What types of projects does Spacecraft Group specialize in?

Spacecraft Group specializes in full design-build services for restaurants, bars, nightclubs, cafes, boutique hotels and retail spaces throughout Los Angeles and Southern California. Our primary focus is commercial hospitality construction from small cafe build-outs to large multi-level restaurant and entertainment venue projects.

Do you handle architectural plans, permits and construction?

Yes. That is our core differentiator. Spacecraft Group handles architectural drawings, permit expediting through LADBS and all relevant agencies, and full commercial construction under a single contract. You have one point of contact and one accountable firm from start to finish.

How long does a restaurant design-build project take in Los Angeles?

A standard full-service restaurant build-out in Los Angeles typically runs 6 to 12 months from design kick-off to certificate of occupancy. Our in-house permit expediting significantly compresses the permitting phase, often by 4 to 8 weeks or more compared to projects using outside permit runners.

What is permit expediting and why does it matter?

Permit expediting is the process of actively managing your building permit application through the LA Department of Building and Safety, health department, fire department and all other agencies. In Los Angeles, permit delays frequently add 2 to 6 months to project timelines. Our in-house team eliminates most of this delay.

Do you build commercial kitchens that meet LA County Health Department code?

Yes. We design kitchens to pass LA County Health Department plan review on the first submission, coordinating ventilation hood design, fire suppression, floor drains, grease interceptors and equipment placement with your chef and equipment supplier from the beginning of design development.

What areas of Southern California does Spacecraft Group serve?

Spacecraft Group serves the entire Southern California region including Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Culver City, Silver Lake, Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, Long Beach, Orange County and the greater LA metro. Contact us to discuss your project location.

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The Complete Guide to Hotel Remodeling and Renovation in Los Angeles, 2026

Hotel remodeling and renovation are two of the biggest financial decisions a hotel owner or developer will make. Get the fundamentals right, and you’re looking at stronger ADR, better occupancy, and a property that commands its market position. Get them wrong and you’re dealing with budget overruns, timeline blowouts, and a renovation that doesn’t perform the way you underwrote it.

This guide covers what you actually need to know before starting a hotel remodeling or renovation project in Southern California in 2026, from scope, permits, to contractors, costs, and everything in between.

Hotel Remodeling vs. Hotel Renovation: What's the Difference?

The two terms get used interchangeably but they’re not the same thing, and the difference has real consequences for your budget, permits, and timeline.

A hotel renovation updates or restores existing spaces without changing their layout or structure. Guest room upgrades, FF&E replacement, new flooring, lighting improvements, lobby refreshes, that’s renovation territory.

Hotel remodeling goes further. It changes how a space is structured or functions, reconfiguring guest rooms, expanding public areas, converting meeting space into suites, or repositioning an F&B outlet entirely. Most larger hotel projects involve both. A property might renovate guest rooms while simultaneously remodeling the lobby and restaurant, and the scope distinction matters because it affects which permits you need, how long the process takes, and what the project actually costs.

Why is Hotel Remodeling and Renovation Done

Most projects come down to one of three drivers, and often all three at once.

Brand repositioning – A mid-scale property moving upmarket needs a physical product that matches its new positioning, renovated rooms, upgraded finishes, remodeled public spaces that reflect where the brand is going, not where it’s been.
Guest experience gaps – Outdated rooms, poor lighting, cramped bathrooms, and underutilized common areas can negatively impact guest satisfaction, online reviews, and repeat bookings. Renovation and remodeling projects help modernize the property, improve functionality, and create a more competitive guest experience.
Brand and franchise requirements – Hotels operating under major flags are on a PIP cycle, typically every 7-10 years. They cover everything from room layouts to fixture specifications, and falling behind puts your brand affiliation at risk.

For independent owners and developers, renovation and remodeling also tend to be more financially viable than ground-up construction in a market like Los Angeles, where land costs and development timelines make existing properties worth serious consideration.

The Planning Phase: Where Most Projects Go Wrong

The projects that struggle don’t usually fall apart during construction. They fall apart because the planning was soft.

Define scope before you define budget – Most owners start with a number and try to fit a project into it, and that’s backwards. Assess what the property actually needs first, whether that’s a cosmetic refresh, a structural remodel, or something in between, and then build a budget around that scope. A full-scale project can touch guest rooms, corridors, lobby, F&B outlets, back-of-house, MEP systems, and the exterior. A lighter project might only address finishes and furnishings. Know which one you’re doing before any other conversation happens.
Get your PIP early – If your property runs under a brand flag, pull the Property Improvement Plan before you do anything else. Brand standards are specific and non-negotiable, whether it’s room dimensions, lighting specs, bathroom fixtures or public space requirements. A contractor who doesn’t know how to work within those standards is going to cost you in revisions and delays later.
Plan for an occupied building. Most hotel projects happen while the property is still running. That means phasing matters enormously, closing one wing at a time, rotating through the property, and keeping revenue flowing while construction moves. Good phasing requires your construction team, operations team, and revenue management working off the same plan from day one, not figuring it out mid-project.

Permits and Approvals Required for Hotel Remodeling and Renovation

California’s permitting process for commercial hospitality projects is detailed, and Los Angeles specifically is one of the more complex jurisdictions in the country. Most hotel renovation and remodeling projects will need some combination of the following:

Building permits for structural changes and layout modifications
MEP permits for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing upgrades
Fire and life-safety permits
Health permits for any restaurant or bar work
ADA compliance reviews, which kick in above certain project thresholds
Coastal Commission approvals for properties in designated coastal zones

For larger projects, full plan check in LA can take anywhere from several months to over a year, depending on complexity and revision cycles. That timeline needs to live inside your project schedule long before you’ve committed to a reopening date. Many owners in Southern California work with permit expediting specialists to move the process faster – on a major hotel project, cutting two or three months off permitting is worth the cost.

Choosing the Right Hotel Renovation and Remodeling Contractor

Hospitality construction is genuinely different from standard commercial work. Hotels are occupied, brand standards are specific, operational disruptions have a direct revenue impact, and the coordination load is higher than most GCs are used to. A Hotel renovation contractor without real hospitality experience will figure that out on your project, and you’ll pay for it.

What to look for. Relevant experience in occupied hotel properties, familiarity with brand and franchise requirements, a clear approach to phased construction, and a project management structure where there’s an actual superintendent on-site daily — not just a PM checking in periodically.
Design-build vs. design-bid-build. Design-build puts design and construction under one roof, which reduces coordination gaps, compresses schedule, and gives you one point of accountability. Design-bid-build with separate architect and GC can work, but it needs active owner oversight to manage the handoff. For most hotel projects in the $5M+ range, design-build tends to perform better.

Costs and Timelines for Hotel Remodeling and Renovation

How much could hotel renovation and remodeling contractors ask for:

Soft renovation (FF&E, finishes): $15,000-$30,000 per key
Mid-range renovation (rooms, corridors, partial lobby): $35,000-$65,000 per key
Full renovation including F&B, lobby, and MEP: $75,000-$150,000+ per key

Boutique hotels going through a full gut or repositioning in LA can push past $200,000 per key once you factor in high-end finishes, structural conditions, and the city’s labor market. These are working ranges, not estimates, the real number comes after someone walks the building.

The contingency problem. Owners budget 10% and think that’s conservative. On an older building in LA, it usually isn’t. Deteriorated wiring, aged plumbing, water damage sitting behind walls, asbestos, these aren’t edge cases, they’re routine in the city’s hotel stock. Twenty percent contingency feels like a lot until week three of demolition.
Soft costs are real costs – Architecture, engineering, permits, permit expediting, FF&E procurement, project management, brand compliance, and none of this is covered by the construction contract, and all of it belongs in your total budget from day one. Owners who leave soft costs out don’t avoid them, they just encounter them later when there’s less room to adjust.
On scheduling. Aggressive timelines drive up labor costs, rush procurement decisions, and produce change orders that could have been avoided. A 150-room renovation with the property partially operational is not a six-month project in most cases. Build your schedule around what’s realistic, not what’s ideal.

Working with the Right Hotel Renovation and Remodeling Contractor in Southern California

Hotel remodeling and renovation in LA is hard enough without managing a fragmented group of vendors who’ve never worked together before. The projects that go well almost always have design, permitting, and construction being run by people who’ve done it together and understand how hospitality projects actually operate.

Spacecraft Group is a Los Angeles design-build firm working across hospitality and commercial construction from hotels, restaurants, bars and lounges, nightclubs, cafes, and retail. Full scope, one team, from concept through certificate of occupancy.

If you’re in early-stage planning on a hotel renovation or remodel in Southern California, then let’s talk.

FAQ’s

How long does a hotel renovation or remodeling project take?

A phased soft renovation on a 100-room property can run 4 to 6 months while a comprehensive project covering guest rooms, public spaces, F&B and building systems is realistically 12 to 18 months, sometimes longer, depending on what the building throws at you once walls open up. In Los Angeles, permitting and plan review can add several months to over a year on the front end, which is why early planning is really important.

What is the difference between a hotel renovation and a hotel remodel?

A renovation updates what’s already there, like guest room upgrades, FF&E replacement, new finishes, lighting improvements, and system upgrades, without touching the layout or structure. A remodel changes, on the other hand, how a space is built or functions, reconfiguring rooms, expanding public areas, and redesigning a restaurant or bar.

How much does it cost to renovate or remodel a hotel room?

In Los Angeles, a single hotel room renovation runs from $15,000 for a basic cosmetic refresh to $75,000 or more for a full remodel with premium finishes, bathroom reconfiguration and MEP upgrades. Scope is what moves the number and replacing FF&E and finishes is a different project entirely from tearing into plumbing, relocating walls or rewiring a floor.

How often should a hotel be renovated?

Major brands run on a 7 to 10 year PIP cycle which is the standard industry benchmark, but high-occupancy properties in competitive markets like Los Angeles tend to show wear faster and often need soft renovations like FF&E replacements, finish updates and lighting improvements closer to the 5-year mark. Full-scale renovation or remodeling work is more typically a 15 to 20 year decision depending on original build quality and how well the property has been kept up in between.