AI-powered first-pass underwriting for hotel investors
can·dle·pow·er n. — luminous intensity, measured.

A hotel deal package goes in. An underwrite you can check comes out.

Candlepower reads the OM, the trailing-12 P&L, the STR report, the franchise agreement, and the PCA — then hands your team a validated, source-cited underwrite and a hotel risk register. Every extracted figure verified to its page. Every derived figure carrying a reproducible lineage. Measured, not asserted.

Purpose-built for branded select-service & extended-stay — USALI-native, PIP-literate, franchise-aware.

One deal, re-underwrittenillustrative — a 125-key branded select-service hotel
$20.0M
Asking
−$3.6M
Re-underwrite (NOI + cap)
$16.4M
Indicated value
−$2.6M
Est. PIP
~$13.8M
Net basis target
The ask implies a ~7.9% cap — on an NOI that omits the management fee and FF&E reserve. Corrected: $1,227,000 ÷ 7.5% market cap = $16.4M · real in-place cap ~6.1% · transfer-triggered PIP flagged before the LOI, not after. Every line traces to a source page.
What Candlepower produces, per deal

The first pass your analysts start from, instead of build.

A deal arrives as documents that don't agree, and teams spend hours to days per deal reconciling them (reported ranges vary widely — a pilot measures yours). The deal-killers — an unmodeled PIP, a transfer re-flag, a tax step-up — hide until late. Candlepower — the desk, from here on — runs the first pass and shows exactly how it got every number.

InOM · T-12 USALI P&L · STR report · franchise agreement · PCA
OutRe-underwritten NOI · value bridge · ranked risk register · full citations · DCF + stress case at full scope
Time · First LookFirst pass back in about one week from documents received
TrustSingle-tenant · no training on your data · non-pursuit covenant

Validated pro forma

A USALI P&L re-underwritten to stabilized NOI — then, at full scope, a DCF and a recession stress case built on it.

Hotel risk register

PIP, franchise transfer, tax reassessment, demand mix, deferred maintenance — ranked, quantified where possible, and tied to the documents.

Citation & lineage trail

Every extracted figure verified against its source page or flagged. Every derived figure carries a reproducible calculation you can check yourself.

Built for trust, not vibes. Extraction is verified by deterministic code, the pro forma is computed rather than generated, and pilot work is graded against criteria agreed up front — severity-weighted, and a missed deal-killer fails that deal outright.

Candlepower is a force-multiplier for analysts — not the investment decision, counsel's reading of the agreement, or a substitute for a PCA or appraisal.
Risk register — excerptthe same illustrative deal · full sample walked in the First Look session
01
Seller NOI overstated by $343K — management fee and FF&E reserve omitted from the marketed NOI: $1,570,000 claimed vs $1,227,000 corrected. The ~7.9% cap the ask implies is ~6.1% in place — indicated value $3.6M below the ask at a 7.5% market cap.
OM p.11 vs T-12 P&L · FA §7.2
02
Change-of-ownership PIP, ~$2.6M — transfer-triggered scope including case goods and systems. priced before the LOI
PIP addendum · FF&E schedule
03
Tax reassessment at sale — assessed value steps up toward the purchase price; the T-12 tax line understates the go-forward expense.
County assessor schedule
04
Demand-mix concentration — midweek corporate dependence; carried into the recession stress case at full scope.
STR segmentation
How firms start · Three steps, each earning the next

Free proof, then a graded pilot, then production.

Step 1 · First Look

One deal from your files

For firms actively underwriting branded select-service deals. A deal you passed on works best — nothing live at stake, and you already know it cold. To start, name the deal and the reviewer who'll judge the output; it runs under your standard NDA.

  • Back in about one week from documents received: the verified first-pass core — re-underwritten NOI, value bridge, ranked risk register, every figure cited
  • One working session with your reviewer to walk it together
  • We run a small number concurrently — you get a real start date, not a waitlist
Fee · free in the design-partner phase — in exchange, we ask for a reference conversation if the output earns it (your approval required, never assumed)
Phase ends · when the first reference customers exist; later First Looks carry a modest fee
Step 2 · Pilot

8–10 of your real deals

Graded against success criteria we agree before we start — extraction accuracy severity-weighted, risk catch measured against your senior analyst's flags, a missed deal-killer failing that deal outright.

  • Every deal gets the verified core — re-underwritten NOI, value bridge, ranked risk register, full citations — plus the full scope: DCF, recession stress case, and an IC-memo draft
  • Dedicated single-tenant workspace; your data never trains any model
Fee · $35,000 standard scope ($25–75K as scope varies)
Credit · 100% toward production on conversion
Step 3 · Production

The desk, on your desk

Your firm profile — return targets, fees, reserve, financing, tax posture — so the desk underwrites the way you do. Priced on the work, not the seats.

  • $60,000 per year including 24 underwrites
  • $1,500 per additional deal
  • A representative 40-deal year runs ≈ $84,000 all-in — about $2,100 per deal
No auto-renewal · deliverables are yours · deletion terms in writing

Honest pricing math: hard hourly savings alone don't cover this, and we won't pretend they do. The return is throughput — more deals screened by the same team — and the deal-killer priced before the LOI instead of after. We'll walk your numbers with you: ask for the ROI worksheet.

The conflict question, answered in writing — because our parent firm also buys hotels

Candlepower is built by SBT Capital Partners, which acquires branded select-service hotels for its own account — and the firm is small, so no org chart can honestly separate the two. The protection is contractual and auditable instead: a written non-use covenant (your deal data is never used to train models or to inform anything SBT sources, bids, or buys), a non-pursuit covenant (SBT will not pursue any asset you run through the desk, for a defined period), single-tenant technical isolation, and an audit right so you can verify all of it. Checkable, not just signable: SBT's sourcing pipeline is logged and timestamped, and the audit right compares that log against the desk's deal record. A security overview — architecture, data handling, deletion — is available on request.

Ask about a First Look and we'll tell you exactly where design-partner intake stands — no manufactured scarcity, no countdown clocks.

Why trust it · Measured, not asserted

No SBT deal advances without a Candlepower underwrite.

Rule 01

We eat our own cooking

That's the firm's standing rule since the desk went live — exercised, not just declared: every deal in SBT's pipeline since then runs through the desk before it advances, same bar, same lineage. Our own acquisition decisions ride on it first.

Rule 02

Every number traces

Extracted figures verify to a source page or get flagged. Derived figures carry reproducible lineage. The value bridge above is illustrative — and you can still check its math.

Rule 03

Proof is graded, not claimed

No fabricated logos, no invented testimonials, no manufactured scarcity. Performance is scored in pilots against pre-agreed criteria on your deals — that's the only proof we cite.

Rule 04

Judgment stays human

Candlepower surfaces and quantifies. Investment committees, counsel, and third-party inspections decide. That's true for our deals and for yours.

Is this generic CRE AI with "hotels" bolted on?
No — the desk is hotel-native. It works in USALI, reconciles RevPAR across the OM, STR report, and T-12, ranges transfer-triggered PIPs, and reads franchise terms clause by clause. Generic CRE underwriting AI is multifamily-first — which is why most of it doesn't cover hotels at all.
Does my broker CA even allow this?
Most CAs permit advisors and consultants under the same confidentiality; where yours doesn't, a redacted package is the fallback. Either way, the work runs under your NDA — one signature, no bespoke terms.
Is my data used to train models?
No. Dedicated single-tenant workspace, a written non-use covenant, and deletion on request.
What does it cost to find out?
One NDA and one week. The First Look is free in the design-partner phase — in exchange we ask for a reference conversation if the output earns it, your approval required, never assumed. The pilot is $35,000, fully credited to production.
Does this replace my analysts?
No — it's the first pass they build from. Your committee, your counsel, and third-party inspections still decide.
Also from SBT Capital Partners · The firm behind the desk

A U.S. & UAE hospitality investment firm.

SBT Capital Partners LLC is a hospitality investment firm — Seattle-based, with a Dubai presence — pursuing select-service, extended-stay, and premium branded limited-service hotel acquisitions across U.S. primary markets and UAE growth markets, targeting properties affiliated with Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG. Candlepower is its software product. Two quieter doors, for two other kinds of visitor:

Co-invest, deal by deal

SBT Capital Partners structures each acquisition as a standalone SPV. Structure, markets, and terms live where they belong — in the investment overview, provided to qualified investors on request.

Investment overview & data room · request by email

Accredited investors & qualified purchasers in permitted jurisdictions only. Not an offer to sell securities.

Bring us a hotel

Submit an on- or off-market branded select-service opportunity. Because Candlepower runs the first pass, you get a straight, sourced answer fast — instead of weeks of silence. Demand-driver focus: airports, transportation corridors, business districts, medical and university anchors. Third-party professional management retained post-close.

Cost to you · nothing
What you get · a first-pass read and a real answer

Contact

Tell us where to point the light.

This form opens a pre-addressed email in your mail client — nothing is stored on this page. If nothing opens, email us directly: info@SBTCap.com.

Email
info@SBTCap.com

Seattle
+1 425 442 4562

Dubai
+971 54 343 2142

Web
www.SBTCap.com


Investment materials are provided only to accredited investors or qualified purchasers in permitted jurisdictions. Nothing on this page is an offer to sell securities, and nothing here is legal, tax, or investment advice. All investments involve risk, including loss of principal.