Condotel

Question: What do you get when a condominium and a hotel have a baby?

Answer: A condotel.

Think about the benefits of both locations. Wouldn’t it be great to have a house cleaning service every day, access to a swimming pool and fitness center in your own building, and never have to cook your own meals?

You can do it in a condotel, where you are buying a room in a hotel.

Unlike a timeshare, when you're not using your room, you can rent it out for extra income. And it can be larger than a room—many offer two or more bedrooms, or even a freestanding villa.

More people are investing in them if they want to be close to work in a city during the week, or if they always vacation in the same area. There are property managers who will assist in renting out your unit when you're not going to be there. You'll also have to pay a management fee that ranges from 20% to 40% of the nightly market rate. Owners also pay a monthly maintenance fee for the upkeep of common areas, just like you would pay with a condominium.

You would also want to find out if you can decorate your unit as you wish. You don't want to discover too late that you're required to litter your walls with Thomas Kinkade paintings.