Consumers with questions about the purchase of condo hotel units now have a place to turn for unvarnished and unhyped information. The National Association of Condo Hotel Owners is a new non-profit organization that acts as a clearinghouse for data on this fast-growing segment of the vacation ownership business.

With a clever acronym, NACHO, the group provides members with a number of tools to help them evaluate a condo hotel purchase. Two key services are an economic rating system for condo projects and a web-based do-it-yourself earnings model for individual units. An exchange service is also part of membership. The group also provides services to developers, brokers, lenders and vendors that serve the condo hotel segment.

Dante Alexander is founder, president & CEO of Scottsdale, AZ-based NACHO. He's also president and COO of Hybrid Lodging and is a former Starwood Hotels executive. Information on the group is available at www.nacho.us.