Buying a hotel, motel or RV park in Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay has 60 established hotels, motels and RV parks by our count: companies in business at least 15 years that still file with the state every year and aren't part of a larger group. Of those, 82% have been in business 20 years or more. Most will never be listed for sale, and many of their owners have never been asked.

established companies

82%

built over 20+ years

$118k+

a year, earned by the top quarter

23%

built over 30+ years

What it takes to own one

Hotels, motels and RV parks in Tampa Bay come in every size. Here's what owning one could look like at three levels, from a solid company to one of the leaders, with a small business loan covering most of the price.

A solid company

Earns about: $50,000 a year
Price about: $111,000
Your cash: $16,000
Could pay you: up to $30,000 a year

A strong company

Top quarter in Tampa Bay

Earns about: $118,000 a year
Price about: $261,000
Your cash: $36,000
Could pay you: up to $72,000 a year

One of the leaders

Top tenth in Tampa Bay

Earns about: $179,000 a year
Price about: $393,000
Your cash: $55,000
Could pay you: up to $108,000 a year

Earnings are owner earnings: profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. They and the prices are our estimates from public records, not the owners' figures, and we value companies like these at about 2.2 times a year's owner earnings. Your cash covers the down payment and closing costs, and what the business could pay you is what's left after the loan payments and the cushion lenders require. The more cash you bring, the further up you can go.

Age, size and location

Revenue is our estimate from public records, grouped into wide ranges.

In business	Companies
Under 20 years	11
20 to 29 years	35
30 to 39 years	6
40 years or more	8

Estimated yearly revenue	Companies
Under $1M	18
$1M to $2M	5
Over $8M	2

County	Companies
Pinellas	23
Polk	13
Hillsborough	12
Pasco	9
Other counties	3

Town	Companies
Tampa	10

What the best hotels, motels and RV parks have in common

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.

What to check before you buy

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.

Questions to ask the owner

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?

To learn what these companies do, which licenses they need and how ownership works, read our full guide to buying a hotel, motel or RV park in Florida.

Owning a company in Tampa Bay

The local economy

Tampa Bay, as we draw it, runs from Citrus County south through Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough, and east into Polk: Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Wesley Chapel, Brooksville, Inverness, Lakeland and Winter Haven. Tampa is the business center, with Port Tampa Bay, Tampa International Airport, the University of South Florida and MacDill Air Force Base, home to the headquarters of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. Financial services, insurance and health care employ many people, and the Gulf beaches of Pinellas bring tourists and seasonal residents.

Polk County sits on Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando and has become a center for warehouses and distribution, alongside its older citrus and phosphate industries. To the north, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus are more suburban and rural, with many retirees. Home service companies, the building trades, medical practices and auto businesses all have a deep customer base across the region.

What's different about owning a company here

Hurricane Helene's storm surge in September 2024 and Hurricane Milton two weeks later both hit the region hard. Flood zones and insurance costs now matter in any deal near the water. Ask how the business came through those storms, what it claimed, and whether its building sits in a flood zone.

The labor market is deep by Florida standards, though skilled tradespeople can still be hard to find. New homes have pushed north and east into Pasco and eastern Hillsborough, and along Interstate 4 in Polk, bringing demand for services with them. Coastal Pinellas is more seasonal than inland Tampa or Lakeland. The bay itself shapes a service company's territory: crossing a bridge at rush hour can turn a short distance into a long drive, so look at where the customers actually are.