Buying a hotel, motel or RV park in Space Coast and Volusia

• Guests coming for more than one reason: vacations, business, sports and events, nearby hospitals or construction work.
• Plenty of direct bookings and repeat guests, not total reliance on online travel agencies.
• For RV parks, seasonal guests who rebook before they leave, and monthly sites that stay rented in summer.
• Roofs, air conditioning, plumbing and pools in good repair, with records of what was replaced and when.
• A good general or resident manager who plans to stay.
• Review scores that have held up over several years.
• For a branded hotel, a franchise agreement with years left and no large property improvement plan (the list of upgrades a brand requires) hanging over it.
• A site outside the worst flood zones, or buildings that came through recent storms well.

• Occupancy and rate by month for several years, checked against the sales and tourist tax returns actually filed.
• The buildings. A full property inspection covering roofs, air conditioning, fire alarms and sprinklers, pools and elevators (which need annual inspections under chapter 399), plus any open code or fire marshal violations.
• Insurance. Get your own quotes for wind, flood and liability before you sign. In Florida they can change the whole picture.
• The franchise. Whether the brand will approve you, what upgrades it will require, and what it charges.
• Booking sources. How much comes through online travel agencies, and what they keep.
• For an RV park. The list of long-term residents and their agreements, any duties under chapter 723, and the condition of water, sewer and electrical service to the sites. Many parks run their own utility systems, which have their own permits and repair costs.
• Staffing. How hard it is to keep housekeepers and maintenance staff in that town during peak season.

• How full are you, and what do you charge, in your best and slowest months?
• Where do your bookings come from: direct, online travel agencies, the brand's system or repeat guests?
• What major work has the property needed in the last five years, and what's coming next?
• How did the property come through the last few hurricanes, and what did insurance cover?
• Who runs things day to day, and will they stay?
• For an RV park: how many guests return every season, and how many sites are rented by the year?
• If it's branded, has the brand said what upgrades it would require from a new owner?

This region covers Brevard, Volusia and Flagler counties: Melbourne, Palm Bay, Titusville, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island, Daytona Beach, Port Orange, Ormond Beach, DeLand, Deltona, New Smyrna Beach and Palm Coast. Brevard's economy is built around space. Rockets launch often from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and aerospace and defense manufacturers and their suppliers employ engineers, technicians and machinists across the county. Port Canaveral is a major cruise port.

Volusia depends more on tourism, beaches and big events, with Daytona's motorsports and motorcycle rallies drawing crowds. Health care and a large retired population matter too. Flagler County, around Palm Coast, is mostly residential. Machine shops, electrical and engineering firms, home service companies, marine businesses and restaurants all have a place here.

Brevard's fortunes follow the space and defense programs. A company that sells to aerospace firms should be able to show you how many customers it depends on and how secure their work is. Business in Volusia spikes around big events and the winter season, so look at revenue by month.

The whole coast faces storm risk. In 2022, Hurricane Ian brought flooding to much of Volusia, and Hurricane Nicole, which came ashore near Vero Beach six weeks later, washed away beaches and seawalls along the Volusia coast. Beachfront property needs careful insurance and structural checks. The Indian River Lagoon and the St. Johns River make boating and fishing part of daily life, which keeps the marine trades busy. Palm Coast and the Palm Bay area have added many new homes, and companies serving those areas have grown with them.