u/AsmusEAGC

Hi everyone,

I am helping my parents evaluate the potential sale of a family-owned hospitality business and real estate property in western El Salvador.

Before explaining the situation, I want to disclose that English is not my first language, as my native language is Spanish. I used AI to help me organize and polish the wording of this post, but the facts, figures, questions and circumstances described below are my own.

This post is primarily intended to ask for advice. My family has experience operating the property, but we have no experience marketing or selling a hospitality asset internationally. I am concerned that offering it only through ordinary local real estate channels might fail to reflect the value of the operating business and, especially, the property’s development potential.

The property is located in Los Naranjos, in the municipality of Juayúa, El Salvador. It is situated near the road connecting Santa Ana and Sonsonate, within the Ruta de las Flores tourism region, and approximately five minutes by car from Cerro Verde National Park.

It currently operates as a resort, restaurant and lodging destination.

Some basic information about the property:
•Approximately 10,300 square meters of land
•Existing hotel accommodations and guest rooms
•Independent cabins
•Several restaurant and dining areas
•Commercial kitchens and food preparation areas
•Coffee shop, terraces and recreational spaces
•Storage and service facilities
•Existing customer base and operating history
•Independent 2024 appraisal of approximately US$2.29 million for the land and improvements
•Significant unused or underutilized portions of the land that may offer additional development potential

Depending on permits, technical studies and local regulations, the property could potentially support hotel expansion, eco-lodging, wellness or nature retreats, event facilities, vacation cabins, residential tourism or another mixed-use hospitality concept.

The property is valuable not only because of its present operation, but also because of its size, location, existing infrastructure and potential for further development. For this reason, I am unsure whether it should be presented primarily as:

An operating hospitality business
A commercial real estate investment
A hotel or resort property
A tourism development opportunity
Or a combination of all of these

I would greatly appreciate advice regarding the following questions:

1. What would be the best way to market a property of this nature to international buyers?
2. Should we work with a hotel broker, commercial real estate broker, business broker or M&A adviser?
3. Are there reputable international platforms that specialize in resorts, boutique hotels or tourism development properties in Central America?
4. What documents and financial information would serious buyers expect before evaluating the opportunity?
5. Should we prepare an updated appraisal, feasibility study or highest-and-best-use analysis before putting the property on the market?
6. How should the asking price be approached when a large part of the value comes from the land and existing improvements rather than only from current cash flow?
7. Would it be better to market the property publicly or conduct a more confidential process through specialized brokers and qualified investors?
8. How can we verify that a broker or intermediary genuinely has access to international hospitality investors?
9. What commission structure would normally be reasonable for a transaction of this size?
10. Are there any major mistakes that families commonly make when selling a hospitality property internationally?

We are not necessarily looking for the fastest possible sale. My main objective is to understand how to prepare the property correctly, protect my parents’ interests and reach qualified investors who can appreciate both the existing business and the long-term development opportunity.

Thank you for any practical advice, recommendations or experiences you may be willing to share.