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dizposition

Sell your resort & retreat

Lodges, retreat centers, boutique resorts, and event venues. A beautiful setting, a dozen roofs, and a permit that says exactly how many guests.

Resort & Retreat at a glance

Typical deal size
$2M – $25M
Lease structure
Owner-operated, or third-party managed
Typical term
N/A if owner-operated; management or franchise agreements often 10–20 years
Escalations
Rates set by season and demand; no contractual escalation
Marriott (Autograph Collection)Hilton (Curio Collection)Hyatt (Destination by Hyatt)Auberge Resorts CollectionUnder CanvasReligious and nonprofit retreat operatorsIndependent operators

Overview

What resorts & retreats are really worth

Our read

A resort or retreat is a hospitality business whose real estate value lives in two places: the setting and the permits. The water, the view, the acreage, and the drive time from a city are what guests pay for, and none of them can be rebuilt elsewhere. The permits — how many rooms, how many guests, how many events — are what allow anyone to charge for them.

Those permits are frequently the scarcest thing on the property. Counties are reluctant to approve new lodging and event uses on rural land, and many existing retreats operate under conditional permits with specific limits. Those limits define the business and do not always transfer without review.

The complication is that so many of these properties are built around a person. The founder's reputation, the recurring group, the wedding calendar — some of that leaves with the seller. What remains is the land, the buildings, and the entitlements, and a buyer has to underwrite those honestly rather than the business at its peak.

Valuation

How we underwrite it

The method

We underwrite the entitlements first: permitted lodging count, guest and event limits, food and liquor licensing, and whether each survives a change in ownership. That file tells us what the property is allowed to earn.

Revenue is read by segment and by month. Lodging, events, food and beverage, and group business carry different margins and different durability, and a property dependent on one recurring group or one season is priced for that concentration.

Infrastructure is underwritten as the ceiling. Water, septic, and wastewater capacity limit occupancy and expansion, and a property with many small buildings carries deferred maintenance that compounds across all of them.

We price the setting as the permanent part of the value and the operating business as the part that has to be rebuilt by whoever comes next. Being clear about which is which is what keeps these deals from falling apart in diligence.

What moves the number

  1. 01The setting — water, views, acreage, and privacy — which is the part of the asset that cannot be rebuilt and the part guests are paying for
  2. 02Entitled lodging count and event capacity, since the approval to host overnight guests and gatherings on rural land is frequently the scarcest thing on the property
  3. 03Revenue mix between lodging, events and weddings, food and beverage, and group bookings, each with different margins and different durability
  4. 04Seasonality and drive-time to the metro areas that feed it, which together set how many weeks of the year the property actually earns
  5. 05Water, wastewater, and septic capacity, which caps both occupancy and any expansion
  6. 06Deferred maintenance spread across many small buildings, which is easy to underestimate and expensive to catch up

Capital markets today

10-yr Treasury
5.24%
4.12% a year ago
SOFR
3.87%
4.2% a year ago
30-yr mortgage
7.28%
6.3% a year ago
CRE loan delinquency
1.53%
1.57% a year ago
CRE prices, YoY
6.58%
-2.7% a year ago

Sources: FRED DGS10, 2026-10-01 · FRED SOFR, 2026-10-01 · FRED MORTGAGE30US, 2026-10-01 · FRED DRCRELEXFACBS, 2026-04-01 · FRED COMREPUSQ159N, 2026-01-01

Diligence

What a buyer actually looks at in a resort & retreat

  1. Check 01

    Zoning, conditional use permits, and permitted lodging and event capacity

    Resorts and retreats on rural land frequently operate under conditional permits with specific limits on rooms, guests, and events. Those limits are the business, and they do not always transfer cleanly.

  2. Check 02

    Water, wastewater, and septic systems

    Lodging, kitchens, and events generate wastewater volumes rural systems were not always designed for. Capacity caps occupancy and expansion, and failures are expensive.

  3. Check 03

    Building-by-building condition assessment

    A resort is many small buildings, each with its own roof, mechanicals, and code history. Deferred maintenance compounds across all of them and is rarely visible in a walkthrough.

  4. Check 04

    Revenue history by month, segment, and source

    Lodging, events, food and beverage, and group business carry very different margins and durability. A property dependent on one recurring group or one wedding season is a concentration risk.

  5. Check 05

    Liquor, food service, and lodging licenses

    Licenses are often what make the events and dining revenue possible, and many are not transferable without a new application.

  6. Check 06

    Brand, franchise, or management agreements

    Where a brand or manager is in place, termination rights, fees, and required improvement programs can bind a buyer for years.

Backfill risk

What happens if the tenant leaves

The tenant-goes-dark scenario

A resort or retreat has no tenant to backfill. It is an owner-operated hospitality business, and when it sells the question is whether a different operator can run it — and for what kind of guest.

The setting is the scarce part. Water frontage, mountain views, privacy, and acreage within driving distance of a metro area are not reproducible, and approvals to host overnight guests and events on rural land are hard to obtain in most counties. A property with those entitlements in place has value that outlasts any particular operator or concept.

The flexibility is real but limited. A retreat can become a boutique resort, an event venue, a corporate offsite, a wellness program, or a camp, and operators do move between those concepts. What it rarely becomes is something outside hospitality, because the improvements, the septic, and the permits are all built around guests.

What makes these hard to sell is that many are built around their founders. The reputation, the bookings, and the relationships walk out with the owner, and a buyer is underwriting the real estate and the permits more than the business that was.

Why this matters to you

Every buyer prices the tenant-goes-dark scenario, whether or not they say so out loud. It is the largest hidden input into the cap rate you get offered.

Understanding it before you go to market is the difference between negotiating and being negotiated with.

Who sells to us

Situations we see most often

  • Founder-operator who built the retreat around themselves and is ready to step away
  • Nonprofit or religious organization selling a camp or conference center it can no longer fill
  • Owner facing a septic, roof, or lodging-unit renovation cycle across a dozen structures
  • Family that runs a wedding or event venue and has had enough of every weekend
  • Operator who lost a brand affiliation or key group business and needs a new plan

Buy box

What we buy

  1. 01Resorts, retreats, lodges, and event venues, $2M to $25M
  2. 02Founder-operated and nonprofit-owned
  3. 03Deferred maintenance across multiple structures
  4. 04Rural properties with lodging and event entitlements in place

Process

How selling to Dizposition works

The full process
  1. Day 0

    01

    Send us the property

    Address, asset type, and the lease if there is one. That is enough for us to start.

  2. 02

    We underwrite it

    Our underwriting runs the income against current market pricing and the cost of capital. No lowball anchor.

  3. 10 minutes

    03

    You get a firm offer

    In 10 minutes, with the math shown. You will know exactly how we got there.

  4. As fast as 30 days

    04

    Close on your timeline

    As fast as 30 days, or as slow as you need. We are the principal, so the date is yours.

FAQ

Selling a resort & retreat

The business is really built around me. Is there anything to sell?

Yes — the land, the setting, and the permits. Those survive the transition even if some of the bookings do not. We underwrite what the property can earn under a new operator, and we are honest about what we think leaves with you.

We are a nonprofit selling a camp or retreat center. Is that different?

The process often involves a board and sometimes deed restrictions or donor conditions, which we are used to. The property is valued on its setting, permits, and infrastructure like any other. Tell us about any restrictions early so they do not surprise anyone later.

Our event permit has limits on guests and weddings. Does that matter?

It matters a great deal, because those limits define the business. We read the permit before anything else and price what the property is actually allowed to do, not what it has done in practice.

Every building needs something. Can I still sell?

Yes. Deferred maintenance across a dozen buildings is normal for these properties. We would rather price it than have you spend a year fixing roofs before selling.

How long does it take to sell a commercial property to Dizposition?

You get a firm written offer within 10 minutes of sending us the property. If you accept, you can close in as little as 30 days — most of that is title work and your own timeline. There is no listing period, no marketing, and no waiting on a buyer's financing contingency.

Can I sell my property as-is?

Yes. We are the buyer, so there is no lender requiring repairs and no inspection contingency to renegotiate against you. Deferred maintenance, a failing roof, an aging tank system — we price it into the offer rather than asking you to fix it first.

Can I sell with a tenant in place?

Yes, and in most cases a tenant makes the property more valuable to us, not less. We will ask for the lease, a rent roll, and any estoppel certificates. You do not need to deliver the property vacant.

What if my lease is short-term or about to expire?

Short remaining term is one of the main reasons owners come to us. A conventional buyer needs lease term to get financing, which is why short-dated assets sit on the market. We underwrite the real estate and the backfill prospects rather than the remaining term alone.

What if the property is vacant?

We buy vacant assets. Pricing shifts from an income approach to what the building and land are worth to the next user, which is a different calculation — but it is one we do routinely rather than one that disqualifies the property.

Do I need a broker to sell to you?

No. We buy directly, and there is no commission because there is nothing to market. If you already have a broker, we will pay them. Selling without one saves the commission, but you should understand you are also giving up price discovery — a broker's job is to find out whether someone will pay more than we will.

What documents do I need to get an offer?

The address and the lease are enough to start. To finalize, we will want the rent roll, the last two years of operating statements, the title commitment, any existing survey, and any environmental reports you already have. You do not need an appraisal or a broker package.

How do you determine your offer?

We underwrite in-place income against what the space would re-lease for, adjust for capital needs and any environmental tail, and apply a cap rate supported by comparable transactions. We show you the inputs. If you disagree with an assumption, we would rather argue about the assumption than about the number.

What are typical seller closing costs?

Title and escrow fees, any transfer or recording tax owed in your state, prorated property taxes, and payoff of any existing debt. Because we are the buyer, there is no commission and no marketing cost. Transfer tax varies significantly by state and is often the largest single line.

Will I owe capital gains tax when I sell?

Usually yes, on the gain above your adjusted basis, and depreciation recapture is taxed separately from appreciation. State treatment varies. This is a question for your CPA before you sign, not after — the structure of the sale can change the answer.

Can I do a 1031 exchange?

Yes. A 1031 exchange lets you defer federal capital gains by reinvesting in like-kind property, subject to a 45-day identification window and a 180-day closing window from the date you sell. You must have a qualified intermediary in place before closing — it cannot be arranged afterward. Most states conform to federal treatment, but a few do not.

Can I sell if I am behind on payments or facing foreclosure?

Yes, and speed is the reason to move early rather than late. We can close on a defined date, which is what a lender or a receiver generally needs to see. Send us the payoff figure and any notices you have received.

Can I sell a property I inherited or that is in probate?

Yes. Probate sales take longer because the court timeline governs, not ours, and multiple heirs need to agree on the price before anything can close. We are used to working around both. Inherited property also generally receives a stepped-up basis, which can change the tax math substantially.

What if there is environmental contamination?

Send it anyway. Environmental history is one of the most common reasons a conventional sale falls apart, and it is one of the reasons owners call us. We price the remediation and the residual liability into the offer rather than walking away at the Phase II.

Is there any cost or obligation to get an offer?

None. There is no fee, no listing agreement, and no obligation to accept. If our number does not work for you, you keep the underwriting we showed you and we part ways.

Markets

Top markets we buy resorts & retreats in

10-minute offer

Ready to sell your resort & retreat?

Send us the property and the lease. You'll have a firm offer, with the math shown, in 10 minutes.