Hospitality property in Central Florida
Hospitality on our coast is a market of independently owned motels and hotels along A1A, many of them held by one family for decades; branded select-service hotels near the interstate and the Speedway; and the resort and condo-hotel product on the oceanfront. A hotel is the one commercial property type that is both a business and a piece of real estate, and it has to be valued as both: what the operation earns after a real management fee and a reserve, and what the site would be worth to the next use.
We read the operating statement before we price the property, and we talk to owner-operators in their own terms: occupancy, rate, payroll, the brand and the capital plan, then the site.
Who we represent
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Owner-operators and families
Families selling a beachside property they have run for a generation, owners of branded hotels facing a renewal or a property-improvement plan, and estates that need a documented price and a discreet process. The work is a broker opinion of value on the operating numbers and the site, an offering memorandum built for hotel buyers, and confidential outreach.
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Buyers, investors and developers
Operators adding a property, private investors and 1031 exchange buyers who want an operating asset, and developers looking for oceanfront and interstate sites — or older properties whose land is worth more than the operation. We source on and off market, underwrite the operation and the real estate, and manage due diligence to closing.
What drives value
Hotel buyers price the operation, then the brand and capital picture, then the land:
- The operating statement. Trailing occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available room, departmental expenses, and the net operating income left after a market management fee and a reserve for furniture, fixtures and equipment.
- Brand, franchise and capital. Whether the property is branded or independent, the term and terms of the franchise agreement, the property-improvement plan a new owner will inherit, and the deferred capital in the building itself.
- Seasonality and demand. How much of the year’s revenue arrives in a handful of event weeks, and how the property performs in the months between.
- The real estate. Oceanfront or off-beach, zoning and permitted height, coastal-construction rules, flood zone and insurance, and what the site would support if the building were not there.
An older oceanfront motel and a newer branded hotel by the interstate are priced on different pages of the same analysis. The broker opinion of value covers both — the going concern and the site — and says which buyer pool will pay the most.
How we work
- Broker opinion of value Net operating income after a management fee and reserve, capitalized at the rates buyers are paying for comparable hotels, cross-checked per key, and set beside the value of the site. Not an appraisal, and it may not be relied upon as one (s. 475.612, Fla. Stat.).
- Offering memorandum Three years of operating statements, occupancy and rate history, the franchise and management agreements, the property-improvement plan, capital history, licenses, survey, site plan, flood-zone information, photographs and aerials — assembled before the property goes to market and released under confidentiality.
- Buyer outreach Operators, hotel investors, exchange buyers and developers, contacted directly. Hotels are often sold without a public listing; when a listing serves the seller, it runs alongside the direct outreach.
- Offers and negotiation Offers compared on price, deposit, contingencies, franchise approval, financing and ability to perform. Letter of intent and purchase contract negotiated with your attorney.
- Due diligence and closing Financial verification, property condition assessment, franchise transfer or termination, licenses and permits, survey, title, environmental, insurance binding and financing, on a calendar we manage to the closing table.
What we analyze
- Trailing occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available room
- Departmental income and expenses, and the management fee and reserve a buyer will carry
- Franchise agreement term, fees and the property-improvement plan
- Management structure and payroll
- Capital condition: roofs, mechanical systems, elevators, pool, rooms and corridors
- Seasonality and the event calendar’s share of annual revenue
- Licenses, permits and transient-rental compliance
- Zoning, permitted height and density, and coastal-construction rules
- Flood zone, wind mitigation and insurability
- Comparable sales per key and cap rates; site value for redevelopment
Central Florida context
Hospitality demand follows visitors and the employers who serve them. The items below are from public sources; each carries its source and date.
- Orlando MSA, August 2026 (preliminary): leisure and hospitality employment up 2.8% year over year; total nonfarm jobs 1,508,300, up 0.8%.U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economy at a Glance, data extracted September 18, 2026.
- Universal Epic Universe opened in Orlando on May 22, 2025.CNBC, April 15, 2025, and opening-day coverage.
- Volusia County, Q2 2026: new-construction permits of $1 million or more in leisure and hospitality totalled $13.4 million, out of $167.1 million in commercial permits county-wide.Volusia County Division of Economic Development, Q Book, Q2 2026 (published August 2026).
Questions we hear
How is a hotel valued?
On its net operating income after a market management fee and a reserve for furniture, fixtures and equipment, capitalized at the rate buyers are paying for comparable hotels, and cross-checked as a price per key against recent sales. A branded hotel is also priced on the franchise agreement and the property-improvement plan a new owner will have to complete. For an older oceanfront property, the value of the site as a redevelopment parcel is often the number that matters, and the broker opinion of value shows both.
What do hotel buyers ask for?
Three years of operating statements by department, monthly occupancy and average-rate history, the franchise agreement and any property-improvement plan, the management agreement, the capital-expenditure history, the transient-rental and other licenses, the property-tax and insurance bills, a survey and site plan, and the flood-zone and coastal-construction information a lender will require. Assembling that file before the property goes to market is most of the work of a clean sale.
Can an older beachside motel be sold as a redevelopment site?
Often, and sometimes the site is worth more than the operation. The analysis is a land analysis: zoning, permitted height and density, coastal-construction rules, parking, and what a developer can build and sell or operate there. We value the property both ways — as a going concern and as a site — and market it to operators and developers at the same time, because the best offer can come from either.
Will the sale stay confidential from staff and guests?
Yes. Hotels are routinely sold off-market or under confidentiality agreements, with the operating statements released only to qualified buyers who have signed one, and property visits scheduled so they read as routine. Staff and guests learn of a sale when the new owner decides to tell them, after closing.
Do you handle condo-hotel units or residential condominiums?
We handle hospitality property bought and sold as an investment or an operating business — a hotel, a motel, a resort or the site under one. Individual condominium units, including condo-hotel units bought for personal use or rental income, are handled through the brokerage’s residential side, Oceans Luxury Realty.
Educational information only — not tax, legal or investment advice. A broker opinion of value is not an appraisal. Franchise, licensing and coastal-construction requirements change and vary by brand and jurisdiction; confirm them with the franchisor, the local building department and your attorney.