The Quiet Season Problem
A Brighton hotel found funding that flexes with seasonal occupancy
What sold me was that they actually listened. I explained our quiet season problem and they found us funding where repayments drop when takings drop.
Jeremy owns a 12-room boutique hotel on Brighton's seafront. Summer is packed. Winter is a different story.
"From November to March, occupancy drops to about 40%. But the bills don't drop. The mortgage, the staff, the maintenance - it all keeps going. Every year I'd dip into reserves and every year I'd worry about running out."
She needed £45,000 to renovate three rooms that hadn't been updated since she bought the place, and to build a small events space for winter weddings and corporate away days. The plan was to reduce the seasonal dip by attracting year-round bookings.
"I knew a fixed-term loan wouldn't work. If I had to make the same repayment in February as I did in August, I'd be underwater by Christmas."
A fellow hotelier in Hove had used CapExpand and mentioned the merchant cash advance model. Jeremy was sceptical at first.
"I'd heard of MCAs but I thought they were expensive and aggressive. Alex talked me through the actual numbers. The total cost was clear, there were no hidden fees, and the repayment amount genuinely flexed with my card takings. In quiet months, I'd pay less. In busy months, I'd pay more. It made sense for a seasonal business."
The process took four days from first call to funding. The renovation started the following week.
The outcome
The three renovated rooms now command 25% higher rates. The events space hosted 14 winter events in its first season, generating revenue that covered the quiet months. Jeremy says the funding "changed the shape of the business" and plans to renovate the remaining rooms next year.
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