Hotel Condos

HOTEL CONDOS

These projects blend hotels and condos into a single package. Normally, at least some portion of the condo units are owned by private unit owners but are used by the hotel for hotel guests. The "common area," owned by the condominium owners is managed by the hotel operator.

Condo hotels are typically sold as second or third homes, not primary residences, so that units become part of the hotel's inventory of rentable units.

An example is the 526-unit Trump Ocean Resort in Rosarito Beach, Baja California Mexico. The project is designed as a luxury hotel where owners can live in their units or rent them out to hotel guests.

	Condominium	Hotel Condos	Timeshare
What you get	Often two and three bedrooms, and always with a kitchen	A hotel room, from standard to suite, often without kitchen facilities	Ranges from studios to penthouses, usually with kitchenettes
Length of Stay	May occupy unit anytime, 365 days a year	Generally, the length of stay is limitedtypically one week to three months	Entitled to occupy during the share purchasedone or two weeks, for example
Ownership of unit	Whole	Whole	Shared
Annual fees	wide variance	$350 to $2,300 (usually includes utilities)	$450 to $750
Renters	Rentals may be restricted by homeowners association CC&Rs	Owners usually must make the unit available for rent when not occupying it by joining the developer's sponsored rental program, hiring an independent rental agent or renting the unit themselves	Varies by management company

*Information from LA Times, March 12, 2006, K10

Updated by ADAMS KESSLER 5/7/2008