Worked Example: SBA 7(a) Hotel Feasibility Study in Arizona, a Closed Motor Inn Reopened as an Independent Lodge
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a hotel project in Arizona, financed with an SBA 7(a) loan.
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Yuma, AZ Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
172 SBA approvals landed here for Yuma projects between FY2017 and FY2026, carrying $76.6 million across every asset class. Yuma holds rank 344 of 928 against every other statistical area, Yuma among them. Loan size centers on $150,000, with half of all loans between $32,250 and $591,000. On loan size the pattern is clear: at 0.72x of the national median. Nationally, Yuma loans run larger than they do here.
The metro area shows 142 loans under 7(a), against 30 under 504, Yuma leaving 504 as the minority route. Franchise Yuma brands account for 11.6% of loans. On the 7(a) side, Zions Bancorporation, National Association leads with 39 loans and $3.0 million. Second place is Wells Fargo Bank National Association: 19 loans, $4.7 million. WaFd Bank holds 8 loans, and JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association at 7. Under 504, Arizona Capital Source is the lead holder with 14 loans and $9.6 million, with The Mortgage Capital Development Corporation second at 9 loans. Read the Yuma lender rows as SBA records of holdings. Zions Bancorporation, National Association appears as the holder SBA shows; the Yuma list neither praises nor faults any holder.
The larger share of the Yuma record falls outside the class table: 104 loans that carry codes outside the Yuma table. The Yuma class rows therefore describe a minority of Yuma lending. Automotive Yuma mechanical repair (car and truck) is the largest tracked class, at 11 loans, ahead of full-service restaurant at 9, and hotel and motel at 8. Further down sit limited-service restaurant, 8 loans and fitness center at 5. By county, Yuma County, AZ accounts for 172 loans. A project in one Yuma county meets other land costs, so the Yuma figure hides some spread.
Cancellation after approval reached a floor of 8.5% for Yuma approvals in FY2017 to FY2024; the ceiling, treating undisbursed Yuma loans as cancelled, is also 8.5%. No charge-off rate is shown for Yuma: too few Yuma loans reached the funded cohort, so Yuma gets no Yuma rate, and a blank never signals none. Annual approvals peaked in FY2025 at 28 loans and $5.1 million, while FY2021 was the low point before FY2026, at 10 loans and $6.9 million. A loan joins the Yuma, AZ figures through its project county, as with Yuma County, AZ or Yuma County, AZ. Then county membership follows the 2023 delineation, yet Yuma counties Yuma that resist matching stay out of all Yuma totals.
Any Yuma feasibility study should be built for the particular Yuma county, given how unlike its Yuma counties can be. Since automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) leads the Yuma class table, expect scrutiny of fleet and commercial account potential, plus waste oil and fluid handling and vehicles registered within the drive time. A Yuma request in full-service restaurant depend on Yuma dining rooms and their weeknight trade and on kitchen capacity against peak service. A Yuma operator's Yuma coverage has to survive a poor year; comparable sales near the Yuma site must support the value. Since Yuma loans skew small, a larger ask will draw questions the Yuma study should answer first.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 172 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $76.6 million |
| Median loan | $150,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $32,250 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $591,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 142 |
| SBA 504 loans | 30 |
| Franchise share of loans | 11.6% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 344 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.72x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 8.5% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 8.5% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | withheld |
Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.
SBA loans approved in the Yuma, AZ Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 14 | $3.2 million |
| FY2018 | 18 | $6.7 million |
| FY2019 | 16 | $11.5 million |
| FY2020 | 17 | $11.1 million |
| FY2021 | 10 | $6.9 million |
| FY2022 | 11 | $10.0 million |
| FY2023 | 15 | $9.9 million |
| FY2024 | 16 | $5.1 million |
| FY2025 | 28 | $5.1 million |
| FY2026 | 27 | $7.1 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 104 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 11 |
| Full-service restaurant | 9 |
| Hotel and motel | 8 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 8 |
| Fitness center | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Capital Source | 14 | $9.6 million |
| The Mortgage Capital Development Corporation | 9 | $10.6 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Zions Bancorporation, National Association | 39 | $3.0 million |
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 19 | $4.7 million |
| WaFd Bank | 8 | $208,000 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | 7 | $1.6 million |
| Newtek Bank, National Association | 6 | $421,500 |
Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Yuma County, AZ | 172 |
Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.
Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.
All assets: every 7(a) and 504 approval in the metro, including those outside the 39 asset classes.
A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MT-49740.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a hotel project in Arizona, financed with an SBA 7(a) loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Yuma, AZ Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.
Start with the data.
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