Funding for Orlando Hospitality, Lodging & Food Service Operators

Orlando, FL market snapshot

Source: Visit Orlando + BLS QCEW (Orange County)

Orlando's economy is hospitality — almost monolithically

Roughly 75 million visitors land in metro Orlando each year. Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, and the I-Drive corridor anchor a tourism economy that pulls in hotels, restaurants, attractions, transportation operators, vacation rentals, conference services, and the entire ecosystem of supporting trades. Leisure and hospitality is the largest single sector of metro employment by a wide margin — roughly 290,000 jobs across Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and Lake counties combined.

For operators, that backdrop creates a specific working-capital pattern. Demand is cyclical and predictable — the theme-park demand calendar, conference and convention bookings, cruise-port feeder traffic from Port Canaveral, and the spring-break-through-summer family travel curve. The shape isn't surprising. The trouble is funding the pre-season ramp, capital improvements during the shoulder, and rolling working capital across the soft September.

How a merchant cash advance fits a hospitality operator

A merchant cash advance is the purchase of a portion of your future business deposits at a factor rate between 1.15 and 1.45. Repayment runs as a small daily or weekly ACH debit, or as a percentage of daily card batches via a lockbox structure for businesses with heavy card-mix revenue. Typically six to twelve months for a $30K–$250K position. No balloon, no prepayment penalty — most funders offer a meaningful discount on early payoff.

For a hospitality operator the structure has two clean fits. First, repayment scales with deposit activity, so the peak weeks pay down faster while the shoulder weeks take less — important when your operating model has a 30-to-40-percent revenue swing between high season and shoulder. Second, the underwriting is built on bank deposits and merchant processing volume, not tax returns or occupancy projections, so the consistency of the tourist-demand pattern is what qualifies you.

Florida § 559.9611 — what we send you, by statute

Florida's Commercial Financing Disclosure Law applies to every commercial financing transaction $500K or under offered to a Florida business. For MCAs, the funder must deliver a one-page disclosure before you sign, listing: total funds advanced, total dollar cost, term or estimated term, payment amount and frequency, an estimated APR, prepayment policy, and any collateral or personal guarantee.

Every offer we route to an Orlando hospitality operator includes that disclosure. We won't send you a quote from a funder who isn't compliant — the offer is unenforceable on its face under Florida law, and it's a strong signal about how the rest of the funder relationship will go. Florida also imposes broker registration requirements that we operate inside of.

Typical Orlando hospitality deal sizes

An independent restaurant or limited-service operator pulling $70K–$150K/month in deposits (common across the I-Drive, Lake Buena Vista, downtown Orlando, Winter Park, and Sand Lake Road segments) typically qualifies for $50K–$110K at a 1.25–1.35 factor over seven to ten months. Common use: pre-season inventory, equipment replacement, kitchen reno during a shoulder week, or covering the soft September without dipping into reserves.

A larger operator — multi-unit restaurant group, mid-size limited-service hotel, attraction operator, or established tour operator — pulling $300K–$800K/month can step into $200K–$500K positions at 1.18–1.28 factors. Most common use we see: capex on a property refresh during the September shoulder, build-out on a new outlet, pre-staffing a fourth-quarter ramp ahead of holiday peak, or bridging the gap between a signed group-block commitment and the actual deposit landing.

What we look at

Six or more months in business under the current ownership entity.

Twenty thousand dollars per month minimum in business deposits — most established Orlando operators clear this by a wide margin in season.

A 500 FICO floor on the guarantor. For hospitality files, the demand-calendar fit of the deposit history weighs heavier than the credit bureau number.

A US business bank account with four months of statements showing daily card and ACH deposit activity. No tax returns, no occupancy projections, no STR feasibility decks — the bank statements and merchant processing statements are the underwriting file.

Why Commera

Commera is a broker, not a lender. Your file goes across a panel of MCA funders, several of whom specifically trade Central Florida hospitality paper. The factor spread on the same Orlando hospitality file between funders routinely runs 15–20 points. On a $150K advance, that's a $20K–$30K difference in total payback — meaningful margin for any operator.

We don't charge applicants. We're paid by the funder when a deal closes. If your file fits better as SBA financing for a hotel property purchase, equipment financing for an attraction refresh, or AR financing against a corporate-group receivable, we'll say so and route you to that product.

What you'll need to apply

• Four months of business bank statements (PDFs from the bank's portal — not screenshots)
• Driver's license, front and back
• Voided business check from the operating account
• EIN (sole proprietors enter SSN where prompted)

About 5 minutes for pre-qual. Full underwriting takes another 6 minutes after that.

Common questions from Orlando, FL owners

Other Orlando, FL resources for small business owners

Free local programs worth knowing about. We're not affiliated — these are independent counsel for owners exploring options beyond MCA.

• Florida SBDC at UCF (Orlando)
• SBA North Florida District Office (Jacksonville)
• Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce
• Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association — Central Florida chapter
• Visit Orlando (industry intelligence and demand calendars)