Understanding Condo-Hotels. Part I
Understanding Condo-Hotels. Part 2 

Started in South Florida in early 80s, the condo-hotel concept went into hibernation after the change in tax laws in 1986 and rebounded in the second half of 90s. In Daytona first condo-hotels started when owners of oceanfront properties (BTW, from South Florida) cold not sell them as hotels in the stagnant market (the today's is not the first in history), and found it much easier and more profitable to sell units to individual owners.

Those few properties were older hotels, the Sellers/Developers spend minimum to remodel, which was required to convert. These properties were selling starting from the $30s.

When the market started warming, and hotels became a viable commodity, we thought that the era of condo-hotels was over. But what happened was not expected. With the prices on oceanfront land and properties skyrocketing, buying land and building a hotel now required a much higher investment in land, which could not be recouped in reasonable time period.

And condo-hotel concept got a second life, and very different. If before these were unpretentious properties selling for $30s  and $40s, now, with the high prices and pent up demand, we started seeing serious money going into renovation (Daytona Beach Resort & Conference Center, The Plaza Resort & Spa), as well as new construction (Ocean Walk Resort). Higher maintenance fee, seriously better properties, professional management.

Places like Miami and Las Vegas started attracting big names into this used to be small niche, and you can see Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Trump and others with the same concept, just very expensive and exclusive.

I am sure condo-hotel concept has a future, but I do not know yet what it is going to be.

Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach condo-hotel guru
www.DaytonaCondoHotel.com