Marriott Franchise Fees by Brand in 2026: Fairfield, TownePlace, SpringHill, Courtyard, Residence Inn, StudioRes and City Express, With SBA Eligibility and What Lenders Need

Marriott's franchise fees in 2026 run on two models. The select-service brands charge an application fee of $75,000 to $90,000 and a franchise fee (the royalty) of 5.5% to 6% of gross room sales. On top of that they charge a program services contribution of 2.56% to 3.85% that includes the marketing fund, and a loyalty charge of 1% to 2.3%, for about 10% to 12% of room revenue in total. The two midscale brands, StudioRes and City Express, charge a single bundled fee of 9% and 10.5%. All seven franchise agreements run 20 years from opening authorization and are not renewable, and every one of the brands is on the SBA Franchise Directory, according to the U.S. franchise disclosure documents Marriott issued on March 31, 2026.

The fees sit next to the costs a lender reads in the same documents: $154,000 to $247,000 per key to build an 80- to 110-room Fairfield before land, $113,000 to $150,000 for a 124-room StudioRes, and $27,600 to $49,000 per key to convert an existing 100-room hotel to City Express. This guide gives the fee schedule, the build cost and 2025 performance by brand, the SBA codes and 2026 rules, what lenders require on a Marriott deal, and the fee math on a $4 million Fairfield. Bridge lends directly on construction and PIPs and arranges Marriott-flagged acquisitions and refinances at a 50-basis-point fee on loans of $10 million or more; the loan sizes are on its hotel financing page.

Key takeaways

• Select brands: $75,000 to $90,000 application, 5.5% to 6% royalty, 2.56% to 3.85% program services, 1% to 2.3% loyalty.
• StudioRes and City Express: single bundled fees of 9% and 10.5% of gross room sales.
• All seven agreements run 20 years from opening authorization, non-renewable.
• Every Marriott select and midscale brand is on the SBA Franchise Directory; Four Points Flex is not.
• Marriott spent $434 million on key money in 2025, up from $341 million, mostly outside the select tier.

What are Marriott's franchise fees by brand in 2026?

All figures are from the FDDs dated March 31, 2026 on Marriott's development site. "GRS" is gross room sales. Program services contributions (PSC) include the marketing fund share shown.

Four notes on the schedule. A Fairfield and TownePlace dual-brand signed by March 30, 2027 on the dual-brand prototype pays a single $100,000 application fee plus $400 per room over 140. City Express's 10.5% bundled fee comes with a 5% procurement fee on the mandatory FF&E and OS&E package, which runs $974,800 to $1,729,800 through Marriott Design & Construction. Among the select brands, Residence Inn's 2.56% program services contribution is the lowest and Courtyard's 3.35% sits with TownePlace's, so the royalty alone misranks them. And the Fairfield FDD mentions a temporary franchise-fee reduction under a development incentive program without stating the terms; on the 10-K's own numbers, Marriott's royalties "typically range from four to seven percent," so the schedule is the ceiling for a strong developer.

What does it cost to build each Marriott brand?

Item 7 of each FDD gives a new-build estimate for a "typical newly constructed suburban hotel," excluding real estate, permit and impact fees, insurance and contingency; per-key figures are the FDD total divided by the room count at each end of the range. Fairfield's FDD, for example, puts an 80- to 110-room hotel at $12,289,300 to $27,222,300 and reports a $135.01 ADR, 67.7% occupancy and $91.44 RevPAR for 2025, against a 5.5% royalty and a 3.85% program services contribution.

These ranges move every year: HVS puts the trailing construction-cost increase at 4.8%, and Hilton's Home2 moved 15% at the low end in one year, so a budget from last year's FDD is stale. Residence Inn earns the highest RevPAR and index in the select tier, which is why its cost per key is tolerated; StudioRes is the lowest-cost build Marriott has ever franchised, aimed at the $60 to $70 RevPAR economy extended-stay segment.

Which Marriott brands are SBA eligible?

All of the select and midscale brands, per the SBA Franchise Directory effective October 15, 2026: Fairfield S0620, TownePlace Suites S1812, SpringHill Suites S1610, Courtyard S0433, Residence Inn S1425, StudioRes S8679 and City Express S8680 (both added March 27, 2026), Four Points by Sheraton S0665, plus Series by Marriott S8685 and Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy S8676. Four Points Flex has no U.S. listing and no U.S. FDD. Every listing requires the lender to confirm any third-party manager is not affiliated with Marriott, and the Residence Inn and StudioRes listings add the extended-stay test: more than 50% of revenue from guests staying 30 days or less.

The 2026 SBA rules that bite on a Marriott deal: every owner and guarantor must be a U.S. citizen or national since March 1, 2026; the 7(a) cap is $5 million per loan, combinable with a $5 million 504 since July 4; a hotel is special-purpose property, so a 504 needs 15% equity (20% if the business is also new); and the 20-year Marriott term against a 25-year SBA real-estate amortization is a credit-memo item the lender documents, not a bar. The full brand table and rules are in the SBA Franchise Directory check for hotel brands.

Does Marriott give key money?

Yes, and more each year, but mostly above the select tier. Marriott's contract acquisition costs, its key money line, were $434 million in 2025 against $341 million in 2024, and per-deal amounts on select brands remain below 2019 levels; industry key money is capped near 5% of project cost. The select-brand FDDs say in Item 10 that Marriott generally does not finance franchisees but may, in very limited circumstances and at its sole discretion, provide a contingent loan guaranty or a mezzanine loan; the StudioRes agreement references repayment of unamortized key money "if applicable" without disclosing a program.

What do lenders need to see on a Marriott franchise deal?

1. The executed franchise agreement and every Marriott-required document, including the technical services and design review agreements, before an SBA disbursement or construction draw.
2. The 20-year term documented against the loan. Non-renewable, from opening authorization; a lender amortizing over 25 years records why.
3. The PIP, funded at closing, on any acquisition; Marriott's change-of-ownership PIPs on Fairfield and Courtyard are among the most detailed in the industry, and 2026 CMBS loans sweep cash to 115% of an unfunded PIP.
4. A pro forma anchored to Item 19. Fairfield at $91.44 RevPAR and Courtyard at $109.23 are the 2025 system averages; a pro forma 20% above them gets haircut.
5. The total fee load in the NOI. Select brands run 10% to 12% of room revenue including loyalty and the fixed annual charges; StudioRes 9%; City Express 10.5%. A lender that models 8% overstates NOI by two points of revenue.
6. The SBA code and the manager test on an SBA loan.

Bridge lends directly on construction from $10 million and arranges Marriott-flagged acquisition and refinance loans with bank hotel desks, CMBS conduits, debt funds and SBA lenders; it closed more than $500 million of hotel loans in 2025.

Worked example: the fee load on a $4 million Fairfield

A 100-room Fairfield at the 2025 system RevPAR of $91.44 books $3.34 million of room sales and about $3.5 million in total revenue.

The same hotel in the example, run as a 100-room StudioRes at $65 of RevPAR ($2.37 million of room sales), pays 9%, $213,000. As a City Express conversion in the example at $75 of RevPAR ($2.74 million) it pays 10.5%, $287,000. On a lender's model, a pro forma that counts only the 5.5% royalty shows about $1.2 million of NOI on $3.5 million of revenue; the full fee load takes it to about $1.05 million, a 30% margin, which at a 12% debt yield is $1.25 million less loan. How that NOI flows into the loan sizing on a new build is in Fairfield by Marriott: cost to build and financing.

When are Marriott's fees the wrong frame?

• Avoid comparing the royalty alone. The program services contribution, the fixed annual charges and the loyalty fee add four to six points.
• Avoid budgeting the Fairfield schedule on a dual-brand. The Fairfield-TownePlace dual-brand pays one $100,000 fee through March 2027.
• Avoid expecting key money on a Fairfield or TownePlace. Marriott's $434 million goes mostly to full-service and conversion deals.
• Avoid a City Express pro forma that ignores the 5% procurement fee. The mandatory FF&E and OS&E package runs $974,800 to $1,729,800 through Marriott Design & Construction.
• Avoid a 20-year term on a 30-year CMBS amortization without a lender conversation. It is a documented exception, not a default.