Quirky Palm Springs Hotel Lists for $2.5 Million—Complete With All Furnishings and Its Own High-Tech Management System

A Palm Springs, CA, property that epitomizes the area's vibrant and funky architectural style has been put on the market, presenting an opportunity not only to own a piece of design history—but a lucrative business model as well.

Enter The MOD, an eight-room boutique hotel in the heart of the thriving California desert oasis that boasts an intriguing mix of traditional Palm Springs vitality and Instagram-worthy amenities.

Designed much like a traditional motel, with one single-story building that houses a mix of rooms and sprawling suites, it's now on the market for $2.5 million. The property was originally built in 1952 and bears many of the original hallmarks from that era, with multiple modern updates that help to give it new relevance in the modern day.

With perky bright-yellow doors to each unit and a pool scene that sports splashy white-and-yellow striping, it fits right into this design-oriented destination.

After the sellers snapped up the property in 2023, when it was known as the Art Hotel, they embarked on a major restoration that honors its 1952 roots while also modernizing the amenities for travelers.

Every inch of the square footage was updated in the recent renovations, including baths, bedrooms and tilework. Some units are suites, “with full kitchens, furnished patios or balconies, separate dining areas, and in-unit workspaces,” reads the listing.

Billed as an “exceptional investment opportunity,” The Mod is tucked into the Uptown Design District, just 10 minutes from the Palm Springs International Airport and around 45 minutes from the grounds of the wildly popular Coachella music festival.

Listing agent Adam Gilbert of The Firm Commercial notes that the property's plum location makes it the perfect place for visitors to explore Palm Springs, explaining that it is easily "walkable to bars and restaurants."

Far from a rundown business that requires extraordinary levels of investment and renovation, The Mod is essentially a turnkey property that is being offered with all of its current furnishings, as well as integrated "self-check-in technology and virtual management systems," both of which help to run the motel with minimal staff.

According to Gilbert, it is rare for such a complete package to come to the market, particularly in a place where tourism is such a major source of income for the local economy.

"Something finished at this level hasn’t been on the market in a while. It’s turnkey, ready to go,” the agent, who sold the property to the sellers, noted. “A lot of people are getting into the hospitality space. There are definitely opportunities.”

In his expert opinion, the turnkey nature of the property, coupled with its relatively low price tag, make it the perfect opportunity for someone who is looking to make a move into the hospitality industry, particularly because they won't have to deal with the ins and outs of a full-scale renovation.

A more typical scenario in Palm Springs, says Gilbert, is a hotel that costs $2 million but requires $1 million in renovations.

The current owners also own the 12-room Maya Hotel next door and had originally planned to operate both venues as full buyout rentals for groups, rather than offering them as traditional hotels—however Gilbert believes a more standard business model would be the best option for a buyer.

"The vision for The MOD is someone would come in and rent out the eight rooms individually on a nightly basis,” he explained.

“A lot of people came in and thought they could do the Airbnb model but that’s not really what travelers want right now. They want the rooms cleaned daily. Your everyday traveler wants more amenities than they did a few years ago."

The sale would also fold in “furnishings and on-site amenities,” according to the listing, and there’s an option to either continue the hotel under the same name or rebrand it entirely.

Because it has been offered as a full buyout and the owners have only had it for two years, brand recognition hasn’t yet been built. This only means the buyer has more creative license to launch their hotelier dream.

“Most people, in my experience, will come in and create their own brand,” says Gilbert.

A pool and on-site parking are also on the 8,278-square-foot lot.