A resale (中古) unit has one advantage a new build cannot offer: a track record. Tokyu Resort suggests staying as an ordinary guest first and asking for past payback and occupancy figures. Do not assume a resale unit is cheap. Tokyu notes that well-run hotel condos sometimes resell above their original price.
Get the full contract package. On a rental-type unit, the buyer takes over the ownership, the hotel lease agreement and the asset management agreement (Tokyu FAQ). Aoyama Jisho suggests checking the operating model (master lease, management contract or profit share), what is deducted before any split, rent revision clauses, how long any guarantee runs, and any cap on owner-use days.
Check the operator and the asset manager. resortboy flags operator risk, meaning the operator is usually a different company from the seller, as the biggest owner risk. He also notes that some recent sales listings did not name the asset manager. Ask what happens if the operator leaves, and whether a renovation or rebrand is due. He cites a cycle of roughly 20 years, and Crossover International's Hawaii column describes refurbishment levies in the tens of millions of yen at one Waikiki property.
Price the running costs and stress-test the income. Ask for the latest monthly management, hotel management, asset management and repair reserve figures, plus the fixed asset tax bill. Compare them with net payback, not gross. Aoyama Jisho warns that a 10-point drop in occupancy noticeably cuts net income, and that resort hotels ran at about 56.9% occupancy in 2025 (preliminary) versus about 75% for business hotels. Check the repair reserve balance and the long-term repair plan, as you would for any condominium.
Plan your exit too. Fun Okinawa says Okinawa condo hotels take about 3–6 months to sell on average. Aoyama Jisho and neo-hotelcond warn that the buyer pool is small and loans are scarce, so resale can be slow or below the purchase price. Fun Okinawa also says it is working with partners to reach Korean and, later, Taiwanese investors. If the seller is a non-resident, Nisade says the buyer must withhold 10.21% of the price and pay it to the tax office.