There I was, rushing from terminal three of Pearson international to terminal two in order to catch my flight back home to Vancouver when something caught my eye. On the escalator arm the advertisement words “earn money while others sleep” were rolling on next to me. The words fascinated me and I soon began to find out that they represented a company called GuestInvest and were part of a new trend of real estate investment in hotel rooms.

The concept behind GuestInvest is that instead of spending masses of money on an investment property, you spend less on a hotel room and reap faster returns and pay less taxes. GuestInvest is based in London where the real estate market has become astronomical. The hotel investment concept however only really works in popular tourist locations in order for your investment to bring some peace of mind. This of course means that you must be willing to pay the price for a small condo when your only buying a room.

One of the benefits of hotel room real estate is that because you don’t live in the property for much of the year you receive tax breaks on many of the expensive taxes that come with buying a home. Also since the hotel room is “yours” your able to stay in in for up to 52 nights a year (UK) or two weeks (US, Canada) without loosing the tax benefits. Hotels will charge you part of your income from the rental of the room for maintenance and marketing the room (50% UK) but besides that you will reap the profits of anyone that stays in your room, thus, “earning money while others sleep”.

The concept of hotel room real estate is still so new however that it is really recommended that you do your research before you jump in. Business weekly claims that there hasn’t been enough time to see whether or not the investment will yield the return it promises. Also, hotel room investment is in no means a primary investment and is mainly for investors who can afford a second mortgage. Business weekly in its article “Should you own a hotel room?”\ also warns of unexpected costs such as replacing broken furniture or upgrading the room every three years with better furniture or electronics.

Buying a hotel room as an investment which is still fairly new but with prices with GuestInvest starting at 400,000 pounds its not one to be taken lightly. It seems that its the type of investment which may be an addition to others you may have but that one of the primary reasons for the investment would be that your family and you can stay there for free.

For me, the concept of investing in real estate has seemed so beneficial because if things became financially difficult you could cut down your extra spending in your life and focus on your mortgage and always have a place to live. With a hotel room that comfort doesn't seem to be there. It certainly is an interesting concept that is picking up and who knows maybe on your next vacation you may be staying in a room that is owned by your neighbor or a friend.