April 04, 2012--BROOKSVILLE -- Its debt dwarfs its assets by more than a 2-to-1 ratio, according to court filings.

As a result, Hernando County's lone Internet 75 exit is about to lose one of its major hotels.

The Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites filed for bankruptcy Monday.

The Chaps Hospitality-owned facility owes more than $7.3 million and has barely more than $3 million in assets, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court records.

A message left with the company's attorney, Buddy Ford, was not returned Tuesday.

A spokeswoman with the Hernando County Tax Collector's Office said the Holiday Inn paid its latest $11,000 tax bill on March 30.

A filing for a commercial foreclosure was filed in Hernando County Circuit Court. The next hearing in that case is April 23.

Bank loans make up most of the hotel's debt, according to public records.

The real property, which is located at 30455 Cortez Blvd. is worth $2.3 million and the personal property -- or moveable assets -- is worth $773,000.

A message left with the manager at the hotel also wasn't returned.

The Holiday Inn and neighboring Microtel Inn and Suites were built one after the other in 2008.

The hotel industry had a profitable run nationwide in 2005 and 2006. As a result, property owners pushed to build more to fill the foreseeable demand. By the time the real estate bubble burst, several hundred more buildings were still slated to be constructed. Foreclosures have since become common.

The national average for occupancy dropped noticeably in 2009, and the industry hasn't seen a significant turnaround since then.

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