On 18 November 2019 the second stage of the social information campaign started. Its purpose is to draw attention to risks associated with investing in the purchase of what is known as condo-hotels/apart-hotel. The campaign under the name ‘Oczarowani’ (Enchanted) was prepared by The Office of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and the Ministry of Investment and Development.
The name of the campaign refers to a wide group of inexperienced investors and consumers, who look for attractive investment opportunities, without having the necessary knowledge or experience to properly invest in this product. The lack of awareness of the many risks make such opportunity seekers vulnerable to the temptation of quickly reaping high profits.
Investing in condo-hotels/apart-hotels, i.e. mainly apartments, rooms for short-term rental, has recently been advertised very heavily with the use of various forms of communication. Marketing messages that promote investing in such facilities often contain information on how safe and profitable it is. They promise 7 or even 10% of annual profits to be earned for several (up to 10) years.
The promises of profit are often presented vaguely. However, the necessity to incur landholding-related costs, the required taxes, costs of repairs or possible lack of income due to the seasonal nature or increased competition nearby is hardly ever mentioned. Investors deciding to buy this type of property often have to take out bank loans, which exposes them to financial risk. It may turn out that not only will such an investment project fail to bring profits, but it will become a burden due to the necessity to repay the loan interest and incur expenses for maintaining the property. The risk of failing to finish the construction project or finishing it in a way that raises concerns of a legal nature also remains unchanged.
Three public institutions which jointly conduct campaigns noticed the growing interest in investing in the condo-hotels/apart-hotels so they decided to expand the scale and scope of informational actions.
First of all, a website dedicated to investors was created. It is called oczarowani.pl. It contains a catalogue of the most important rules that will help non-professional investors get more information about the factors that should be considered when they plan to invest in a condo-hotel project. Additionally, a set of tips and questions that should be answered before the purchase of condo-hotels/apart-hotels is published on the website. Its extract has also been prepared in the form of a single file, which can be useful when talking to a person offering such investments.
The campaign is accompanied by television and radio announcements. The campaign is also conducted through social media, on the profiles of entities involved in this information campaign.
