Aspenspring Business Loans in Durango, Colorado places hotel and motel funding requests with funding partners. Hotels and motels with paid employees numbered 41 in La Plata County, CO in 2023. This page covers hotel lenders, financing structures for FF&E and improvement plans, commercial loans for hotel operators, a payment check and cash flow while rooms are refreshed.
At a glance
- Hotel and motel employers, La Plata County, CO
41 (County Business Patterns 2023)
- Hotel and motel employees
1,480 (County Business Patterns 2023)
- Hotel and motel annual payroll
$41.4 million (County Business Patterns 2023)
Hotel Lenders Around Durango, CO and the County Lodging Numbers
Hotel loans start from the property count. County Business Patterns counted 41 traveler accommodation employers (hotels, motels, inns and similar lodging) in La Plata County, CO in 2023, with 1,480 employees and $41.4 million in annual payroll, about $27,949 per employee (our arithmetic); 34.1% had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns 2023). Accommodation and food services together employed 4,193 people, more than any other county sector.
ZIP 81301 counted 34 of those lodging employers (ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023), and Nonemployer Statistics counted 45 lodging businesses without paid employees for 2024 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024). Banks, equipment funders and specialty lenders all finance hotel operators; the property itself is financed by mortgage and commercial real estate lenders, which this site does not reach.
Hotel Financing Structure for FF&E and Brand Improvement Plans
FF&E means furniture, fixtures and equipment: beds, case goods, soft goods, televisions, laundry equipment and lobby furniture. A franchised hotel can receive a property improvement plan, or PIP, listing upgrades the brand requires. Illustration only, invented figures: refreshing 32 rooms at $6,800 a room costs $217,600; over 84 months at an invented 9.5% the payment is about $3,556 a month (our arithmetic).
Movable items suit equipment financing; construction work under a PIP suits a term loan. The FF&E article covers the split in detail.
Hotel Management Loans for Operators and Independent Owners
An operator running a hotel under a management agreement and an independent owner running their own property borrow differently. The operator's funding covers operating needs: payroll, supplies, software and working capital, read on the operator's own records. The owner's funding can also cover FF&E and improvements, read on the property's operating statements.
A partner reading either asks for monthly operating statements, occupancy and average daily rate by month, and the franchise or management agreement where there is one.
Commercial Loans for Hotel Operators Covering Rooms Out of Service
A refresh takes rooms out of service before it raises revenue. Illustration only, invented figures: 8 rooms off the market for 6 weeks at an average rate of $140 a night puts $47,040 of room revenue on hold in this invented case, assuming every room would otherwise have sold every night (our arithmetic). A working capital loan or a line sized to that gap keeps payroll and suppliers paid while the work is done.
Hotel Finance Calculator: Checking a Payment by Hand
Using the payment formula, payment = amount x r / (1 - (1 + r)^-n), with r the monthly rate and n the months, the invented $217,600 refresh at 9.5% over 84 months gives $3,556 a month and $298,742 paid in total (our arithmetic). Divide the monthly payment by the number of rooms to see the cost per room per month, about $111 here (our arithmetic), and set that against what each room earns.
Hotel Loan Default and What an Agreement Says About It
A hotel loan agreement names what counts as default: a missed payment, a lapsed franchise agreement, or a breach of a covenant such as a minimum coverage ratio. The funder's remedies follow from that list. Before signing, find the default clause, any cross-default with other loans, and any personal guarantee; ask the partner what notice it gives before acting.
Owner-Run Motels and Small Independent Lodges in La Plata County, CO
With 34.1% of the county's traveler accommodation employers below five employees in 2023 (County Business Patterns 2023), small owner-run properties are part of the trade. They have no brand standards to meet, so their improvement plans are their own, but they also lack a brand's reservation system, which makes occupancy records the owner keeps more important to a partner.
For a small property, a refresh can be done in phases, a few rooms at a time, so that revenue keeps coming from the rest. Financing each phase separately keeps the amounts smaller; financing the whole plan at once fixes the cost up front. A partner reads the owner's monthly statements, bank deposits and the property's tax returns, and the owner should set each phase's payment against the revenue from the rooms that remain open.
A longer read covers how lodges and small hotels pay for FF&E, from case goods to soft goods.
By Aspenspring Business Loans · Updated