Sunshine Coast Motel Sales: What Happens to Forward Bookings and Guest Deposits?

When selling a Sunshine Coast motel, guest transactions can span both sides of settlement. Someone may book before settlement, pay the seller, then stay while the buyer operates the business. Another guest may be in-house when ownership changes.

Identify who supplies the accommodation, who holds payment and how both parties reconcile those commitments.

Confirm what is being sold

Start by establishing whether the transaction includes the operating motel business, the property alone, or shares in the company operating it. Business Queensland distinguishes an asset sale from a share sale: buying assets and buying the company are different transaction structures. Your solicitor should explain how that distinction affects existing guest obligations. Business Queensland

Do not assume that a forward booking list, transferred cash and responsibility for every reservation automatically move together. The sale agreement and relevant booking contracts need to address the proposed arrangements.

Build a booking register that follows the money

Prepare a register recording each reservation’s arrival and departure dates, room type, agreed price, amount collected, remaining balance, payment holder and cancellation conditions.

Identify whether money sits in the motel’s bank account, with a booking intermediary or in an unsettled payment transaction. Mark any group deposits, prepaid packages, complimentary stays and credit arrangements separately.

Visit Sunshine Coast lists the Mooloolaba Triathlon. Visit Sunshine Coast If your motel holds team reservations for that event, identify the group deposit, final rooming-list deadline and promised extras. Those details should accompany the booking handover so the buyer can deliver what was agreed.

Reconcile that register to reservation software, bank receipts and platform statements. A booking marked “paid” should have supporting evidence showing where the funds are and whether fees have been deducted.

Agree how settlement will treat each category

Ask the parties’ advisers to document the treatment of stays completed before settlement, stays beginning afterwards and stays crossing the handover date.

For example, where the seller has collected payment for accommodation the buyer agrees to provide, the contract might provide an agreed settlement adjustment. The precise amount and mechanism should be negotiated, including any commission, refund exposure or package inclusions. This is a commercial example, not a standard entitlement.

For guests already staying, decide how room charges, incidental purchases and outstanding balances will be allocated. Give reception instructions so guests are not asked to pay twice.

Allow for reconciliation after settlement where a platform payment or card dispute remains unresolved. Specify the supporting documents, contact person and timing for resolving any agreed adjustment.

Keep cancellations and vouchers in view

A sale handover should include unresolved cancellation requests and refunds already promised. The ACCC explains that remedies for cancelled travel services depend on the circumstances and consumer guarantees. When a guest changes their mind, refund rights generally depend on booking terms; do not treat that situation as equivalent to a business failing to supply its service. Intermediary terms may also apply. ACCC

Keep gift vouchers and guest credits on their own register, with issue dates, balances and redemption conditions. The ACCC says most purchased gift cards supplied from 1 November 2019 must remain redeemable for at least three years, with exceptions. Check which rules apply rather than discarding older vouchers because ownership changes. ACCC

Have the solicitor document responsibility for outstanding vouchers and communicate the agreed arrangements accurately.

Plan the first morning under new ownership

Before handover, review upcoming arrivals, special requests, room allocations and payment instructions with the incoming operator. Check intermediary payment arrangements separately; a guest’s confirmation does not establish which party receives the eventual payout.

Agree who handles queries about payments made before settlement.

Do guest deposits automatically become the buyer’s money?

Check the transaction structure, sale agreement and applicable booking terms. Ownership changing hands is not, by itself, a method for reconciling deposits or allocating obligations.

Prepare your Sunshine Coast motel sale

Contact Norton’s Resort Brokers for a confidential discussion about selling your Sunshine Coast motel and organising information for prospective buyers. Email nortons.re@gmail.com to discuss your sale preparation.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information only, not legal, taxation or accounting advice. Booking obligations, consumer remedies and settlement adjustments depend on the transaction and applicable terms. Obtain independent professional advice before agreeing to a handover.