Valuing an ecolodge or tourist campsite in Morocco — land and operation

1. The context of the assignment

An owner asks us to value an ecolodge in seasonal operation: an amenity plot in a high tourist-appeal area, on which are installed some fifteen light accommodation units (wooden lodges, fitted Berber-style tents, two bungalows), a small permanent reception-restaurant building, and the networks (water, autonomous sanitation, partly solar electricity). The operation runs only part of the year, with strong seasonality. The client is considering either a sale or the entry of a partner.

First mistake to avoid, exactly as for a prestige villa with no direct comparables: applying a price per sqm "for the region". An open-air accommodation asset almost never has an equivalent sold nearby within the year. You have to rebuild the value from what creates it: the ground and the income.

2. First step: set the basis of value and the scope

Before any method, the expert sets the basis of value and the scope of what is being valued. On an ecolodge, three very different scopes can be requested:

• The bare land — the value of the plot alone, free of the installations, according to its status and authorised use.
• The walls and installations — the real-estate base (land + permanent buildings), retaining of the light accommodation only its real market input.
• The whole as a going concern — the site as an operating tool that produces income, which blends the real estate and a goodwill component.

These three scopes do not give the same figure, and the expert must state which one is being valued and under which assumptions. Confusing the value of the bare land with the value of the whole in operation is one of the most frequent sources of gap between two estimates — a subject we also handle in our real estate appraisal service in Morocco.

3. Land status: what governs the value of the ground

The value of land depends above all on what you are legally allowed to do with it. That is the core of land valuation by zoning and buildable potential. On an ecolodge or campsite site, the expert checks in particular:

• The legal status of the land — land title, nature of the ownership, any public-domain situation or specific use restrictions. To be confirmed with the notary and the competent authority.
• The urban-planning situation and authorised use — a high tourist-appeal location is not for that reason freely buildable; the use actually permitted frames the value, not the hoped-for use.
• Accessibility and networks — access, water, sanitation, energy: decisive for an operator, and therefore for the use value of the site.
• The sensitivities of the site — proximity to the coast, to natural or agricultural areas: all parameters that can restrict use and that must be documented rather than presumed.

The house rule here: no assumption of buildability or change of use is advanced without supporting evidence. The expert reasons according to the regulations in force and flags what must be confirmed with the competent authorities.

4. The lightness of the structures: you do not value a tent like a slab

The specificity of an ecolodge or campsite is that most of the built fabric is light, even demountable. That changes the reasoning:

• Light and demountable accommodation (fitted tents, wooden lodges, bungalows) — valued at their real market contribution and their economic life, not at their installation cost. A depreciated or end-of-life structure adds no durable value to the land.
• Permanent fabric (solid reception-restaurant, technical premises) — treated as classic real estate, with condition and obsolescence taken into account.
• Equipment and improvements (networks, solar panels, furniture, any natural pool) — distinguished according to whether they belong to the real estate, to depreciable equipment, or to the operating goodwill.

The classic trap is to add up the cost of everything placed on the landand call it "the value". The expert does the opposite: distinguishing what belongs to the real estate, what belongs to depreciable equipment and what belongs to the goodwill, so as not to double-count and not to overvalue a fabric whose residual value is low.

5. The income approach: capitalising a seasonal operation

An accommodation site is worth largely by what it earns. That is the logic of the income approach, which we also apply to the valuation of a hotel in Morocco: you start from the net income the operation can sustain, then convert it into value. The key parameters the expert reconstructs, relying on the actual accounts where they exist:

• Net accommodation income — proceeds from overnight stays, after operating costs, taking seasonality into account (the site runs only part of the year).
• The effective occupancy rate over the opening period, distinct from the theoretical rate in peak season.
• The sustainability of the income — a one-off attendance spike does not capitalise like recurring income.
• The yield / discount rate retained, which reflects the risk specific to a seasonal and illiquid asset.

Purely illustrative example (never market data): if the operation generated a normative net accommodation income of around 600,000 MAD/year and we applied an illustrative yield rate of 12%, the income approach would place the value of the whole at around 5,000,000 MAD. These figures only serve to show the mechanics: the real income, its sustainability and the rate retained must be established with the file in hand, on the basis of the site's accounts and the expert's judgement.

Major point of vigilance: the income approach captures an operating value that blends the real estate and the operator's performance. It is not the same as the value of the bare land — hence the need to cross it with a second reading.

6. The residual method: setting a floor through the land

When the operation is fragile, seasonal or recent, income alone is an unstable guide. There remains a robust safeguard: the land. The residual land approach values the plot according to its use actually authorised, then assesses the real input of the installations.

On an ecolodge, this approach sets a floor of reasoning: depending on the case, the light accommodation adds a modest value, is neutral, or even weighs negatively if it does not match the highest and best use of the ground. Where the operation is unconvincing, the value of the site tends towards that of the land less, where applicable, the costs of restoration.

The right reflex — as for any atypical asset — is to systematically cross the two readings: income approach and residual land approach. The retained value sits between the two, and the report explains why it sits there rather than elsewhere. It is this explanation, more than the figure alone, that makes the opinion defensible in negotiation, in succession or before a financier.

7. The deliverable and the scope of the opinion

The report delivered follows the course of a classic valuation assignment. It documents:

• The status and urban-planning situation of the land, with the reservations to be confirmed with the competent authorities.
• The treatment of the light fabric and equipment, distinguished from the real estate and the goodwill.
• The income assumptions (seasonality, occupancy, sustainability) and the rate retained.
• The crossing of the income approach and the residual land approach and the justification of the retained value.
• The basis of value and the assumptions on marketing period — a seasonal and atypical asset can be illiquid.

A clarification specific to the Moroccan context: a private valuation supports negotiation, the asset decision or the dialogue with a bank. It provides a figured and argued reference to support your position with third parties, but it does not replace the assignment of an expert whom the judge appoints in the event of a dispute. You use the right tool at the right time.

8. FAQ

Note: This is an educational case study — the figures are strictly illustrative and do not constitute market data. The general methodology is compliant with RICS standards (income approach, residual land approach, choice of basis of value and marketing-period assumptions). The land status, authorised use and qualification of the installations fall under the texts in force and the file: confirm your situation with your notary, the competent authority or a professional. A private valuation informs negotiation and decision — in a dispute, the expert is appointed by the judge. To have your property valued, see our real estate appraisal page or the real estate blog.