Your Typical Vacation Home

What could be more perfect that owning a luxury vacation home at a landmark resort and receiving rent revenue whenever you’re not using it? Condo hotels are the newest trend in vacation home ownership. Live in it when you’re there; rent it when you’re not.

So how do condo hotels differ from owning a traditional vacation apartment or condominium? These are not your typical second homes. They are fabulously-furnished condominium suites in some of the most famous hotels and resorts around the country. The properties are usually large, high-rise, luxury hotels operated by a big name like Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Sonesta, Starwood or Hilton. Prices range from $200,000 to over $1 million for prime properties.

Generate Revenue to Defray Mortgage Costs

How do condo hotel owners find renters? This is what makes the program so appealing. When owners are not using their unit, it is put into the rental program of the hotel. By capitalizing on a hotel’s name recognition, advertising, national affiliations, centralized reservation system and management expertise, unit owners typically receive a higher level of rental income than they would from a traditional vacation home. Plus the hotel takes care of dealing with the renters, as well as all housekeeping and maintenance of the condo hotel units. Talk about hassle-free!

The Real Appeal of Condo Hotels Is Appreciation

While it’s nice to receive rental revenue on your vacation home, the more important factor from an investment standpoint is its appreciation. Condo hotel units have been appreciating at a far faster rate than single family homes and condos in the same areas.

Most condo hotels are purchased directly from the developer. With limited inventory, condo hotel units have been moving at lightning speed. In fact, almost all condo hotels sell out in pre-construction, long before even a single spade of dirt has been overturned. And as is the case in any situation where supply is greatly outpaced by demand, condo hotel owners have been seeing tremendous appreciation in their units.

World-Famous Resorts Attract International Attention

Most condo hotels are located in seasonal resort areas. South Florida, particularly Miami Beach and Ft. Lauderdale, is one of the country’s hottest markets with world-famous properties like the Fontainbleau, Canyon Ranch Living and Trump International leading the way. Las Vegas and some of the Caribbean Islands are also popular condo hotel destinations.

Who’s buying? The answer, in a nutshell, is everyone. That is, investors and vacationers who recognize the appreciation potential of a revenue-generating vacation home. That appeal isn’t limited to U.S. buyers. The concept of condo hotels has had international appeal with buyers from Latin America and Europe competing with Americans for the best properties.

Learn More About Condo Hotels

Condo hotels have tremendous investment appeal in today’s market because of low interest rates and a tumultuous stock market that has investors looking for safer alternatives. Investors who take the condo hotel plunge can enjoy all the amenities of vacationing in a first-class resort while watching their units appreciate exponentially.

Bio:

Joel Greene is the President of Condo Hotel Center located in Miami Florida, which specializes in the sale of condo hotels and private residence clubs. Condo Hotel Center is a division of Sheldon Greene & Associates, Inc. Located in Miami, Florida, it is the south's largest and oldest brokerage firm in the hotel field, having started in 1970. Sheldon and son, Joel Greene, have worked closely together since 1988.

Joel has been referred to as an expert in the field of condo hotels and private residence clubs and has been interviewed for various articles on the subject, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Vacation Ownership, The Florida Business Review, and several United Kingdom magazines, New Horizons-Florida and Financial Times.

Visit Joel’s web site for more information on condo hotels and private residence clubs. www.condohotelcenter.com.