El Paso Owner's Guide · Hotels, Motels & Extended Stay

How to Sell a Hotel or Motel in El Paso, Texas

Hospitality is priced off income and condition — occupancy, average daily rate, and what the next owner must spend before opening the doors. Buyers arrive with spreadsheets and lenders. The owners who prepare accordingly get paid accordingly.

(915) 318-2226
NOI-driven
Priced on net operating income and a market cap rate
$5M
SBA 7(a) financing available to qualified buyers
100%
Confidential — staff and competitors never know

The Local Market

What buyers pay for in an El Paso hotel

Fort Bliss, the medical center, the university, border commerce, and interstate traffic give El Paso a demand base most secondary markets cannot match. Buyers include individual operators, families adding a second property, and regional investment groups.

Occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR history

Three years of monthly performance, plus how you compare with your competitive set, is the operating record every offer is built on.

Net operating income and expense discipline

Because value is capitalized income, every recurring dollar of controlled expense translates into many dollars of price.

Brand standards and required improvements

Franchise agreements, property improvement plan obligations, and remaining term shape what a buyer must spend after closing — and they subtract it from your number.

Condition, deferred capital, and demand generators

Roof, HVAC, guest rooms, and pool condition, along with proximity to the demand drivers that fill the property, all move both price and financeability.

Free Estimator · No Email Required

What is my El Paso hotel worth?

Move the slider for a directional read using owner's discretionary earnings (SDE). Hotels are most often valued off net operating income and a market capitalization rate, and cross-checked per key — which is why a certified independent valuation matters more here than in almost any other category.

$180,000 / year

$40K$1.2M

Which of these are true today?

Illustrative Range

Estimated enterprise value

$702,000 – $1,116,000

That’s roughly 3.9× to 6.2× your owner’s earnings, before any real estate you own.

Every box you check is a lever you can still pull before you list. Owners who fix the books and the lease first routinely land at the top of their range instead of the bottom.

Illustration only — not an appraisal or an offer.

Step by Step

The six steps that get a hotel or motel sold — in that order.

  1. 01

    Assemble a full operating and capital picture

    Three years of P&Ls and tax returns, reconciled, plus monthly occupancy, ADR and RevPAR, segment mix, competitive-set comparisons, departmental expenses, franchise reporting, and a capital expenditure history.

  2. 02

    Commission an independent, certified valuation

    Not a broker's opinion. We commission a certified valuation from an independent NACVA-credentialed appraiser — the caliber of report banks, buyers, the IRS, and courts rely on. In an income-priced asset this is the foundation of the entire negotiation.

  3. 03

    Protect net operating income before listing

    Rate discipline, labor management, and utility and maintenance control raise the income a buyer capitalizes. Every sustainable dollar is multiplied at closing.

  4. 04

    Resolve what diligence will find

    Franchise agreement term and transfer requirements, property improvement plan status, brand inspection scores, ADA and life-safety items, roof and mechanical condition, property tax assessments, survey and title, and unpaid taxes.

  5. 05

    Market it confidentially to qualified buyers

    No public listing that unsettles your staff or tips your competitors. We market to vetted, financially verified operators and investment groups under NDA.

  6. 06

    Negotiate, survive diligence, and close

    Offers, escrow, appraisal, environmental and property condition assessments, franchise transfer approval, staff retention, prorations, and funding. We stay on it through closing.

Costly Mistakes

Six mistakes that cost hotel or motel owners real money.

01

Deferring capital and hoping no one notices

A property condition assessment finds everything. Deferred roof, HVAC, and room work becomes a direct, itemized deduction from your price.

02

Discounting rate to hold occupancy

Buying occupancy with rate erodes RevPAR and the income your value is built on. Buyers see the trade immediately.

03

Ignoring an approaching improvement plan

A brand-required renovation coming due is money the buyer must spend, and they will price it back to you. Knowing the number early lets you control the conversation.

04

Mixing personal expenses into the books

In a capitalized-income asset, every unexplained expense reduces value by a multiple of itself.

05

Overlooking franchise transfer requirements

Brand approval of the buyer has its own process and timeline. Discovered late, it delays closing and costs leverage.

06

Negotiating with one buyer

Hospitality buyers are patient and disciplined. A single unsolicited offer is almost never your best number.

Questions Owners Ask

Hotel or Motel owners ask us these first.

Straight answers, no hedging. If yours isn’t here, call us and ask it directly.

Most often by capitalizing net operating income at a market rate, cross-checked against comparable sales per key and, for smaller owner-operated properties, a multiple of owner's discretionary earnings. Occupancy, ADR, condition, brand obligations, and location all move the number. Only a certified independent valuation survives a lender's underwriting.

Substantially. Remaining term, transfer requirements and fees, brand approval of the buyer, and any property improvement plan obligations all shape both your buyer pool and your price. These items are mapped before marketing, not during diligence.

A property improvement plan is the brand-required renovation a new owner must complete. Because it is capital the buyer must spend on top of the purchase price, they subtract the estimated cost from what they are willing to pay.

Qualified buyers can access SBA 7(a) financing up to $5 million, and hospitality is a well-established SBA category; larger properties typically use conventional or CMBS financing. All of it requires clean, reconciled financials and a defensible independent valuation. SBA pre-qualification is a preliminary, non-binding lender assessment, not a loan commitment.

Not from us. The property is marketed on financial profile and submarket to vetted buyers who sign a non-disclosure agreement before they learn which hotel it is, and site visits are arranged discreetly.

Sometimes — but call before you decide. In an income-priced asset, a year of disciplined rate and expense management can be worth more than a year of waiting. We will give you the honest read either way.

Where we work

Hotel or Motel owners we represent across El Paso, West Texas, and southern New Mexico

Whether your hotel or motel sits on the east side, downtown, out in the valley, or across the state line in Doña Ana County, the sale process is the same: verified financials, an independent certified valuation, and a confidential, competitive market of qualified buyers. We meet owners at a time and place of their choosing.

  • El Paso
  • West El Paso & Upper Valley
  • East El Paso
  • Northeast El Paso
  • Central & Downtown
  • Horizon City
  • Socorro
  • San Elizario
  • Clint & Fabens
  • Canutillo
  • Anthony, TX & NM
  • Fort Bliss corridor
  • Las Cruces, NM
  • Sunland Park, NM
  • Doña Ana County
  • Alamogordo & Deming, NM
  • Van Horn & Fort Hancock
  • Midland & Odessa

Hotel or Motel Owners · Confidential

Find out what your property is actually worth.

One confidential conversation with a partner — not a coordinator. We will tell you where your numbers put you today, what would move the multiple, and whether now is your moment.

  • Confidential — nothing is shared or listed without your written consent.
  • A reply within one business day, usually the same afternoon.
  • No fee, no obligation, and no pressure for the first conversation.
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Your information goes only to our team. We never list, market, or mention your business to anyone without your written permission.

Built on accuracy. Sold with certainty.

El Paso, Texas

(915) 318-2226

Monday – Friday · 9:00am – 5:00pm MT

Serving El Paso County, Doña Ana County, West Texas, and businesses across all of Texas.

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”

Proverbs 15:22

Valuation ranges and estimator results on this page are general market illustrations for education only. They are not an appraisal, an offer, or a prediction of any sale price. Every property is valued on its own verified financials by an independent NACVA-credentialed appraiser.

Covenant Business Brokers facilitates the confidential sale and acquisition of privately held businesses. Engaging our services does not guarantee the sale of any business or any particular price, timeline, or outcome. Every transaction depends on factors outside any broker’s control, including market conditions, financing availability, and buyer interest.

Valuations. Our complimentary Broker’s Opinion of Value is an informal estimate of likely market value prepared by a business broker for the purpose of evaluating a potential sale. It is not a certified appraisal and should not be relied upon for tax, legal, lending, litigation, or financial reporting purposes. Certified business valuations are prepared by independent NACVA-credentialed appraisers under a separate, client-paid engagement and are not included with every listing.

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