Hotel and Hospitality Business Loans and Financing: Acquisition, Renovation, PIP Work and Working Capital
A term loan leads, an SBA loan for acquisitions and renovations, and a line of credit for the off season.
Soft credit pull only, no obligation
- Same-day decisions
- from some providers
- Subject to provider approval and document turnaround.
- 700+
- industries served
- Reviews
- Peak season
- Off season
- Rooms fill again
Months later
Bridged by a business line of credit for hotels
Rates, factor rates, fees and terms are set by the funding provider that makes your offer and are disclosed in that provider's agreement. Figures on this page are illustrative ranges from providers in our network, not offers.
The structure that fits first
- Lead productBusiness term loan
A known amount for a known project, such as a renovation
Providers consider $10K–$10M, some terms up to 10 years on a strong file, depending on the funding provider.
term loans for hotels - SBA loan
Acquisition, conversion, real estate and the longest schedules
SBA loans for hotels are the honest route for these, and they are measured in weeks rather than days.
SBA loans for hotels - Business line of credit
Standby capital for a trough you can predict but not date
For shoulder and off seasons: drawn when occupancy dips, repaid as rooms fill, set up before the trough.
a line of credit for hotels - Revenue-based financing
Decided mainly on deposits; reaches files that credit-led products do not
Where speed matters more than term: a purchase of future receivables, not a loan, collected from deposits.
revenue-based financing
Decisions from some providers the same day, depending on the provider.Subject to provider approval and document turnaround.
The numbers before you apply
Typical amount
$10K–$10M
Across the products in our network
Business term loan
$10K–$10M
Terms up to 10 years
Speed
As fast as 6 hours
Same-day decisions from some providers; funding as fast as 6 hours, subject to provider approval and document turnaround
Amounts considered by providers in our network, depending on the funding provider. Not an offer. Cost is stated on each product page.
What do hotels and hospitality businesses use financing for?
The first three share a defined scope; the last three are about timing. The structures that suit them differ, and a file that mixes the two without saying so reads worse than two clear requests.
Buying a property or a partner out
A second property, a franchise resale, a motel conversion, or a departing partner's share of the business.
More: Buying a property or a partner out
These are full-documentation files and the slowest on this list. Most of them end up in an SBA conversation rather than a term loan.
Renovations and improvement plans
When a flag changes hands or a license renews, the brand sets the scope and the deadline.
More: Renovations and improvement plans
Guest rooms, bathrooms, the lobby, signage, soft goods and case goods. A term loan fits because the scope and the end date are both known before work starts.
Furniture, fixtures and equipment
Beds, case goods, commercial laundry, kitchen lines, HVAC, lifts, the pool plant and the backup generator.
More: Furniture, fixtures and equipment
Where the asset holds its value and can be invoiced, equipment financing keeps it off the renovation budget and secures the deal against the equipment itself.
Payroll and payables through the off season
Rooms sell in a season; staff, insurance, property tax and debt service do not pause for the rest of the year.
More: Payroll and payables through the off season
This is the clearest case for standby capital arranged before the trough opens rather than during it.
Distribution, technology and the season ahead
A property management system, channel manager and booking engine, revenue tools, and the marketing that fills rooms early.
More: Distribution, technology and the season ahead
All of it is spent before the season it is meant to fill.
Consolidating or refinancing existing obligations
Several short schedules running at once can outrun what a property actually collects in a quiet quarter.
More: Consolidating or refinancing existing obligations
Refinancing Business Debt With a Term Loan sets out when replacing them with one longer schedule helps and when it only moves the problem.
What do providers look for in a hotel file?
Acceptance still varies: a file one provider restricts is routine for another, which is the point of applying once to a network.
Occupancy and seasonality, read together
Providers read hotel statements as a year, not as a month, and size the offer against the quiet quarter.
More: Occupancy and seasonality, read together
A resort that earns most of its revenue in four months is not penalized for the other eight, provided the pattern is visible across complete months of statements. The quiet quarter matters because that is when the payment still has to clear. The mistake owners make is applying at the peak for money that will be repaid through the trough. Top Funding Options for Seasonal Businesses covers how to shape a request around that.
Gross room revenue is not your money
A provider sizing on deposits sees occupancy taxes, resort fees and platform commissions pass through the same account.
More: Gross room revenue is not your money
Judge any payment against what the property keeps after those come out, not against the deposit total, and say in the application which share of the revenue is pass-through.
The flag, and what the brand requires
Where there is a franchise, providers want the agreement, the term left on the licence and the improvement plan with its deadline.
More: The flag, and what the brand requires
A brand deadline is useful in an application: it dates the need and fixes the scope. A licence close to expiry does the opposite, because the revenue behind the request may not survive the renewal.
The real estate, the lease or ground lease
Who owns the building changes the file, because an owner-operator with equity in the property has collateral and an SBA path.
More: The real estate, the lease or ground lease
An operator on a lease or a ground lease is underwritten on operations alone, and the term left on the lease sets the longest schedule any provider will consider.
Acquisition, as its own exercise
A purchase is read on the target as much as on you: seller financials, an appraisal, environmental review and franchise approval.
More: Acquisition, as its own exercise
Some files fit a term loan; most fit an SBA path, and that path is measured in weeks rather than days. Capital Gurus is not an SBA lender; SBA loans are made by SBA-participating lenders. If the need is this month's payroll, it is the wrong queue to join.
The honest part
Hospitality is generally accepted, and that is worth saying plainly because it is not true everywhere on this site.
More: The honest part
What narrows a hotel file is rarely the industry — it is a single property with thin occupancy, a brand deadline with no room left in it, or a lease too short to carry a long schedule. A personal guarantee is commonly required. Personal Guarantees Explained covers what you are actually signing.
Worked example
A 62-room independent property taking a franchise flag, with the brand's improvement plan due before the next high season. One application, three structures.
Business term loan
$450,000
Guest-room refresh and lobby work in the brand's improvement plan
Equipment financing
$120,000
Commercial laundry and a kitchen replacement
Business line of credit
$150,000
Payroll and payables through the shoulder season
Left undrawn until needed
Illustrative example, not an offer. Amounts, rates, fees and schedules are set by the funding provider that makes each offer and are disclosed in that provider's agreement.
Sub-segments of hospitality
Independent hotels and motels
No brand standards, no brand revenue. Underwriting rests on the property's occupancy history and the owner's credit, and a line of credit covers the recurring trough.
More: Independent hotels and motels
These are the files where a line of credit does the most work.
Franchised and branded properties
Improvement plans drive the biggest requests; the franchise agreement is read as closely as the statements, and brand approval usually sets an acquisition's timetable.
More: Franchised and branded properties
The flag brings reservations and standards in equal measure.
Resorts, boutique and extended-stay
Resorts need a schedule shaped to the season; extended-stay deposits run steadier; boutique rooms carry heavier fixture costs, where equipment financing fits.
More: Resorts, boutique and extended-stay
Extended-stay properties look steadier to a provider because the stay length smooths the deposits.
Inns, bed and breakfasts and short-term rental operators
Small files, read like small businesses, not property. Deposits in the business account carry the decision, providers ask about platform concentration, and the real estate usually sits outside the operating entity. Amounts are smaller and revenue-based structures more common.
Food and beverage inside the property
A restaurant, bar or banqueting operation inside a hotel underwrites on its own card settlements and margins. If that side of the business is the reason you are applying, restaurants and food service is the closer page. A kitchen line can also be financed as equipment on its own.
What does a hotel need to apply?
Some providers consider applications at these minimums. Meeting a minimum does not guarantee an offer. The application is a soft credit pull only.
12 mo
time in business
$15K
monthly revenue
525
credit considered from
3 mo
bank statements
5 min
application
Bring, on top of the statements
- A government ID
- More statements in some states: four in CA, NY, FL and GA with some providers
- The franchise agreement and the improvement plan, where there is a flag. Scope, deadline and the term left on the licence.
- The deed or the lease. For a leased property, the term remaining, because it caps the schedule.
- Occupancy and rate history. Your own reporting is enough for most requests; larger ones and acquisitions need benchmarking against the market.
- Tax returns and financial statements, for anything large. Acquisitions, real estate and the top of any range are full-documentation files. Business loan requirements lists what that means in practice.
- A number and a purpose. Providers ask what the money is for and some restrict certain uses, so state it on the application. "The brand's room refresh, due in March" reads better than "renovation".
Capital Gurus is not a lender. We collect your application, present it to funding providers in our network, and help you compare the offers they make. Each provider sets its own rates, fees and terms, which are disclosed in that provider's agreement.
Frequently asked questions
In short
Hotels and motels reach the credit-led end of the ladder. A business term loan leads, and an SBA loan through a participating lender is the usual route to an acquisition or a major renovation. Revenue-based financing and a line of credit cover the off season. Providers in our network consider $10K to $10M.
How much financing can a hotel get?
Occupancy and deposits set the number first, then the structure and your documents. Across all products, providers in our network consider $10K to $10M, depending on the funding provider. An SBA loan for an acquisition is sized by the lender under SBA rules instead. Meeting a minimum does not guarantee an offer, and the top of any range belongs to full-documentation files with real estate behind them.
Can financing cover a franchise property improvement plan?
Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons hotel owners apply. The brand sets the scope and the deadline, which makes the amount and the end date knowable before you start — the pattern a term loan suits. Bring the improvement plan itself, the franchise agreement and your contractor bids, because providers size the request against the scope rather than against your estimate.
Will providers fund a seasonal property through the off season?
Often, yes. Seasonality is expected in hospitality and is read as a pattern rather than a problem, provided complete months of statements show it clearly. The structure matters more than the answer: a line of credit arranged before the trough, or a short revenue-based structure, survives a quiet quarter better than a long schedule signed at the top of the season.
Can I use an SBA loan to buy a hotel?
It is the usual route, and the realistic expectation is weeks rather than days. The lender and the SBA both review the file, and a property purchase adds an appraisal, environmental review, franchise approval and the seller's own numbers. Capital Gurus is not an SBA lender; SBA loans are made by SBA-participating lenders. We can help you prepare the application and refer you; the lender makes the decision and sets the terms.
What do providers ask a hotel owner for?
At minimum three months of bank statements plus a government ID. Beyond that, expect to produce the franchise agreement where there is a flag, the deed or the lease, your occupancy and rate history, and the entity documents. Renovations need the scope and the bids. Acquisitions need the target's financials. Complete months and all pages matter more than any single document.
Does a short-term rental or a bed and breakfast underwrite like a hotel?
Not quite. A small inn or a short-term rental operator is read much more like a small business than like a property: deposits in the business bank account carry the decision, and revenue booked through platforms is checked for consistency and concentration. Amounts are smaller, revenue-based structures appear more often, and the real estate usually sits outside the operating entity.
Still have a question?
talk to a funding advisorDecisions from some providers the same day, depending on the provider.
Subject to provider approval and document turnaround.
about 5 minutes, soft credit pull only · Talk to a funding advisor