Experience with owning a condotel in Florida?

[Sol Sipahi]

Hi - I'm curious to learn more about how Florida condotels work, particularly those in buildings managed by international hotel chains such as Hilton, Conrad, Marriott etc.

I found some generic information online, but am curious about the following.  Any insights to any of these questions would be very much appreciated!

1) Hotel Management/Rental Programs - When hotels say you have a maximum of 90 or 120 days to use the unit, does that mean by using the unit during that time, you're foregoing any possible rental income?  Or have they factored in the hotel occupancy/vacancy rate i.e. 75% or 67% and allow for usage on that basis?  I'm assuming they are pooling all of the rooms of a similar type together and then divvying up the earned income among the various owners...

2) Is financing an option?  I've seen some information suggesting it's not possible, and some sites that seem to suggest its easy to find but you have to likely go through a local lender in the area.  Does anyone know if it makes a difference if the property has a full kitchen or kitchenette?   Would lenders look at that type of setup more like a traditional condo if the hotel gives you the option of living there full time and only renting at times of your choosing?

3) Renovations- If you place your unit in a hotel rental program and the property owner decides to renovate the building, are all of the owners of the various units required to foot the bill for the renovation costs for your individual unit - or is that accounted for in the HOA?

4) Do you have to pay the daily resort fee when you use the unit for personal use?  When you're staying there, will you the normal hotel services such as daily housekeeping, etc.

5) When looking into the possibility of buying a property, is it fairly customary to ask the seller to show their income/revenue stream from the past 1 or 2 years?  

6) If financing is allowed, how likely is it with the higher end properties (Conrad, W, etc.) that you can at least break even - i.e. revenue covers monthly payment, or revenue covers most of the monthly payment minus the equity portion of the loan payment?  

7) Can the owner of the building change the hotel brand/management company without the consent of all the owners of the individual units? For example, if I bought a unit at the Conrad Fort Lauderdale, could hilton and the other stakeholders mutually decide to sell the building to the Econolodge without the condo owners' permission?  On that, are they within their rights to restrict use of amenities to certain units at any time?  For example, I noticed that for the W hotel in Fort Lauderdale, all of the residences are in a separate building and aren't really part of the actual hotel.

I know that's quite a few questions, but I've been hesitant to get in touch with a local agent since I'm still in a very early exploratory stage...if you have insights into any of the above or any other information about condotels, I'd love to hear from you!