Hotel construction loans: how a new build gets financed
How lenders finance a new hotel: the budget they test against the brand's Item 7, equity, projections, SBA 504 and 7(a) construction rules and draws.
Hotel and motel financing
Find out what your motel will borrow before the bank does
Enter rooms, rate and occupancy. You get NOI, DSCR and the biggest loan the property will carry, using the brand's own franchise fees.
Run by Janover Capital LLC. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Hotel loan calculator
RevPAR to NOI to DSCR to a loan amount, the same steps a credit officer takes, plus the occupancy at which the hotel stops covering its payment.
Franchise costs by brand
What each brand charges to join and every month after, read from the disclosure documents it filed with state regulators, with the filing linked.
SBA 7(a) for hotels
The SBA loan for buying an operating motel, with the current rate caps, fees, equity and citizenship rules.
SBA 504 for hotels
A fixed rate on the real estate and a smaller bank loan, in exchange for more paperwork and more equity.
How to buy a motel
The order a purchase actually happens in, and where deals fall apart.
Two numbers decide your loan
Every hotel loan comes down to the income the property has already earned and the price you’re paying for it. The bank works out net operating income from the trailing twelve months, divides it by the debt service coverage it requires, and turns the result into a loan amount. Then it caps that at a share of the price. You get the smaller of the two.
Run the hotel loan calculator before you make an offer and you’ll know which one is holding you back.
Franchise fees come off the top
A franchised hotel pays royalty, marketing and reservation fees before it pays a single housekeeper. The franchise cost table lists them brand by brand, from the disclosure documents each franchisor filed with a state regulator, and shows how much smaller each one makes your loan.
Latest guides
Hotel refinance loans, and when refinancing a motel pays
When refinancing a hotel or motel makes sense, how lenders size a refinance or cash-out, what prepayment penalties cost, and SBA refinance rules.
How lenders size a hotel loan: RevPAR, NOI and DSCR
The arithmetic a hotel lender runs, step by step, with a worked example, and the adjustments that make a bank's number smaller than yours.
How to buy a motel, from first look to closing
The order a motel purchase actually happens in, what the seller, the brand and the lender each want from you, and where deals fall apart.
PIP financing for hotels, and how a PIP changes your loan
What a property improvement plan is, why brands require one when a hotel sells, and the ways owners pay for it, from SBA loans to brand key money.
SBA 504 loans for hotels and motels, with 15% down
How SBA 504 finances a hotel: the bank, CDC and owner split, why hotels need 15% down, the October 2026 debenture rate, FY2027 fees and the job rule.
Questions people ask
Is Motel Loans a lender?
No. Motel Loans is run by Janover Capital LLC, which arranges commercial financing through lenders but doesn't lend. When you send a financing request, it goes to Janover Capital and a person there replies. Motel Loans is not affiliated with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Which loans can buy a motel?
SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 loans allow a smaller down payment and a longer term than a conventional bank loan, but every owner must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national living in the U.S. Bank, credit union and CMBS loans are the other routes.
How much of the price will a lender finance?
It's the smaller of two numbers. One is a share of the price or appraised value, set by the program. The other is what the hotel's income supports at the lender's minimum DSCR. Use the calculator to see which one limits your deal.
Financing a hotel or motel?
Send the deal to Janover Capital, which runs Motel Loans. A person there reads every request and replies.