Driftwater Loans, a small-business funding service in Fort Myers, Florida, covers hotel and motel loans for Lee County owners on the business side: FF&E and renovation financing, working capital and the operating business in a motel purchase. Property mortgages are not arranged.
At a glance
- Hotels and motels with paid employees, Lee County, FL
105 (CBP 2023)
- Paid employees at hotels and motels
3,762 (CBP 2023)
- Lodging and food service employers
1,597 (CBP 2023)
Rooms Sold Nightly, Renovations Every Few Years
Hotel loans on this site start from the operating business: rooms sold every night, housekeeping and front-desk payroll every week, and furniture, fixtures and equipment replaced on a cycle. Lee County, FL had 105 hotels and motels with paid employees in 2023, employing 3,762 people with $146 million in payroll (CBP 2023, NAICS 7211). That is about 35.8 employees per property (our arithmetic), and only 24.8% had fewer than five employees.
Hotel Lenders
Hotel lenders split into two worlds. Property lenders, such as banks, commercial mortgage lenders and SBA lenders, finance the land and building, and Driftwater does not arrange those. Business-side partners finance what sits inside the building and the cash that runs it: furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E), renovation work, laundry and kitchen equipment, and working capital. Knowing which side your request sits on saves time with both.
Hotels Loans
- Term loan: a room renovation, a lobby refresh or the business side of a purchase.
- Equipment financing: beds, case goods, HVAC units, laundry equipment and kitchen gear.
- Working capital: payroll and supplies through slow months or during a renovation.
A property mortgage, a construction loan for new rooms and a purchase of the real estate fall outside these.
Motel Loans Around Fort Myers, FL
Smaller motels run leaner, and their requests are smaller too: a set of room air conditioners, new mattresses, a laundry upgrade. Nonemployer Statistics, a separate program, counted 228 lodging businesses without paid employees in Lee County, FL in 2024, with $14.2 million in receipts; those include small inns and rental operators. Equipment loans suit a motel's purchases because each item can secure itself.
Motel Financing: How It Works in Fort Myers, FL
A partner reading a motel request looks at monthly room revenue, occupancy and average rate, any online travel agency statements, the property management system's reports, and the tourist development tax returns that tie reported revenue to what was taxed. The tourist development tax guide explains those returns. Bank statements and the latest tax return complete the file.
Loan to Buy Motel for Fort Myers, FL Owners
Buying a motel can mean buying the real estate and the business together. The real estate side is a commercial mortgage, which Driftwater does not arrange. The business side, including furniture and equipment, working capital for the first months and the operating business itself where the building is leased, can go to partners. Have the seller's revenue history, the tax returns and the purchase agreement ready, and split the request accordingly.
Hotel Financing for Fort Myers, FL Owners
Illustration only, invented figures: a 48-room hotel refreshes every room's furniture, carpet and air conditioning for $210,000. In this invented example, financing that over 84 months at 9.5% a year means a payment of about $3,432, or about $72 per room per month. In this invented example, the owner checks that higher rates or occupancy after the refresh cover that per-room figure before signing.
Hotel Motel Loans: What Partners Review in Fort Myers, FL
- Monthly room revenue, occupancy and average daily rate.
- Property management system and online travel agency reports.
- Tourist development tax and sales tax returns.
- Business bank statements and tax returns.
- Any franchise agreement and its renovation requirements.
- Quotes for the FF&E or renovation work.
Franchise Renovation Requirements in Lee County, FL Hotels
Franchised hotels face renovation schedules set by the brand, known as property improvement plans. Those plans set what must be replaced and by when, which fixes both the cost and the deadline of a request. Partners will read the plan alongside the quotes. Independent motels set their own schedule, which gives more room to phase a renovation floor by floor and fund each phase separately.
The hotel project article walks through a renovation in steps.
Lee County, FL Lodging in Census Counts
Hotel and motel payroll in Lee County, FL came to about $38,814 per employee in 2023 (CBP 2023, our arithmetic), against about $55,417 for all employers. The wider lodging and food service sector had 1,597 employer establishments with 33,915 paid employees (CBP 2023). County figures for every sector are on the Lee County, FL figures page.
Laundry, Kitchens and Pools as Equipment Purchases
Commercial washers and dryers, breakfast-area kitchen equipment, pool pumps and heaters, key-card systems and room HVAC units are each financeable as equipment, secured by the items. Grouping them into one equipment loan keeps the paperwork simple, but separate terms can make sense when one item lasts much longer than another.
By Driftwater Loans · Updated