Excited crowds turned out Saturday for the inauguration of The Private Residences at Casa Cupula, the world’s first fractional condo-hotel developed exclusively for the gay community. As noted last weekend by the New York Times Travel section: Puerto Vallarta is “becoming gayer by the year and [taking over] as Mexico’s leading gay beach.” Dozens of new and innovative gay-owned businesses in the Romantic Zone are being enjoyed by tourists of all stripes. Now this innovative new project plants the seeds for a new form of vacation home ownership, which resonates with many gay professionals.

Casa Cupula has employed a successful formula combining the services and amenities of a fine boutique hotel resort with the ambience and warmth of a gay guesthouse.  Named as one of the world’s “Top 5 Most Luxurious” gay guesthouses by Gay.com, “over 97% of our guests tell us they would return to Casa Cupula.”

High end hotels such as The Four Seasons and The Ritz Carlton are creating luxury fractional ownership projects worldwide, and now Casa Cupula is doing the same for gay vacationers. Having established a reputation as one of the leading luxury gay resorts in the world since its inception in 2002, Casa Cupula is responding to a real need from guests: “We have many guests who have purchased homes and condos in Puerto Vallarta after staying with us,” said developer Don Pickens, founder, Milagro Properties, “but they regretted having to trade off Casa Cupula’s ambience and services because they wanted to buy real estate. Now we can offer the best of both worlds.”

The Private Residences at Casa Cupula has also found success with an unexpected audience: younger gay professionals. Many gay people in the US live in or near major cities, where the cost of buying a first home has grown out of reach for many young buyers. Twenty-seven year old San Francisco resident and financial planner Mike Gregg, an early buyer, recounted, “Buying into real estate in the Bay Area is out of reach for me, even on a professional salary. So I chose to make my first investment at Casa Cupula. I know I’ll use the vacation time, and when I can’t, they’ll manage it and rent it out for me. With rental income offsetting the costs, it can work out to a free vacation each year. And I still get the chance for capital appreciation.”

Often confused with timeshares, which are usually time-limited usage contracts, fractional interests offer fully deeded ownership in perpetuity in four-week periods. With a minimal capital investment buyers still own part of a luxury home of the highest quality.