Las Vegas Condo Hotels

Condo Hotels in Las Vegas

With the opening of the amazing Las Vegas City Center looming, condo-hotel units are back in the news. Las Vegas has 7 properties zoned as condo-hotels which include: Palms Place, Trump, Platinum, MGM Signature, Vdara (still under construction), two in Lake Las Vegas including Luna Di Lusso and Viera, and the infamous Flamingo Palms also known as Desert Tides and the Cay Club.

A condo hotel offers units that come totally turnkey, meaning they are completely furnished, have fully equipped kitchens, all linens and towels are included, offer services and amenities like a hotel, yet you own it like a regular condo. However, you can also rent this unit out on a nightly basis, either utilizing the rental program offered by the property or do it yourself. Of course, if you intend to put your unit in the rental program, you are not allowed to personalize the unit in any way. That means you can’t hang a picture, add a pillow, or change the towels. This is because all rental units are operated like a hotel and to preserve the integrity of similarity so each rental guest receives the same experience, the units must always look identical. It also makes it much easier to clean, change the bedding, maintain the kitchen, etc.

This type of property is definitely not for everyone. If you only visit Las Vegas periodically (often enough to be annoyed at paying for a hotel room) but want to maintain that 4-star/5-star experience with access to all the great things that makes visiting Las Vegas what it should be, this could be a great answer for you. You don’t have to clean it when you leave, worry about it when you’re gone, and find the condo exactly as you’d expect it to when you arrive the next time. And, you may be able to offset some of the costs of ownership by allowing your unit to be in the rental program when you’re not using it. The downside is the HOA monthly fees can be pricey. It’s expensive to maintain your share of a 4/5 star resort.

Remember, your HOA fees cover all the utilities, upkeep and repairs of all those amazing amenities like pool, spa, security, fitness center, high speed internet access computers, as well as the staff to keep the place in tip top shape like the valets, front desk personnel, housekeeping, engineering, pool service, concierge services and more. Also, one thing that got a lot of these properties in trouble with the buyers was the promise of lots of income.
Remember, this is the hospitality industry which is subject to things like the economy which affects how often people travel and what they spend on lodging, the weather (when its hot in Vegas, tourism drops), events in town (if there no great concert, show or convention in town, will they come?), and all the choices people have when they come to stay here. So don’t buy a condo-hotel unit because you envision the rental paying all your costs. Its a complicated process for each property that tries its best to ensure the units in the rental program are rotated and rented equally. Things come into play like how often your size unit is requested (studios, one bedrooms or two), the view if any, the floor its located on (some people want the highest while others want a low floor), and plain old customer request (but I always stay in tower one on the 12th floor facing east).

I’m not necessary defending their process, but having worked in the hotel industry, I do understand how you do your best to accommodate a guest request. Right now you have some great choices regarding these types of properties and prices are unbelievably low.

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