Is the expense for the condo hotel management company included in the price of the condo hotel unit when purchased?

No, it comes off of the top of the rental revenue, before you, the unit owner, get your share. They typically receive a management fee of 10-12% of the rental revenue. Obviously, the better job that they can do, the more revenue the hotel owners/developers make, and the more they make.

As an owner, can I decide to manage the rental of my unit myself?

Ask yourself this, beyond renting out your unit, will you be there to turn over the keys to your late-night arriving guest? Will you run up to his room to fix his clogged toilet? Will you coordinate his room service? Will you chase after him if he steals the towels or damages the room before he checks out and gets on his plane back home to Sweden? Buying a condo hotel and managing it yourself would be the same, in my opinion, as going to a fancy restaurant but then going into the kitchen and putting on an apron. What's the point? One of the main reasons to buy a condo hotel is so that someone else has all the headaches of being a landlord for you.

The above questions were submitted via e-mail by a visitor to www.condohotelcenter.com. The answer was prepared by Joel Greene, a licensed real estate broker with Condo Hotel Center which specializes in the sale of condo hotel units and fractional ownerships in private residence clubs.