Troubled Hotels

Abstract

The 1980s are over: the tax benefits are gone, hotels' glamour is tarnished, and what's left is a lot of hotels in financial difficulty. Lenders who have non-performing hotel loans in their portfolio must decide how to proceed. Rule one is don't panic, because a "fire sale" or a quick removal of the owner could saddle the bank with the possibility of an even greater loss. Instead, each project should be examined by a hotel-management professional for its true market potential. Some properties should, indeed, be sold for their residual property value. But others may need just renovation or repositioning and patience for the lender's investment to be returned.