Hotel Feasibility Study in New Hampshire

A 504 state: New Hampshire hotels borrow differently

The most striking fact in the New Hampshire hotel file is the program mix. SBA 504 carried 43 of the 64 loans and SBA 7(a) only 21, the reverse of most states, because lodging is a real estate asset and the certified development company model fits it. Granite State Economic Development Corporation alone holds 35 loans worth $30.7 million, more than half the file. The median loan of $590,000 is just 0.27x the median for the class nationally, which the cell clears as distinct, with requests from $221,000 to $1.3 million for the central half. New Hampshire inns and small motels are financed far smaller than a typical hotel elsewhere.

Size of the footprint

From FY2017 to FY2026, the state recorded 64 loans worth $61.6 million, 41 of 53 among states, while hotels place 8 of 39 across New Hampshire's classes, while a location quotient of 0.60x says lodging absorbs a thinner portion of loans here than the national pattern. Franchise affiliation is 20.3% of loans. Carroll County leads with 17 loans, Grafton has 15, Rockingham 9 and Hillsborough 8, with Coos at 5. These counties are the White Mountains, the lakes and the seacoast, so the pattern reads as tourism lodging.

Cancellation and repayment

For FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, at least 12.0% were cancelled and 14.0% once undisbursed loans are added. Charge-offs stand at 0.00% to date for the 31 loans disbursed over FY2017 to FY2021, and at 0.00% inside five years of approval, though that is a floor from a small group. Annual volume swings: 12 loans and $16.6 million in FY2025, 7 loans and $15.5 million in FY2022, and only 2 loans in FY2026.

What a New Hampshire lodging study has to test

Seasonality comes first: occupancy and average rate must be modelled across winter, summer and foliage months, using the demand drivers of the specific location. Property improvement and brand requirements must be costed. Coverage should be tested in a weak season and in a soft year. The appraisal on a hotel combines real estate and going-concern value, so the study should show the split.

The industry code treats hotels and motels as one group, so select-service and full-service properties are not distinguishable in these figures.