# What is my hotel worth? A hotel value estimator that gives a screening range

- URL: https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/tools/hotel-value-estimator
- Last updated: 2026-09-18
- Author: Nate Solomon, Hospitality Associate, Matthews Hotel Markets (https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/team/nate-solomon)
- Reviewed by: Luke Thompson, VP & Director, Capital Markets (https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/team/luke-thompson)
- Format: Markdown copy of the HTML page at the URL above. Same content, same data source.

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A first-pass hotel value is NOI divided by a cap rate band, less any PIP still to fund. The Matthews Hotel Index for Q1 2026, published April 15, 2026, puts select-service hotels at 7.50% to 8.75% across its 14 markets.[1] On $1,050,000 of NOI with a $1,100,000 PIP, that is $10,900,000 to $12,900,000. Matthews Hotel Markets calls that a screening range, not a valuation.

## Key takeaways

- The output is a range, because the index publishes cap rate bands and not a single rate.[1]
- The wide end of the band gives the low value and the tight end gives the high value. The PIP comes off both.
- The bands are the Q1 2026 Matthews Hotel Index, first-party data reconciled from public research and our own underwriting. They describe stabilized, PIP-current hotels.[1]
- The estimator ignores brand, condition, ground leases, new supply, deferred capital work and management contracts. Any one of them can move a hotel outside the range.
- A broker opinion of value, built from named comparable sales, is the real answer. This tool only tells you roughly where that conversation starts.

## From the Matthews Hotel Index

The Matthews Hotel Index for Q1 2026, published April 15, 2026, puts cap rates across its 14 markets at 7.50% to 8.75% for select-service, 6.50% to 8.25% for full-service and 6.00% to 7.75% for resort and lifestyle hotels.[1] Those bands, and each market's own, are the only cap rates this estimator uses.

[Matthews Hotel Index, Q1 2026](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/research/mhi/q1-2026)

## The formula, written out

```
noiUsed    = noi, or revenue x noiMargin / 100 when noi is 0
band       = Matthews Hotel Index band for your segment and market
             (all-markets band when the market has none for the segment)

valueLow   = noiUsed / (bandHigh / 100) - pip
valueHigh  = noiUsed / (bandLow / 100) - pip

perKeyLow  = valueLow / keys
perKeyHigh = valueHigh / keys
```

A screening range, not a valuation, an appraisal or a broker opinion of value. Cap rate bands are the Matthews Hotel Index, Q1 2026. The hotel inputs shown at the start are hypothetical. The estimate ignores brand, condition, ground leases, market supply, deferred capital work and management encumbrance.

## How the estimate works

The hotel value estimator divides one NOI by both ends of a published cap rate band, then subtracts the PIP from both results.

Net operating income ([/glossary/noi](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/glossary/noi)) is the starting number. Type it directly if you know it. If you do not, leave NOI at zero and enter total revenue and an NOI margin, and the tool multiplies them. Use NOI after a management fee and an FF&E reserve ([/glossary/ffe-reserve](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/glossary/ffe-reserve)), because that is the NOI a buyer underwrites.

The tool then looks up the cap rate band ([/glossary/cap-rate](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/glossary/cap-rate)) for your segment and market in the Matthews Hotel Index for Q1 2026.[1] NOI divided by the high end of the band is the low value. NOI divided by the low end is the high value. The index describes its ranges as reflecting stabilized, PIP-current product, so a hotel with brand-required work outstanding is not that product yet. The tool subtracts the PIP ([/glossary/pip](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/glossary/pip)) you enter from both ends, then divides by keys for the per-key range ([/glossary/per-key](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/glossary/per-key)).

Nothing else goes in. The tool does not ask for your email and does not store what you type. The arithmetic runs in your browser.

## What this estimate ignores

The hotel value estimator ignores brand, physical condition, ground leases, new supply in the market, deferred capital work and management encumbrance, and each one moves real pricing.

Brand. Two select-service hotels with the same NOI do not trade at the same yield if one flag has a stronger reservation system or a longer franchise term remaining. The band covers a segment, not a flag. See [/hotel-valuation/branded-select-service-hotel-value](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/hotel-valuation/branded-select-service-hotel-value).

Condition and deferred capital work. The PIP field captures work the brand has required. It does not capture a roof, a chiller or an elevator that the brand has not written up but a buyer's engineer will. Buyers price that work too.

Ground lease. A hotel on leased land is worth less than the same hotel on fee land, and the rent resets and remaining term matter more than the current payment. The estimator assumes fee simple. See [/glossary/ground-lease](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/glossary/ground-lease).

Market supply. A band for a metro says nothing about the three hotels under construction at your exit. New rooms in the comp set lower the NOI a buyer will underwrite.

Management encumbrance. A hotel that must be sold subject to a long-term management contract has a smaller buyer pool than one delivered unencumbered, and the price reflects that.

The estimator also does not value excess land, and it does not check whether the NOI you typed is the NOI a buyer would accept. [/hotel-valuation/how-to-value-a-hotel](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/hotel-valuation/how-to-value-a-hotel) covers how buyers rebuild NOI.

## Where the cap rate bands come from

The cap rate bands are the Matthews Hotel Index for Q1 2026, a first-party dataset covering 14 markets, published April 15, 2026.[1]

The index states its own method. Its cap rate ranges reconcile the CBRE H2 2025 U.S. Cap Rate Survey with HVS U.S. Market Pulse commentary and Matthews' internal underwriting on active mandates, and they reflect stabilized, PIP-current product.[1] That makes each band a reconciled range, not a record of closed-sale cap rates and not a forecast. The full table and the methodology note are at [/research/mhi/q1-2026](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/research/mhi/q1-2026).

The index covers 14 markets and publishes no national figure. When you leave the market on "All 14 markets", the tool uses the lowest low and the highest high among the markets that publish a band for your segment. That is a range of ranges. It is wider than any one market's band, which is the honest result when the market is unknown.

Not every market publishes every segment. Charleston, SC, for example, has no select-service band in Q1 2026. When you pick a market that has no band for your segment, the tool falls back to the all-markets band and says so next to the result. If your hotel is outside the 14 markets, use the all-markets band and treat the result with more caution. How segment and market move cap rates is covered on [/hotel-valuation/hotel-cap-rates](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/hotel-valuation/hotel-cap-rates).

## What is the real answer to what my hotel is worth?

A broker opinion of value is the real answer, because it prices your hotel against named comparable sales instead of a segment band.

A broker opinion of value, or BOV ([/glossary/bov](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/glossary/bov)), rebuilds your NOI the way a buyer will, picks a cap rate from closed sales of comparable hotels, prices the PIP and the franchise position, and states a value range with the evidence behind it. What goes into one, and how it differs from an appraisal, is on [/hotel-valuation/broker-opinion-of-value](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/hotel-valuation/broker-opinion-of-value).

Use this estimator to decide whether the conversation is worth having, or to sanity-check a number someone gave you. Do not use it to set an asking price, size a loan or settle a partnership dispute. If the range matters to a decision, request a BOV.

## Cap rate bands the estimator uses, by market and segment: Matthews Hotel Index, Q1 2026

| Market | Select-service | Full-service | Resort and lifestyle |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Austin, TX | 7.50% to 8.25% | 7.00% to 8.00% | 6.50% to 7.75% |
| Dallas, TX | 7.75% to 8.50% | 7.00% to 7.75% | No band published |
| Houston, TX | 7.75% to 8.75% | 7.25% to 8.25% | No band published |
| San Antonio, TX | 7.75% to 8.50% | 6.75% to 7.50% | No band published |
| Nashville, TN | 7.50% to 8.25% | 6.75% to 7.50% | No band published |
| Atlanta, GA | 8.00% to 8.75% | 7.25% to 8.00% | No band published |
| Charleston, SC | No band published | 6.50% to 7.25% | 6.25% to 7.00% |
| Savannah, GA | 7.75% to 8.50% | 6.75% to 7.50% | No band published |
| Charlotte, NC | 7.75% to 8.50% | 7.25% to 8.00% | No band published |
| Phoenix, AZ | 7.75% to 8.50% | No band published | 6.50% to 7.50% |
| Denver, CO | 8.00% to 8.75% | 7.25% to 8.00% | 6.50% to 7.50% |
| Miami, FL | No band published | 6.50% to 7.50% | 6.00% to 7.25% |
| Tampa, FL | 7.50% to 8.25% | 6.75% to 7.75% | No band published |
| Orlando, FL | 7.75% to 8.50% | 7.00% to 7.75% | 6.50% to 7.50% |
| All 14 markets (lowest low to highest high) | 7.50% to 8.75%[1] | 6.50% to 8.25%[1] | 6.00% to 7.75%[1] |

## Worked example

**Pre-computed worked example (server-rendered): hypothetical 78-key select-service hotel**

Hypothetical hotel, using the estimator's own default inputs so the example and the live tool agree. The hotel, its NOI and its PIP are invented. The cap rate band is not: it is the Q1 2026 Matthews Hotel Index.[1]

Inputs: 78 keys. NOI $1,050,000. Segment select-service. Market left on all 14 markets. PIP still to fund $1,100,000.

Band. Select-service across all 14 markets: 7.50% to 8.75%.

Low end. $1,050,000 / 0.0875 = $12,000,000. Less the $1,100,000 PIP = $10,900,000, or $139,744 per key.

High end. $1,050,000 / 0.0750 = $14,000,000. Less the $1,100,000 PIP = $12,900,000, or $165,385 per key.

Screening range: $10,900,000 to $12,900,000. The two ends are $2,000,000 apart on the same hotel, which is why this is a screening range and a broker opinion of value is the next step.

The revenue path gives the same NOI: $3,500,000 of total revenue at a hypothetical 30 percent NOI margin is $1,050,000.

## Frequently asked

### How do I estimate what my hotel is worth?

Divide NOI by a cap rate band for your segment and market, then subtract any PIP still to fund. That gives a screening range. A broker opinion of value built from comparable sales narrows it.

### Why does the estimator give a range and not one number?

Because the Matthews Hotel Index publishes cap rate bands, not single rates, and Q1 2026 select-service spans 7.50% to 8.75% across its markets.[1] One number would claim precision the data does not have.

### What cap rate does the estimator use?

The Q1 2026 Matthews Hotel Index band for your segment and market.[1] If that market publishes no band for your segment, it falls back to the band across all 14 markets and tells you.

### My hotel is not in one of the 14 markets. Can I still use it?

Yes. Leave the market on all 14 markets. The index has no national figure, so that band is the lowest low to the highest high among its markets, and a hotel elsewhere can fall outside it.

### Why is the PIP subtracted from the value?

The index bands describe stabilized, PIP-current hotels.[1] A buyer who inherits brand-required work prices it into the bid. A buyer may price it above or below cost, so treat the subtraction as a first pass.

### What NOI margin should I enter?

Your own, from a trailing twelve-month statement, after a management fee and an FF&E reserve. The 30 percent default is a hypothetical placeholder, not a benchmark. If you know NOI, type it and skip the margin.

### Is this a hotel appraisal or a broker opinion of value?

Neither. It is arithmetic on a published band. It ignores brand, condition, ground leases, supply, deferred capital work and management contracts. A broker opinion of value prices those against named comparable sales.

### Do I have to give my email to see the result?

No. There is no sign-up, the result shows as you type, and the numbers stay in your browser.

## Who wrote this

[Nate Solomon](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/team/nate-solomon)

Hospitality Associate, Matthews Hotel Markets

(512) 839-6999 · nate.solomon@matthews.com · [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathaniel-solomon-4b2b9125a/)

Reviewed by [Luke Thompson](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/team/luke-thompson), VP & Director, Capital Markets.

## Sources

1. [Matthews Hotel Index, Q1 2026: cap rate bands by market and segment, and methodology (published 2026-04-15)](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/research/mhi/q1-2026) · Matthews Hotel Markets (first-party) · accessed September 18, 2026

## Related

### Guide

- [What is my hotel worth, and who decides?](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/hotel-valuation)

### Other questions in this guide

- [What is a hotel broker opinion of value, and how is it different from an appraisal?](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/hotel-valuation/broker-opinion-of-value)
- [Walk me through the math on valuing a select-service hotel](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/hotel-valuation/how-to-value-a-hotel)
- [What is a good cap rate for a hotel in 2026?](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/hotel-valuation/hotel-cap-rates)
- [How does a PIP affect my hotel's value?](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/hotel-valuation/pip-and-hotel-value)
- [What is my hotel worth per key?](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/hotel-valuation/revpar-multiples-and-per-key)

### Terms defined in the [glossary](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/glossary)

- [Net Operating Income (NOI)](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/glossary/noi)
- [Hotel Cap Rate](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/glossary/cap-rate)
- [Price Per Key](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/glossary/per-key)
- [PIP (Property Improvement Plan)](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/glossary/pip)
- [BOV (Broker Opinion of Value)](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/glossary/bov)

### Our own data

- [Matthews Hotel Index, Q1 2026](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/research/mhi/q1-2026)
- [Hotel finance calculators](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/tools)
- [Hotel cap rate calculator](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/tools/cap-rate-calculator)

Matthews Hotel Markets produces broker opinions of value at no cost, built from the Matthews Hotel Index and named comparable sales.

[Request a confidential broker opinion of value](https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/contact)

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Cite as: Nate Solomon, Matthews Hotel Markets. "What is my hotel worth? A hotel value estimator that gives a screening range." https://matthewshotelmarkets.com/tools/hotel-value-estimator. Last updated 2026-09-18.