SBA 7(a) Hotel Feasibility Study in Ohio

Ohio hotels under 7(a)

Hotels and motels rank 7 of 39 among Ohio asset classes, and Ohio holds rank 5 for 7(a) hotel loans. The program approved 396 loans for $995.0 million over FY2017 to FY2026. A $2.3 million median is 1.06x the nationwide 7(a) median, so Ohio is ordinary in size; the middle half ranges from $1.4 million to $3.5 million. Branding is the largest share on the page: 83.1% of loans carry a franchise flag, so these are overwhelmingly flagged hotels financed through 7(a).

Lenders and places

GBank holds 71 loans worth $222.3 million, Shoreham Bank 46 worth $143.2 million, a third holder has 36 loans carrying $87.3 million, United Midwest Savings Bank National Association 25 worth $57.3 million, and The Huntington National Bank 19 worth $35.6 million. SBA reports each lender as the current holder of its loans, so these names show where the loans sit now. Franklin County has 42 loans, Hamilton 30, Cuyahoga 26, Montgomery 24 and Lucas 23. FY2026, the latest year, shows 51 loans and $154.3 million.

Outcome floors

Of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals in Ohio, 7.0% at the least were cancelled, and adding the undisbursed ones changes nothing. Of the 163 Ohio hotel loans in the FY2017 to FY2021 cohort, 1.2% or more are charged off, and 0.00% by the fifth year. These are small figures, and still only floors: open loans can fail later, and hotel loans are big enough that one default matters.

What an Ohio hotel study must test

One industry code takes in hotels and motels alike, so a select-service inn and a full-service property blur together; the study must name its product. The central work is demand: room nights from business, leisure, sports, hospital and university generators near the site, set against existing supply and anything under construction. Because most borrowers use a brand, the study must price franchise fees, required renovations and reservation-system costs. Occupancy under the market average, with seasonality built in, should still cover the debt, and an appraiser will want stabilized operating income behind any value. The program's terms come from SBA, not from this page. It should also state which share of the borrower's cash is going into the property versus the franchise and opening costs.