LivSmart Studios by Hilton: What It Costs to Build, How Owners Finance It and What Lenders Need to See (2026)

A LivSmart Studios by Hilton costs $16,299,093 to $24,047,210 to build for the 121-room prototype, excluding land, according to the franchise disclosure document Hilton issued March 30, 2026. That is $134,700 to $198,700 per key. Owners finance it with a construction loan sized on the stabilized NOI, which for this brand lands at 50% to 65% of cost, a C-PACE layer on the mechanical and envelope scope, and 30% to 40% equity. The complication for a lender is that LivSmart has no track record yet: only two franchised hotels were open at the end of 2025, the FDD makes no financial performance representation, and the brand's 107 signed-but-unopened U.S. agreements are the pipeline lenders are underwriting against.

That makes the underwriting a segment exercise. Lenders anchor a LivSmart pro forma to the economy and midscale extended-stay brands with data: WoodSpring's purpose-built hotels at about 77.5% occupancy and $52 of RevPAR, Extended Stay America Premier Suites at 76% and $69, and the extended-stay segment's 12-point occupancy premium over the industry in 2025. On that basis a 121-room LivSmart at $66 of RevPAR earns about $1.15 million of NOI and supports $9.5 million to $10.5 million of senior debt, about 50% of a $21 million all-in cost, which is why the equity on a LivSmart runs higher than on a WoodSpring. This guide gives the cost and fee facts, the pipeline, the lenders, the sizing, and a worked stack. Bridge's Hilton program is on its Hilton owner page.

Key takeaways

• 2026 FDD: $16.3M to $24.0M for 121 rooms before land, $135K to $199K per key.
• Fees: $100,000 application, 6% royalty, 2.5% program fee (tied for the lowest in the Hilton system), 22-year term.
• No Item 19 yet: 2 franchised hotels open at year-end 2025, 107 agreements signed, 6 openings projected for 2026.
• Lenders size on segment NOI: about $1.15M on 121 rooms at $66 RevPAR, supporting $9.5M to $10.5M of senior debt.
• Bridge lends directly on Hilton construction $10M to $50M and is Hilton's official capital partner.

What does a LivSmart Studios cost to build?

From the LivSmart Studios by Hilton 2026 FDD, which puts the 121-room prototype at $16,299,093 to $24,047,210 before land, with a $100,000 application fee, a 6% royalty and a 2.5% program fee, issued March 30, 2026.

Item 6 of the FDD discloses that Hilton modified the royalty in 28 LivSmart agreements in 2025, and Item 5 that 2025 new-development application fees across Hilton brands ranged from $0 to $100,000, so the schedule is a starting point for a developer signing several. The 2.5% program fee is tied with Homewood Suites for the lowest in Hilton's portfolio, which matters on an economy extended-stay where total fees drive margin: 8.5% all-in (6% plus 2.5%) against Home2's 9.5% (6% plus 3.5%) and Hampton's 10%.

How does LivSmart compare with the other economy extended-stay builds?

LivSmart is the most expensive of the new economy extended-stay prototypes per key, though still under HVS's $170,000 to $197,000 median for limited-service and midscale extended-stay hotels at the low end. It carries the Hilton Honors distribution that the others cannot match. The segment's case rests on extended-stay hotels running an occupancy premium of about 12 points over the industry in 2025 and losing the least RevPAR in the downturn. But the cheapest row is not always the right build, and neither is the Hilton row: whether the flag earns a $15 to $20 RevPAR premium over a WoodSpring is the underwriting question every lender is asking in 2026, and none of them will answer it with a pro forma above ESA Premier's $69 RevPAR until the brand has a year of Item 19 data. The segment context is in the cost per key of an economy extended-stay hotel.

Who finances a LivSmart Studios build?

Bridge closed more than $500 million of hotel loans in 2025, and on construction it lends senior capital from its own balance sheet. Banks are the cautious row: a brand with two open hotels is a harder credit-committee conversation than a WoodSpring with 298, and several regional banks are waiting for a 2026 Item 19 before they lend on the flag.

How do lenders size a LivSmart construction loan?

Off a segment-anchored NOI. For this hotel, 76% occupancy and an $87 ADR give $66 of RevPAR, and 121 rooms at that rate produce about $2.92 million of room revenue and $3.0 million in total. At a 52% GOP margin, which a lean extended-stay payroll of six to eight employees delivers, less property taxes and insurance of about $280,000 and a 4% FF&E reserve of $120,000, NOI is about $1.15 million, a 38% margin. A heavier payroll takes GOP to 42% and NOI to about $860,000, which is the case a cautious lender runs first.

That is the LivSmart problem in one row: at $21 million all-in and economy extended-stay NOI, the senior loan is half the cost, and the sponsor needs a C-PACE layer and $7 million to $8 million of equity, or a site with ADR in the mid-$90s. The same NOI on a $14 million WoodSpring is 71% leverage. The requirements every construction lender runs are in hotel construction loans in 2026.

Worked example: a 121-room LivSmart Studios

Building cost $19.5 million (mid-range of Item 7), land $1.5 million, $21 million all-in, about $173,600 per key.

At $1.15 million of stabilized NOI, permanent debt service of about $890,000 on the senior loan and $267,000 on the assessment gives 0.99x on the combined stack in year one and 1.22x once NOI reaches $1.4 million at a $75 RevPAR, which is the pro forma Hilton's distribution argues for and lenders will test. The practical structures that close in 2026: a 36-month construction loan with a stabilization ramp built into the covenants, or a mini-perm that defers the coverage test to month 30. If the site supports a $95 ADR and 78% occupancy ($74 RevPAR), NOI rises to about $1.45 million and the senior loan to $13 million at 62% of cost.

What do lenders need to see on a LivSmart deal?

1. The executed Hilton franchise agreement.
2. A GMP contract with a bonded contractor and a 10% to 15% contingency.
3. A budget inside the $16.3 million to $24.0 million range.
4. An STR study of the market's extended-stay set, with a pro forma anchored to WoodSpring, ECHO or ESA Premier data rather than Hilton's select brands.
5. Sponsor liquidity of 10% to 20% of the loan.
6. A prior extended-stay or select-service build on the guaranty.
7. A takeout plan with a 24- to 36-month ramp.

On an SBA loan the directory code is S8734 with the transient test: more than 50% of revenue from guests staying 30 days or less. Hilton's Lender Comfort Letter costs $3,500. Key money is discretionary and Hilton directs 85% to 90% of it to upscale and luxury, but a new brand in a market Hilton wants is the exception; the fee concessions and key money facts are in Hilton franchise fees by brand.

When is a LivSmart Studios the wrong build?

• Avoid it at the high end of Item 7. At $199,000 per key before land, economy extended-stay NOI supports about 45% leverage.
• Avoid it with a bank that wants Item 19 data. The brand has none until 2027; use a direct lender or debt fund.
• Avoid a pro forma above $75 of RevPAR unless the market's ESA Premier or Home2 comp set supports it; lenders haircut to the segment.
• Avoid a site under two acres. The 121-room prototype needs the footprint, and site work is excluded from the FDD construction line.
• Avoid it if a WoodSpring or ECHO at $100,000 to $140,000 per key would serve the same demand. The Hilton flag has to earn the $40,000 per key difference.