SBA 7(a) Hotel Feasibility Study in North Dakota

Three-quarters flagged in a state that borrows heavily for lodging

Hotels hold place 3 of 39 among North Dakota's classes under 7(a), and 64.7% of the 34 loans are franchised. The loans total $83.2 million, with a midpoint of $2.4 million, 1.11x the national 7(a) hotel midpoint, and a tight middle half from $1.7 million to $3.0 million. North Dakota ranks 41 against other states by count, a low placement that makes the dollar size of each loan more telling than the count.

An energy-region map

Ward County has 11 loans, Burleigh and Cass have 5 each, Stark and Stutsman 4 each, and McKenzie 2, putting lending in Minot, Bismarck, Fargo and the western oil counties. The calendar is the story: no loans in FY2017, then a rise to 7 loans carrying $23.9 million in FY2025 and 9 carrying $22.7 million in FY2026. No lender appears in the holder table for North Dakota, so none is named.

What the page cannot say

Outcome rates are missing for North Dakota lodging, as both cohorts fell below SBA's minimum, and the demand drivers described above must stand on their own evidence. A single hotels-and-motels code lumps economy flags, upscale select-service and full-service houses together, which leaves loan size unable to say which was financed. A reader should remember that a $2.4 million midpoint hides very different buildings.

What a North Dakota hotel study has to test

Demand here is tied to energy activity, agriculture and winter weather, so the study should show where room nights come from, workers on assignment, business travel, events or tourists, and how sensitive each source is to the price of oil. Supply matters as much: the competing rooms and any new ones planned in the same city. Occupancy should be shown by month, with the deep winter months included. If flagged, cost the brand's fees and its renovation cycle. Construction cost per key is high in remote areas where labor and materials are scarce, so it needs a contractor basis. Coverage must hold after a downturn in oilfield activity, not only at stabilised occupancy. Value the real estate without the brand.