What should I check about a hotel’s corporate accounts and group bookings before buying?

Many hotels fill their quiet nights with business-to-business demand. Companies with negotiated rates, work crews, sports teams, wedding parties and conference groups often book when leisure guests do not. That demand can be steady or fragile, and the seller’s summary may not show which. A buyer who understands it knows how much of the year rests on a few relationships.

Ask for the accounts, one by one

Request a list of every company account with its rate agreement, the nights it books across a full year, and how long it has been with the hotel. Ask for the same for crews and teams that return each season. A list shows patterns that a single year of revenue hides, such as an account that has already shrunk or one that depends on a single project.

Who holds the relationship

Find out whether the owner, a sales manager or the front desk looks after each account. If the owner holds the relationship, it may not stay when they leave. If a sales manager does, ask whether that person is staying. Ask the seller to introduce you to the main contacts before closing, and plan how you will keep their trust through the change.

Signed contracts and room blocks

Read the group contracts, wedding deposits and conference room blocks already on the calendar. Ask whether the agreements pass to a buyer, what is owed if the hotel cannot honour them, and where any deposits are held. Your lawyer can read these clauses. The booking calendar page covers moving the reservation records themselves.

How concentrated is the demand

• Which few accounts bring the most nights in the slow months?
• What happens to the hotel if the largest one leaves?
• Do any accounts rely on one local employer or project?
• Are new accounts still coming in, or only old ones renewing?