Prepared for lenders, CDCs, and federal agencies to SBA SOP 50 10 8, USDA 7 CFR Part 5001, and conventional underwriting standards. Fiduciary duty runs to the lender and the agency, never the borrower. 4,000+ engagements since 1998 covering $41.2 billion in evaluated project value. So far in 2026: 41 engagements and $1.54 billion evaluated — 17 SBA, 11 USDA.
Looking for a conventional hotel or motel study? Franchised, select-service, extended-stay and full-service lodging is handled under hotel and motel feasibility studies, which covers competitive-set penetration, ADR, occupancy and RevPAR forecasting, franchise economics and debt-service coverage.
Hospitality feasibility is the discipline of converting visitation into occupied room-nights at a defensible rate. The study builds the demand base from tourism volumes, corporate and group generators, and highway or destination traffic, then tests penetration against the competitive set's occupancy and ADR performance. For RV resorts, campgrounds, and outdoor hospitality, the analysis adapts to site-count economics: seasonal occupancy curves, ADR by site class, length-of-stay mix, and the long-stay segment that carries shoulder seasons. Event-driven and wedding-venue hospitality is modeled on bookable-date capacity and catering capture rather than room-night arithmetic.
Methodology draws on STR-class competitive set data where available, state tourism office visitation series, AADT counts for highway-dependent product, and operator benchmarks from RMA and IBISWorld. Site-class ADR and occupancy assumptions are built from named competitive properties, and every revenue conclusion feeds a fully linked model tested against program coverage minimums under rate stress.
Every Wert-Berater financial model is fully linked with no hardcoded values, so any reviewer can stress any input. Deliverables comprise a complete narrative report and the linked Excel model, with ten-year pro forma, sensitivity analysis at ±5, 10, and 15 percent, interest-rate stress from +0.5 to +3.0 percent, and ratio analysis benchmarked against RMA and IBISWorld data.
SBA engagements are prepared to SOP 50 10 8, including its debt-service-coverage minimums of 1.15x operating and 1.00x global. USDA engagements follow RD Staff Instruction 5001 across the Business & Industry, Community Facilities, REAP, and Value-Added Producer Grant programs. Conventional engagements are built to the lender's stated coverage standard, typically 1.20x. Hospitality reaches us through SBA 504 and 7(a) for owner-operated hotels and outdoor hospitality, USDA B&I for rural destinations, and conventional lending for flagged product; SOP 50 10 8 special-purpose property treatment and its collateral implications are addressed squarely where they apply.
The firm's outdoor hospitality record includes a $4,839,570 SBA 504 100-site RV resort in Van Zandt County, Texas and an $8,050,000 waterfront RV resort on Santa Rosa Sound determined conditionally favorable on the single SBA-compliant site plan. Independence is non-negotiable: determinations follow the evidence and are not revised under pressure, and studies are built to pass lender, agency, and third-party review without exception items.
A hospitality feasibility study is not a market overview. It is a credit document built to answer a single question: do projected revenues, at defensible occupancy and rate assumptions, cover debt service under the lender's or agency's required coverage standard? Every section of the report is written toward that answer, and every revenue figure in the narrative ties directly to a cell in the linked financial model.
For hotel and resort product, the scope begins with a property program review—room count, brand flag or independent positioning, food-and-beverage configuration, meeting space, and amenity set—because program drives the competitive tier and the demand segments the property can realistically capture. For RV resorts, campgrounds, and outdoor hospitality, the program review covers site count by class, hookup configuration, cabin or glamping inventory, and ancillary revenue centers such as camp stores and activity fees. Standard deliverables for this asset class include:
Demand for hospitality product does not come from a single source, and no credible study treats it as though it does. The analysis is assembled from multiple independent data streams that are cross-checked against one another before any occupancy or rate conclusion is drawn.
For hotel and resort product, the demand build typically draws on state tourism office visitation series, convention and visitors bureau lodging reports, state hotel association occupancy data, and STR-class competitive set performance where the operator can provide it or where it is available through the lender's subscription. Corporate and group demand generators—employers, hospitals, universities, military installations, sports facilities—are identified by name and distance, and their contribution to room-night demand is estimated conservatively. Annual average daily traffic counts from the relevant state department of transportation are used for highway-dependent properties to calibrate intercept potential.
For RV resorts and campgrounds, the supply inventory is built from state parks and recreation licensing registries, county permit records, and direct inspection of named competitive properties. Reservation-platform availability data and operator-published rate cards are used to triangulate seasonal ADR and occupancy patterns. Campground and RV industry trade association benchmark data supplements the property-level competitive work. Event-driven and wedding-venue properties require a separate bookable-date capacity analysis that counts available Saturdays and peak-season weekends against regional venue supply and demonstrated regional event demand—a method distinct from room-night arithmetic and documented separately in the report.
A hospitality pro forma contains dozens of inputs, but a small number of them account for most of the movement in the debt-service-coverage ratio. Identifying those inputs, testing them against market evidence, and disclosing the test method is the analytical core of the study. For this asset class, the assumptions that carry the most leverage are:
Hospitality is a scrutinized asset class under every lending program, and the concerns that arise at credit committee are specific to the product type rather than generic to commercial real estate.
Under SBA SOP 50 10 8, hotels and RV resorts are frequently classified as special-purpose properties, which affects both the feasibility standard applied and the collateral analysis. The study addresses the special-purpose determination directly, documents the basis for the classification, and confirms that the coverage analysis meets the 1.15x operating and 1.00x global minimums required by the SOP. SBA lenders also require that the feasibility analyst be independent of the borrower and that the fee not be contingent on the finding; both conditions are structural to every Wert-Berater engagement.
USDA Business & Industry lenders applying RD Staff Instruction 5001 are particularly attentive to rural market depth: whether the demand base is large enough to support the proposed site or room count at the projected rate without cannibalizing existing rural hospitality supply. The study documents the rural market demand build with the same rigor applied to urban product.
Conventional lenders underwriting flagged hotel product typically require coverage of 1.20x or better and place significant weight on brand flag performance data, franchise agreement terms, and property improvement plan costs. The study accounts for PIP obligations in the expense build and flags any franchise-renewal risk that could affect the going-concern assumption. For all program types, operator experience and management depth are evaluated and disclosed, because lender credit committees treat an inexperienced operator as a material risk factor regardless of market conditions.
The engagement begins with a fixed fee quoted within one business day of the project description. The fee does not change based on the finding, and no portion of it is contingent on loan approval, project approval, or any other outcome. That structure is not a policy preference; it is the condition under which an independent determination is possible.
Delivery runs ten to fifteen business days from the date a complete data room is received. A complete data room for hotel or outdoor hospitality typically includes the site plan or property program, any existing operator agreements or franchise commitments, the proposed loan structure, and any market studies or appraisals already in the file. Rush delivery is available when the credit timeline requires it. The fee and the rush premium, if applicable, are stated in the engagement letter before work begins.
Every engagement is published to a secure client portal where the linked Excel model remains live throughout the review period. Because the model contains no hardcoded values, a lender's credit analyst or an agency reviewer can change any input—occupancy, ADR, interest rate, expense ratio—and watch the coverage ratio recalculate in real time. That transparency is intentional: the study is designed to be examined, not accepted on its face. The narrative report documents every assumption, every data source, and every condition attached to the finding, so that a reviewer who questions any conclusion has a documented basis for evaluating it rather than a black box to accept or reject.
Properties where event and wedding bookings rather than room nights are the primary revenue source are scoped as an event venue feasibility study.
The fee is fixed and quoted within one business day of receiving the project description. It does not vary based on the finding, and no portion is contingent on loan approval or any other outcome. Because scope varies by project size, program type, and lending program, a specific figure is provided after a brief project review rather than published as a flat rate.
Standard delivery is ten to fifteen business days from the date a complete data room is received. Rush delivery is available when the credit timeline requires a shorter window. The engagement letter states the delivery commitment and any rush premium before work begins, so there are no surprises on either timeline or cost.
Hospitality revenue is operating revenue, not lease revenue. Occupancy and rate must be earned every night against a competitive set that can add supply or cut rates. Seasonality, ramp-to-stabilization risk, operator experience, and—for outdoor hospitality—weather-dependent demand make the coverage ratio far more sensitive to assumption error than a triple-net lease or a stabilized multifamily property. That sensitivity is why independent stress-testing matters.
SBA may require a feasibility study under 13 CFR §120.160(b), and SBA lenders and CDCs commonly require independent feasibility analysis for special-purpose properties; hotels and RV resorts frequently qualify as special-purpose under the SOP. The study must be prepared by an independent analyst whose fee is not contingent on the finding. Lenders should confirm the specific trigger with their SBA district office, as SOP requirements are updated periodically.
A study prepared to SBA SOP 50 10 8 standards and a study prepared to USDA RD Staff Instruction 5001 standards share most methodology but differ in program-specific coverage tests, rural market documentation requirements, and disclosure formats. When a project is being submitted to both programs simultaneously, the engagement is structured to satisfy both sets of requirements in a single report rather than producing two separate documents.
A complete data room typically includes the site plan or property program, proposed room or site count by type, any existing franchise or operator agreements, the proposed loan amount and structure, and any appraisal or prior market study already in the file. State tourism data and competitive set information are sourced independently. The engagement letter identifies any additional items needed before the delivery clock starts.
Qualify a project. Tell us about the project and the program. We will tell you the truth about it — scope, timeline, and fee confirmed before work begins.
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Wert-Berater, Inc. is an independent provider of feasibility studies and other related services. The firm does not provide financing or equity investment advice, and does not arrange, broker, or place debt or equity capital of any kind.
All appraisal assignments are performed by Bruce E. Jones, MAI, ASA-GC, BCA, CMEA, a member of the Appraisal Institute since 2006, a staff member of Wert-Berater, Inc. and owner of Special Purpose Realty Valuation.