Why a Michigan hotel study is different
Several state-specific items shape a Michigan hotel study. Seasonality is the first: the resort markets in the north and along the Great Lakes shoreline are concentrated in the summer and the fall color season, so the revenue model has to be built around realistic season length, peak pricing, and shoulder-season occupancy rather than a flat year-round assumption, while the metros are steadier and less seasonal. Demand drivers range from the auto and corporate and healthcare economy in the south to the enormous shoreline and outdoor tourism in the north. The state building code applies, and severe-winter envelope design is a real cost factor, especially in the north and the snowbelt. The Michigan Liquor Control Commission licensing applies for any food-and-beverage and bar program, and local lodging and accommodation taxes apply. Every figure has to be sourced to the market, the season, and the regulatory overlay the property actually faces.
Financing a Michigan hotel
For limited-service and select-service properties in the metros and the larger markets, SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 are common paths. Under SOP 50 10 8, effective June 1, 2025, the SBA may request a feasibility study based on enumerated risk factors, and a study is normally expected for a special-purpose property like a hotel. The 504 program escalates the borrower equity injection to 15 percent for a special-purpose property or a startup, and to 20 percent when both apply.
USDA Business and Industry financing reaches the rural and resort markets outside the metros under the OneRD framework (7 CFR Part 5001), available in any area not within a city or town over 50,000 and not in its contiguous urbanized area, which covers most of the northern Lower Peninsula, the Upper Peninsula, and the shoreline resort towns. For a new business, the over-one-million-dollar independent feasibility requirement at 7 CFR 5001.306 applies, and we prepare to that standard. Larger full-service and flagged properties in the metros run through conventional, CMBS, and life-company financing. We confirm rural eligibility parcel by parcel through the USDA Rural Development Michigan office at the start of every engagement.
The Michigan regulatory layer for hotels
The binding items are the state building code and severe-winter envelope design in the north and the snowbelt, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission licensing for any food-and-beverage and bar program, local lodging and accommodation taxes, shoreline and site review for waterfront properties, and local zoning. For resort-market properties, the seasonal operating model and the staffing and housing constraints are real planning factors. We map the binding approvals for the specific property before a single revenue assumption is made.
What a Michigan hotel feasibility study includes
We document the market and the demand generators, the competitive set and the supply pipeline, the projected occupancy, average daily rate, and revenue per available room, the seasonality and the operating model, the site and regulatory characteristics, and the financial projections, all to a standard built to satisfy the party that approves the loan. For an SBA file that means an SBA reviewer and the credit committee; for a USDA file it means the USDA state office; for a conventional or CMBS file it means that credit committee. The analysis is calibrated to the market and the season, and the conclusions are defensible.
Built to the lender's standard
Every study is prepared as an independent, third-party document. We document the market, the demand, the competitive supply, the regulatory path, and the financial projections to a standard that holds up under lender scrutiny, and the conclusions are defensible.