Buying an Econo Lodge franchise: SBA acquisition loan data

What this tells a buyer

• Price range to expect. Loan size tracks purchase price. Half of Econo Lodge resale loans landed between $1,242,500 and $2,000,000.
• Lender experience exists. GBank alone has financed 16 Econo Lodge resales.
• Guaranty. The SBA guaranteed 77% of the dollars lent here.
• What the file leaves out. The SBA file does not record franchisor transfer terms or fees.

How Econo Lodge compares

The median for Econo Lodge resale loans is $1,471,900, well below the $2,621,250 median for hotels and motels and well above the $645,250 median for all SBA-financed acquisitions nationally.

The middle half runs $1,242,500 to $2,000,000, against $283,000 to $1,465,000 nationally; the median term is 25 years, longer than the national median of 10 years; the average initial rate is 6.79%, below the 7.76% national average.

None of the seasoned loans were charged off, against 0.8% for hotels and motels and 3.5% for all acquisition loans.

Loan size distribution

Most Econo Lodge resale loans (94%) were $1M or more, and the largest single band is $1M to under $2M at 67%, against 19% of all acquisition loans.

Bands are fixed dollar ranges chosen for comparison. They are not SBA program limits.

Lender concentration

GBank made 24% of Econo Lodge resale loans, and the top three lenders together made 37%. 4 of the 34 lenders involved made three or more. Repeat experience is spread across many banks. That is a rough guide to how many banks have seen this kind of deal before.

Recent activity

In FY2025 and FY2026 combined, 10 Econo Lodge resale loans were approved. Fewer than 10 loans were approved in FY2023 and FY2024, so no change is computed. The median was $1,695,000, above the $1,471,900 median across all years.

Financing an Econo Lodge resale: what lenders financed

The median SBA 7(a) loan for an Econo Lodge resale was $1,471,900 across 67 loans (FY2018 to FY2026). GBank, First Western SBLC, LLC d/b/a Peachtree Group and United Midwest Savings Bank National Association have financed the most Econo Lodge resales. Of 40 seasoned loans (FY2018 to FY2021), none were charged off, against the 3.5% average for all SBA acquisition loans.

Econo Lodge acquisition loans by year

How often do these acquisition loans fail?

Of the 40 Econo Lodge acquisition loans approved from FY2018 to FY2021 (the seasoned cohort, every loan at least about five years old), none have been charged off by the SBA. 24 have already been paid in full.

For comparison, Econo Lodge has none charged off, against the 3.5% average across all SBA 7(a) acquisition loans in the same cohort. Non-acquisition 7(a) loans (every other stated purpose) approved FY2018 to FY2021 charged off at 6.2%.

"Charged off" is the SBA's final loss action on a defaulted loan after collection efforts. It lags default by a year or more, which is why only older cohorts are measured. It is not the same as a delinquency rate, and loans still outstanding can still fail. See charge-off in the glossary.

Related

• All Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels acquisitions
• Georgia acquisitions
• Texas acquisitions
• Kentucky acquisitions
• GBank
• First Western SBLC, LLC d/b/a Peachtree Group
• United Midwest Savings Bank National Association
• All franchise brands

Brand name as recorded by lenders in the SBA file: "Econo Lodge by Choice Hotels/Econo Lodge Inn & Suites by Choice Hotels" (franchise code S0566). Figures are aggregates of public SBA data and are not provided or endorsed by the franchisor.