A New Breed of Investors are Checking into Apart-hotels

Ormskirk, Lancashire (PRWEB) March 24, 2008 -- Conceived in the USA back in the 1980s, the apart- or condo- hotel concept of marrying second homes with investing in property has now skipped across the Atlantic and matured to appeal to a new breed of investors. In the traditional buy-to-let role it's the owner who has to put in the hard graft of attracting, vetting and possibly evicting tenants, not to mention collecting the rent and carrying out maintenance and ad-hoc repairs. Apart hotels are now threatening to kick traditional buy-to-let where it hurts as one of its key selling points is that it's managed and marketed on the investors' behalf and therefore hassle-free.

Sometimes called 'serviced apartments' in the UK, aparthotels are springing up all over urban centres and coastal resorts at an impressive rate, in what Jones Lang La Salle describes as Europe being "in the midst of a hotel transaction boom". Previously we had the timeshare boom, a vehicle that was great for lifestyle and regular usage but wholly ineffective for investment as owners faced low liquidity of assets, high depreciation, restrictions on resale and no actual real estate ownership. Today via the aparthotel model, participants own the freehold of a quality real estate asset with the added value of high rental returns. All of this is then underpinned by capital appreciation. Additionally aparthotels tend to give higher levels of income than traditional holiday homes but the real deal-maker for the investor is the complete absence of headaches as a branded hotel management company takes them all on.

For an aparthotel to work and be able to compete against traditional luxury hotel chains all the ingredients have to be right. Optimum locations, comprehensive facilities, a respected developer, strong brand awareness and of course good on-site management are just some of those ingredients. But in reality, aparthotels are carving their own niche in the marketplace rather than taking on traditional hotel chains head-to-head, as their offering to the holidaying public is very different.

Ian Hayes, Sales Director of Owner Invest said:

'Although quite new in Europe, our Apart hotel products are quite literally flying off the shelves because they are so attractive and easy to understand. The pricing is affordable for many, the rental returns attractive, capital appreciation, free usage, great locations and the investor owns the freehold. And they're tax efficient. The hardest question that we come across time and again from potential buyers is that it sounds too good to be true. I can quite categorically say that it's not!'

The clue is in the name, aparthotels are more 'apartments' rather than 'rooms' and even the largest traditional hotel suite would be hard-pushed to compete. With generous square metre sizes relaxing, entertaining, dining, working and sleeping can be done in separate areas enabling the children to sleep whilst Dad watches TV and Mum enjoys a glass of wine with friends. An equipped kitchen also allows the flexibility of eating in thus saving money and releasing guests from strict hotel meal timetables - a lazy late breakfast in bed is now a possibility. Likewise a washing machine saves on laundry costs or taking home a case full of dirty linen. An aparthotel feels like home-from-home.

Marbella Royal Suites for example, which recently caused a stir on leading investment web site the Move Channel, has come about through a partnership between Owner Invest and hotel management team Kasamia. This resort ticks the boxes for 1) Location - In an established tourist destination such as the Costa del Sol, passenger numbers for Málaga International Airport in 2007 are up a mammoth 43% on 2000 to 13.5 million and resort and hotel occupancy rates remain encouragingly high. 2) Comprehensive facilities - Multiple swimming pools, fitness centre, Spa and business centre, 3) Good on-site management - Resort management team Kasamia, the brains behind Accor and Club Med, use distribution networks built up over many years to maximise occupancy rates and returns and are also responsible for maintaining the investors asset to an immaculate state of repair and cleanliness.

Similar to other aparthotel resorts Marbella Royal Suites has all-inclusive fully-furnished pricing, an absence of bills and annual charges and eight weeks personal usage each year. Its also SIPPs eligible if the investor doesn't require the personal use. You can find out more about using Self Invested Personal Pensions to purchase investment products such as these on http://www.ownerinvest.com/sipp

Operating on a seven-year leaseback scheme, owners receive a 50% net share of rental income on a 'pooled' basis - so even if their particular unit is unoccupied, others will be.

Prices start at 99,000 GBP for a fully furnished 1 bedroom apartment. 2 bedroom apartments are available from 168,000 GBP and, according to the valuation by Spanish bank Banesto, are already worth 235,000 GBP arriving with 30% capital already built in.

Buy to let Apart-Hotels could be the simplest yet most lucrative real estate investment on offer today.

About Owner Invest

Owner Invest specialises in identifying turnkey property investment opportunities that have excellent potential for Return On Investment (ROI), are tax efficient and offer 'low entry level' access opportunities. Their core product focus is Hotel buy to Let Suites - also known as 'Apart Hotels'. Owner Invest can offer similar fully managed buy to let apart hotels in Spain, Portugal, Dubai, Thailand, The English Lakes, Scotland, Mauritius and Egypt

Contact:

Ian Hayes, Sales Director

Owner Invest

Freephone 0800 048 0712

http://www.ownerinvest.com

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