Residence Inn franchise cost
Residence Inn (Marriott) 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 March 31, 2026. The franchisor estimates the total cost of a new-build hotel at $15,396,510 to $35,935,810, not counting land.
- Royalty
- 6%of gross room revenue
- Marketing
- 2.5%of gross rooms revenue
- Fee to take over on a purchase
- $200,000Transfer fee for a 60-room hotel, from the Item 5 formula
- Fee for a new franchise
- $90,000Item 5 formula at 60 rooms. Fees actually charged can be lower; see the notes below.
- Total investment
- $15.4M to $35.9MItem 7 estimate for a new-build hotel
Recurring fees in the 2026 FDD
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross room sales |
|---|---|
| Marketing or brand fund | Marketing Fund contribution (part of Program Services Contribution): 2.5% of gross room revenue; 2.56% of gross room sales (includes Marketing Fund 2.5%) plus $6,000 per year plus $65 per suite per year |
| Reservation, loyalty and technology | Program Services Contribution 2.56% of gross room sales plus $6,000 per year plus $65 per suite per year covers reservations, systems and programs (Item 6 Note 4). Loyalty (Marriott Bonvoy) charges on qualifying revenue in addition; revenue management and technology fees per Item 6. |
| Initial fee (Item 5) | $90,000 plus $500 per guestroom in excess of 150 guestrooms; Called a franchise application fee; covers new builds and conversions of non-Company Brand hotels. Refundable if not approved, less $10,000 plus outside counsel costs. |
| New build (Item 7) | $15,396,510 to $35,935,810 |
| What Item 7 assumes | Item 7 table for a newly constructed prototypical hotel, column for 80-110 suites (recorded as item7_low/high) and column for 120-150 suites (item7_large_low/high). 'Total Range (excludes costs identified as not determinable)'. No conversion table. Excludes land. |
From the filing: Item 6 remark: 'You may qualify for a temporary reduction in your Franchise Fees under the Development Incentive Program(s) described in Item 10' (Item 10 in this edition describes only discretionary credit support/mezzanine loans, no fixed schedule).
What the fees cost a 60-room hotel
Take a 60-room Residence Inn 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 8.56%, or $128,400 a year, and per-room fees add $3,902 ($5.42 per room per month, before the FDD's minimum and maximum). That is $132,302 a year, about $11,025 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, $132,302 of fees is $105,842 a year of payment you can no longer borrow against, or about $970,000 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 Residence Inn fees filled in.
Financing a Residence Inn
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
Residence Inn Franchise Disclosure Document, issued March 31, 2026, as published by Marriott on its franchise development website. Marriott files exemption notices rather than FDDs with Minnesota and California, so the franchisor's own copy is the public source. Cover p.1; Item 5 PDF p.32; Item 6 PDF p.38; Item 7 PDF p.64. View the filing record. Fees change every year and the franchise agreement you sign controls. Read on 2026-10-24.
Other Marriott brands
- Courtyard by Marriott: royalty 6%, all percent fees 9.35%
- Fairfield by Marriott: royalty 5.5%, all percent fees 9.35%
- Four Points by Sheraton: royalty 5.5%, all percent fees 8.25%
- TownePlace Suites: royalty 5.5%, all percent fees 8.85%
Buying or building a Residence Inn?
Send the deal to Janover Capital, which runs this site and arranges hotel financing through lenders.