La Quinta New-Construction Prototype Cost in 2026, Is It on the SBA Franchise Directory, and How Owners Finance It

A new La Quinta by Wyndham built on the Del Sol prototype costs about $12.8 million to $17.2 million before land, according to third-party summaries of Wyndham's franchise disclosure document. The fees are an initial fee of $55,000 or $550 per room, a royalty of 5.5% to 6% and a 3.5% marketing and reservation fee, per Wyndham's own brand page citing the FDD dated March 31, 2026. La Quinta is on the SBA Franchise Directory as code S0982, listed since October 2017. Owners finance a Del Sol build with a construction loan at 55% to 75% of cost from Bridge, a bank or a hotel debt fund, a C-PACE layer, Wyndham's development advance notes where granted, and 25% to 35% equity. An owner-operator near the low end of the cost range can use an SBA 504 instead.

The brand is Wyndham's upper-midscale workhorse: 864 U.S. hotels and 81,793 rooms at year-end 2025, a 100% RevPAR index among qualified franchisees in 2025, 88% of bookings through central channels, and more than 80 dual-brand hotels in the pipeline. On a 100-room Del Sol at $16 million all-in, the worked example below carries a $9.8 million senior loan at 61% of cost.

Key takeaways

• Build cost about $12.8M to $17.2M before land per a third-party FDD summary; confirm the 2026 figure with Wyndham.
• Fees: $55,000 or $550 per room, 5.5% to 6% royalty, 3.5% marketing and reservation, per Wyndham.
• 864 U.S. La Quintas; 100% RevPAR index among qualified franchisees in 2025; 80-plus dual-brand projects in the pipeline.
• SBA eligible: Franchise Directory code S0982 since October 2017.
• Wyndham deployed $105M of development advance notes in 2025 and plans about $110M in 2026.

What does a La Quinta Del Sol cost to build?

Wyndham provides its FDDs through its development team; the Item 7 range below is a third-party summary and the fees are from Wyndham's own page.

At a typical 90- to 100-room Del Sol the summarized range is about $130,000 to $190,000 per key before land, inside HVS's 2026 median of $170,000 to $197,000 for limited-service hotels at the top and well under it at the bottom. The low end is the obvious number to budget from, but it belongs to a flat suburban site with a local general contractor; on an urban or resort site the top of the range is the right starting point. Add land, contingency and an interest reserve, and most projects land at $150,000 to $205,000 per key all-in. Wyndham's own numbers differ in two places. The initial fee is $55,000 from Wyndham and $60,500 in the Lodging guide, which is the same $550-per-room schedule at a 110-room assumption, and the marketing fee is 3.5% from Wyndham against the guide's 2%. Use Wyndham's figures, which cite the current FDD, and have the FDD in hand before the pro forma is final.

Is La Quinta on the SBA Franchise Directory?

Yes. La Quinta is listed on the SBA Franchise Directory effective October 15, 2026 as code S0982, since October 1, 2017. The other Wyndham flags are listed too: Super 8 (S1645), Days Inn (S0488), Microtel (S1109), Hawthorn (S0793), Wingate (S1938), Baymont (S0197), Travelodge (S1814), Howard Johnson (S0830), AmericInn (S0104), Ramada (S1400) and ECHO Suites (S8867, added June 29, 2026). The La Quinta listing carries the standard hotel condition that any third-party manager be unaffiliated with Wyndham and no extended-stay transient test. The 2026 rules in three lines. A 7(a) runs to $5 million at a variable rate capped at 10.00%, which is prime plus 3.00 points. A 504 pairs a bank first with a 6.97% fixed 25-year debenture capped at $5.5 million and 15% equity on a hotel (20% if the business is new), combinable to $10 million since July 4, 2026. Every owner must be a U.S. citizen or national since March 1, 2026. On a $16 million Del Sol the 504 debenture cap is close to binding (35% is $5.6 million), so the 504 fits projects at or below about $15.7 million. The full table and rules are in the SBA Franchise Directory check for hotel brands.

Does Wyndham help finance a La Quinta?

Yes, in two ways. Development advance notes, Wyndham's key money, are forgivable if the hotel stays in compliance. Wyndham deployed $105 million of them net in 2025 and expects about $110 million in 2026, per its 2025 10-K; its second-quarter 2026 10-Q carries a $374 million balance at June 30, 2026, and its third-quarter 2026 release reports $18 million spent in that quarter alone. Wyndham targets the notes at higher-rate brands such as La Quinta. The same filing also describes loans, mezzanine or subordinated financing, and a program that guarantees a portion of franchisee loans on certain new-construction projects. Bridge lends directly on construction from $10 million to $50 million, and on acquisitions and refinances of $10 million or more it structures the loan and runs the process through closing for a 0.50% fee.

Who finances a La Quinta Del Sol build?

Bridge closed more than $500 million of hotel loans in 2025. Market terms for rows 2 and 3 are from the Crittenden 2026 hotel lending survey. The USDA row matters more for La Quinta than for most flags because so much of the brand's footprint is in towns under 50,000 people, where a guaranteed loan lifts a community bank from 60% to 80% leverage.

How do lenders size a La Quinta construction loan?

Off the stabilized NOI from the comp set. Say your 100-room Del Sol sits in a market where the upper-midscale set runs 66% occupancy and a $122 ADR ($80.50 of RevPAR). It books about $2.94 million of room revenue and $3.05 million in total; after a 9.5% fee load, a 4% FF&E reserve and operating costs, NOI at a 37% margin is about $1.13 million.

A $90 RevPAR market lifts the loan to about $11 million and the loan-to-cost cap takes over; a $70 market drops it to $8.5 million.

Worked example: a 100-room La Quinta Del Sol

Building cost $14.8 million, the mid-range of the summarized Item 7, land $1.2 million, $16 million all-in, $160,000 per key, in a market supporting $80 of RevPAR.

Permanent debt service of about $831,000 on the senior loan ($9.8 million at 7% over 25 years) and $178,000 on the assessment gives 1.12x on the combined stack at $1.13 million of NOI; the lender will hold the senior piece near $9 million for 1.20x combined with the Wyndham note counted as equity, or require a $90 RevPAR comp set to keep the full $9.8 million. For an owner-operator at the low end of cost ($13.5 million all-in), a 504 at 50/35/15 carries a $4.7 million debenture under the cap, a $6.75 million bank first and $2 million of equity, at a blended rate near 7%. Where the brand's three-story, exterior-entry alternatives compete, the fee and cost comparison with Microtel is in Microtel by Wyndham new-build financing.

When is a La Quinta build the wrong tool?

• Avoid budgeting from the summarized Item 7. The two summaries differ by $1 million at the top, and neither states the room count; get the 2026 FDD from Wyndham.
• Avoid a site under about $70 of RevPAR. At $160,000 per key the senior loan drops to about 53% of cost there.
• Avoid SBA 504 above about $15.7 million of cost. The debenture cap binds.
• Avoid counting on a development advance before the agreement is signed. Wyndham targets them, and they are forgivable only in compliance.
• Avoid a market with a La Quinta or Hawthorn dual-brand opened inside three years without a demand study; 80-plus dual-brands are in the pipeline.