MainStay Suites franchise cost
MainStay Suites (Choice Hotels) charges a royalty of 6% of gross room revenue plus a further 2.5% in marketing, reservation or system fees, according to its franchise disclosure document issued April 1, 2026, as amended May 20, 2026. The franchisor estimates the total cost of a new-build hotel at $9,654,870 to $17,689,339, not counting land; converting an existing hotel runs $339,000 to $2,175,600.
- Royalty
- 6%of gross room revenue
- Marketing
- 2.5%of gross rooms revenue
- Fee to take over on a purchase
- $50,000Transfer fee for a 60-room hotel, from the Item 5 formula
- Fee for a new franchise
- $50,000Item 5 formula at 60 rooms. Fees actually charged can be lower; see the notes below.
- Total investment
- $9.65M to $17.7MItem 7 estimate for a new-build hotel
Recurring fees in the 2026 FDD
| Royalty | 6.0% of the preceding month's GRR |
|---|---|
| Marketing or brand fund | Marketing and Reservation Fee: 2.5% of the preceding month's GRR |
| Reservation, loyalty and technology | Rewards Program Fee (Choice Privileges): 5% of room revenue from members staying 1-6 contiguous nights, 2% for 7-30 contiguous nights, nothing after 30 nights. Property Technology & Service Fee: $8.35 per room monthly, $600 minimum, $900 maximum. ChoiceROCS revenue management: $890-$1,400/month, optional. Also: Third Party Distribution Fee $4.00 per consumed OTA/connectivity reservation; GDS fee currently $7.70 per GDS reservation; travel agent commissions currently 10%-15%; Choice Accelerate 3% of GRR from direct online channel consumed stays; CrowdStrike $60/month; CHOC dues $60/month. |
| Initial fee (Item 5) | Affiliation fee "$300 per room for new constructions or conversions and $550 per room for transfers and renewals, with a $50,000 minimum" for both. Non-refundable $5,000 application fee credited toward the affiliation fee. |
| New build (Item 7) | $9,654,870 to $17,689,339 |
| Conversion (Item 7) | $339,000 to $2,175,600 |
| What Item 7 assumes | item7_low/high = new construction, 106 rooms ($91,084-$166,881 per room). Conversion table (56 rooms, $6,054-$38,850 per room) in item7_conversion_*. Excludes land. |
From the filing: Item 6 Note 2: for a MainStay dual-branded with Sleep Inn or another Choice brand, Choice may raise royalty and M&R up to the other brand's standard amount. Affiliation fees charged in 2025 ranged from $0 to $50,000. Except for the Royalty Fee and liquidated damages, Item 6 says all fees are subject to change.
What the fees cost a 60-room hotel
Take a 60-room MainStay Suites with $1,500,000 of rooms revenue a year. The royalty and the marketing or system fees that apply to every room night come to 8.5%, or $127,500 a year, and per-room fees add $6,012 ($8.35 per room per month, before the FDD's minimum and maximum). That is $133,512 a year, about $11,126 a month, before payroll or utilities. Fees charged only on some bookings, such as loyalty-member stays, central reservation bookings and online commissions, come on top.
Those fees come straight off NOI. At 1.25x coverage, $133,512 of fees is $106,810 a year of payment you can no longer borrow against, or about $980,000 of loan at 10% over 25 years.
Fees billed per reservation, per transaction or as a fixed amount are not in this total; they are listed in the table above as the FDD states them. Run your own numbers with MainStay Suites fees filled in.
Financing a MainStay Suites
Lenders read the franchise agreement as closely as the appraisal. On a purchase, expect the brand to require a change-of-ownership application, a new franchise agreement on current terms and often a property improvement plan (PIP), and expect the lender to fold the PIP cost into the project. For a new build, the Item 7 range is the starting point for the construction budget a lender will test.
Most owner-operators finance a branded hotel with an SBA 7(a) or 504 loan. Read SBA 7(a) for hotels and SBA 504 for hotels, or send the deal to Janover Capital.
Source
MainStay Suites Franchise Disclosure Document, issued April 1, 2026, as amended May 20, 2026, as filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (CARDS). Item 5 p.22, Item 6 p.25, Item 7 p.40 (PDF pp.30/33/48). View the filing record. Fees change every year and the franchise agreement you sign controls. Read on 2026-10-24.
Other Choice Hotels brands
- Ascend Collection: royalty 5%, all percent fees 8%
- Cambria: royalty 6%, all percent fees 9%
- Clarion: royalty 5.5%, all percent fees 8.75%
- Clarion Pointe: royalty 5.5%, all percent fees 8.75%
- Comfort Inn: royalty 6%, all percent fees 9.5%
- Comfort Suites: royalty 6%, all percent fees 9.5%
- Country Inn & Suites by Radisson: royalty 6%, all percent fees 9.5%
- Econo Lodge: royalty 5%, all percent fees 8.5%
- Everhome Suites: royalty see FDD, all percent fees 9%
- Quality Inn: royalty 5.25%, all percent fees 8.75%
- Radisson: royalty 6%, all percent fees 9%
- Rodeway Inn: royalty 5%, all percent fees 8.5%
- Sleep Inn: royalty 5.5%, all percent fees 9%
- Suburban Studios: royalty 6%, all percent fees 8.5%
- WoodSpring Suites: royalty 6%, all percent fees 8.5%
Buying or building a MainStay Suites?
Send the deal to Janover Capital, which runs this site and arranges hotel financing through lenders.