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Best Western converting to condo-hotel

Want to own a hotel room? Now's your chance, if you have $189,000. The arrangement means rental fees go to each room's owner.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published August 17, 2005

PALM HARBOR - Each of the 99 rooms in Palm Harbor's Best Western Hotel is up for sale, giving investors one more way to grab a chunk of Florida's surging real estate market.

Charles Lowe, owner of Seminole-based Long Bayou Real Estate Services, bought the hotel overlooking Lake Tarpon for just under $9-million. He will convert the building at 37611 U.S. 19 N to a condo-hotel.

Lowe bought the hotel from Maria Schildkamp, owner of Lake Tarpon Hotel Inc. He plans to change nothing but the ownership; the existing staff will continue at the hotel, as will its name. Nightly rates vary but currently run about $100 a night.

Such hotel-condo conversions, in which the rental fees go to the individual owners of each room, are becoming increasingly common. Already, 45 of the 99 rooms have been spoken for, at a cost of $189,000 each. Investors can purchase up to three units.

"It's becoming a very popular trend for both investors and vacationers," said Chip Lowe, 44, Charles Lowe's son. "People want to have a vacation home but can't really afford them."

Owners may use their room for 60 days each year, giving them a vacation place that won't stay empty the rest of the year. The hotel takes care of maid service.

The rooms have only a refrigerator, microwave and coffee pot, but there is a Sam Seltzer's Steakhouse in the building.

Only minor renovations will be made to the building, including the installation of a new seawall. The hotel allows small pets and has a pool and workout room. All units have balconies.

The Best Western is Lowe's third hotel-condo conversion. He has already converted a motel in Madeira Beach and is in the process of converting the Bayside Inn on Treasure Island. Eight rooms at Bayside Inn, which sell for $269,000, remain on the market. Five of the 11 boat slips at the Inn are selling for $39,000.

"It's a very, very unique concept," said Betty Martin, sales director for Lowe's real estate company. "It doesn't put the load on one owner."

Martin said that Lowe closed on the Best Western deal a few weeks ago and that the hotel did not close during the transition. Once the sale of the hotel is approved, each unit will individually close in November or December.

"The opportunity is really right now because as it becomes more popular then it'll get more expensive," Martin said. "I think we'll look back at this a year from now and say, "You bought that for $189,000?"

[Last modified August 17, 2005, 01:09:16]