Property-secured finance for motels, caravan parks and tourism operators

Accommodation runs on a calendar most lenders don’t read. A coastal motel can take a large share of its year’s revenue across the summer holidays and Easter. An outback park fills in winter and empties when the heat arrives. A ski-field lodge has a few months to earn its keep. The bills, though, come evenly: wages, insurance, BAS, loan repayments and the refurbishment that has to be finished before the rush.

Owners in this sector usually hold property: the freehold of the motel or park, a home in town, sometimes an investment unit. That equity can fund the work between seasons and carry the quiet months, with repayment timed to the peak rather than to a monthly schedule.

What do accommodation and tourism operators borrow for?

Funding moment	Typical security	Structure	Usual exit
Room or cabin refurbishment before peak	Motel or park freehold	Second mortgage behind the bank, or first if debt-free	Peak trading, then refinance
Off-season cash flow and BAS	Freehold or home	Caveat	Peak-season takings
Buying a motel or park leasehold business	Buyer’s home or investment property	Second mortgage or caveat	Bank business loan after a season
Buying the freehold you lease	The freehold plus top-up security	Private first mortgage	Bank commercial loan
Storm, flood or fire repairs	Any owned property	Caveat or second mortgage	Insurance payout and trading
Coach, vessel or vehicle deposits	Home or freehold	Caveat	Asset finance plus trading

When the purchase includes both the business and the building, read freehold going concern purchases. Repairs while an insurer assesses a claim are covered on our insurance claim gap page.

Why does the bank struggle with seasonal businesses?

Banks lend on regular serviceability: steady monthly income against steady monthly repayments. A business that earns most of its money in a few months looks weak on that test for most of the year, even when it’s profitable overall. Banks also tend to want several years of financial statements before lending to a new owner of a motel or park.

A property-secured private lender looks at it differently. The decision rests on the equity in the property and on a believable exit. Interest can be prepaid or capitalised, so the loan carries no repayments during the off-season, and the whole balance is repaid when the peak takings, a refinance or a sale arrive.

How does GST work for motels and caravan parks?

It matters more than most buyers expect. The ATO’s public ruling GSTR 2012/6 treats a hotel, motel, inn, hostel or boarding house, and a caravan park or camping ground, as commercial residential premises. The ruling says accommodation supplied by the entity that owns or controls the premises is taxable, and a sale or lease of commercial residential premises is a taxable supply. A single strata holiday apartment, by contrast, is given as an example of premises that are not commercial residential premises. The ATO issued a draft update to the ruling for comment that closed in December 2025.

Selling a motel or park together with its business can avoid GST as a going concern, but only when every box is ticked: money changes hands, the buyer holds or must hold GST registration, and a written agreement records the going-concern treatment. Get the GST answer before you fix the loan amount, because it changes how much cash settlement needs.

Can a liquor licence transfer hold up settlement?

It can if it isn’t planned for. In NSW, Liquor & Gaming NSW says the buyer lodges the transfer, the business can keep trading while the application is assessed, and provisional approval usually comes within ten business days of a complete application, with confirmation about 60 days later if no objections are received. Other states have their own processes. Agree a settlement date that sits after provisional approval and give the lender that date.

How it works

1. A 60-second enquiry covering the property, its existing loans, the amount, what it’s for and when your season runs. Nothing is run against your credit file.
2. A specialist call about the security and the exit, which for this sector is usually tied to a season.
3. Letter of Offer with term, pricing, fees and conditions in writing.
4. Documents and settlement, with funds paid to builders, the vendor or your account.

The private first mortgage business loans pillar explains first-ranking loans if you’re buying or refinancing a freehold.

Who it suits

• Operators with a clear peak season and a property to secure the loan.
• Buyers of a motel or park business who need to settle before a bank will lend on their trading figures. See buying a business with property security.
• Owners lifting room quality before a sale. Our page on funding a value-add before sale shows how that works.
• Investors releasing equity from another property to put into a tourism venture; see releasing equity from an investment property.

When this isn’t the right move

• Every season is a loss. If the business isn’t profitable across a full year, short-term debt deepens the hole.
• The exit is a hoped-for record season. Base it on the last two peaks, not the best one you can imagine.
• Selling is the better answer. If you’re tired of the business and a buyer is waiting, compare carefully; our borrow against property vs sell it page sets out the trade-offs.
• It’s personal spending. These loans are for business purposes.

How does it compare with other options?

Option	Speed	Repayment style	Fit for seasonal trade
Property-secured private loan	Possible in 24–48 hours after documents arrive	Interest can be prepaid or capitalised; one repayment at the end	Strong: repay after the peak
Bank business loan	Weeks to months	Monthly	Weak in the off-season
Unsecured online loan	Fast	Daily or weekly debits	Poor when takings stop
Supplier or builder terms	Negotiated	Instalments	Limited and short
Selling an asset	Months	n/a	Final; may miss the season

How should a seasonal operator choose the term?

Start with your own booking history, not the calendar. Pull the last two years of monthly takings and mark the month your cash balance usually bottoms out and the month it recovers. The loan should be drawn shortly before the low point and fall due a few weeks after the recovery, so the peak has time to land in the bank.

Then stress it. If the school holidays fall later, a cyclone closes the highway for a fortnight or a festival is cancelled, does the exit still work? A term that runs one month past your normal recovery costs little extra interest and removes most of the risk of needing an extension. With interest capitalised, the longer term doesn’t add any monthly burden during the quiet stretch.

What it costs (without the guesswork)

The price of each loan depends on its security, LVR, term and exit, and we aim to offer the sharpest terms your position supports. The Letter of Offer itemises interest, which can be prepaid or capitalised, a small assessment fee that varies per loan, and legal and registration costs. Ranking first over an unencumbered freehold is usually cheaper than sitting behind the bank as a second mortgagee or caveator. Matching the term to the end of your peak is the simplest way to keep the total down.

Documents you’ll need

• ID for borrowers, directors and guarantors;
• title details and loan statements for each property offered;
• the business sale contract, freehold contract or builder’s quote for the works;
• two seasons of occupancy or booking data, and recent BAS;
• the liquor licence transfer application, if one applies;
• the insurance claim reference, if repairs are being funded.

How fast can it happen?

Once the paperwork is complete, up to $5m can possibly be funded inside 24–48 hours, and a property-secured amount between $20k and $250k can possibly land the same day. Because there’s no formal valuation required, a remote park or motel doesn’t sit in a queue waiting for someone to drive out and inspect it. Allow extra time when several owners or a trust are involved.

What might a refit loan look like in dollars?

Illustrative example: a Far North Queensland couple own a 20-room motel freehold worth about $2.4m with $900k owing to a bank. They want $450k to refit rooms and the pool area during the wet season, ready for the dry-season peak. Net funds:

• $2.4m × an illustrative 60% LVR band for a second-ranking loan on regional commercial property = $1.44m total headroom.
• Less the bank’s $900k = $540k available behind the bank.
• They borrow $470k by second mortgage for 10 months, with interest capitalised.
• Less the assessment fee and legal costs, about $450k goes to the works. The refitted rooms trade through the dry season at higher occupancy, and in the following February the couple refinance with their bank and repay the private loan.

North Queensland operators can read our Townsville and Cairns page; for other country locations see regional and rural property loans. Venues with a strong food and bar side should also see hospitality.

See if you qualify

Send a quick enquiry telling us about the property, the debt on it, the sum you need and when your peak starts.

Enquiring doesn’t touch your credit file, your information stays with one direct lender, and a specialist who understands seasonal trade reads it. The more accurate you are about the property and its existing loans, the faster you’ll know where you stand. See what your property could fund.