Condo-Hotels. Got A Question? Episode One

This is my new condo-hotel series. I will be picking a question about condo-hotels and answer it here.

Here is a real question I received by Email:

Can you furnish your own unit yourself?

Good question. There is no one answer. Let's take The Plaza Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach. Plaza is very restrictive, and if you want to have your unit on rental program, then no, you can't furnish your own unit the way you want it.

However, if you buy a unit and take it off the rentals (which makes little sense, but it is beyond the scope of this blog), then you sure can do with it whatever you want.

In many other condo-hotels you can change the furniture.

A more interesting question is whether you should do it. Sometimes it is the easiest way to hurt your rentals.

I have clients who bought a double unit in Oceanside Inn in Daytona Beach Shores, and they wanted to change everything in the units. I took them to General Manager. He said that if they do it, he would take this unit off the rentals.

They ended up changing the furniture in one side and left another one the way it was. So, one side is on rental, and the other side is not. The owner used to come a few times a year, and it worked for them wonderfully.

And then his wife could not come, and they called me and asked if the unit could be put back on rental. The problem was that they put an expensive set. The biggest part of it was a corner sofa sectional, which was too big for this room and basically was taking all the space.

The manager pointed to the sectional and asked me how he was supposed to make a bed there. He also said that he had no intention to take upon himself a liability for $8K+ furniture. So, for two years now it sits vacant, while the owner is paying maintenance fee every month. The other option is to replace this expensive furniture with a ... cheap hotel set. Could be easier just to leave the unit the way it was.

I have seen people changing beds to Murphy beds, and losing money. The rule of thumb is that if you want your condo-hotel unit rented, make sure it is rentable, and the best person to tell you what you need is the hotel manager.

In a nutshell, even when you can furnish it the way you want, ask yourself whether you should do it.

Disclaimer: I only know about condo-hotels in Daytona Beach area, so for other places use this information with grain of salt.

Call me if you are looking for a condo-hotel or condo in Daytona Area. 386-405-4408