Seller situations
Why hotel and motel owners sell, and what each reason changes
The reason behind a sale decides what matters most: price, timing, privacy or certainty. Find the situation closest to yours.
Five common situations behind a hotel sale
The owner is ready to retire
After years of running the property yourself, the question is how to step away without the business sliding first. Read selling a hotel or motel at retirement.
The loan is coming due
A maturity date sets a deadline whether or not you chose one. What to consider when a hotel loan matures lays out refinancing, extension and sale side by side.
The franchise is up for renewal, or a PIP has arrived
The brand wants capital spent on the building. Selling a hotel instead of funding a PIP explains how that plan affects price and timing.
Partners or heirs need to divide the property
When several people own a hotel, or an owner has died, authority and agreement come before price. See hotel sales by partnerships and estates.
The sale has to stay private
Some owners will only sell if nobody knows until it is done. Confidential, off-market hotel sales describes how that is managed.
How the reason shapes the sale
Two owners with identical hotels can want different deals.
| Situation | Usually matters most | Worth settling early |
|---|---|---|
| Retirement | A clean exit and a clear date | Tax planning with a CPA, and where you will live if you live on site |
| Loan maturity | Certainty of closing before the date | The exact payoff, prepayment terms and the lender's process |
| Franchise renewal or PIP | Who funds the required work | The PIP itself, the agreement's transfer terms and any termination fee |
| Partnership or estate | Authority to sell and how proceeds divide | Who must sign, and whether a court has to approve |
| Confidential sale | Who knows, and when | An NDA and a plan for visits and document sharing |
Price matters in all of them. It is rarely the only thing, and an offer that ignores your actual constraint is not a good offer, however large the number.
When more than one situation applies
They overlap constantly. A retiring owner faces a PIP. An estate inherits a hotel with a loan maturing next year. Partners who disagree also want the matter kept quiet. Start with the page closest to your deadline, because dates drive everything else.
Start with the property type too
The kind of property changes the mechanics as much as the reason does. The types of hotels and motels we buy are described separately.
Then look at the route
A direct buyer is one way to sell. A listing or an auction may suit your situation better, and the comparison of hotel brokers, auctions and direct sales is meant to help you judge.
What to have ready, whatever your reason
- A one-page summary: location, keys, year built, brand
- The last twelve months of revenue and expenses
- What is owed and when the loan matures
- The franchise expiration date and any open PIP
- The names of everyone who must approve a sale
- Your own deadline, if you have one
With those in hand, a first call is short and useful. The step-by-step process shows what follows, the guide to how hotel properties are valued explains how the numbers will be read, and you can send us the basics when you are ready.
A first conversation does not oblige you to sell. Some owners call, hear how a buyer would look at the property and decide to keep it another few years. That is a reasonable outcome, and we would rather you make the decision with full information than feel hurried into one.
Start with a confidential conversation
Tell us where the property is, how many keys it has and whether it carries a brand. We read every submission ourselves and call you back at the number you give.
Nothing you send is passed to a listing service, and sending it does not commit you to anything.
Tell us about the property
Read by the buyers. Never listed, never advertised.