Hotel franchise fees › AC Hotels
AC Hotels Franchise Fees 2026: Royalty, Marketing and Initial Fee
AC Hotels is a lifestyle brand from Marriott. Here is what it charges to join and to stay in the system, where the numbers come from, and how they compare with similar brands.
AC Hotels fees at a glance
| Initial fee | New-to-system: $90,000 plus $500 per guestroom in excess of 150 guestrooms; existing AC Hotel: greater of $200,000 or $500 per guestroom |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6% |
| Marketing or program fee | 2.5% |
| Royalty plus marketing | Not shown as a single figure (see note) |
| Franchisor | Marriott |
| Segment | Lifestyle |
| Disclosure year | 2026 |
Note: Marketing = marketing-fund portion of a Program Services Contribution of 3.85% of GRS plus US$10,000/yr plus US$220/room/yr.
Source: Initial fee: FDD; rates: trade press. Source 1 · Source 2
How AC Hotels compares
We don’t show a single headline percentage for AC Hotels, because its fees aren’t two simple percentages of rooms revenue; see the note above. Compare the royalty and marketing lines directly with the lifestyle brands below.
| Lifestyle brand | Franchisor | Royalty | Marketing | Headline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motto by Hilton | Hilton | 5% | 3% | 8% |
| Unscripted by Hyatt | Hyatt | 5% | 3% (Commercial Services Fee; 3.5% with more than 5,000 sq ft of meeting space) | 8% |
| TRYP by Wyndham | Wyndham | 5% | 3% (Marketing and Reservation Fee) | 8% |
| Hotel Indigo | IHG | 5% | 3.5% (Services Contribution) | 8.5% |
| Caption by Hyatt | Hyatt | 5% | 3.5% (Commercial Services Fee) | 8.5% |
| The StandardX | Hyatt | 5% | 3.5% (Commercial Services Fee) | 8.5% |
| The James Hotels | Sonesta | 5% | 3.5% (Brand Promotion Fee; can rise to 4.5%) | 8.5% |
| Canopy by Hilton | Hilton | 5% | 4% | 9% |
| Tempo by Hilton | Hilton | 5% | 4% | 9% |
| Graduate by Hilton | Hilton | 5% | 4% | 9% |
What the headline number leaves out
Royalty and marketing are only the start. Most brands also charge for reservations and distribution, loyalty-program assessments on member stays, required technology and property-management systems, training and quality assurance. Brands also negotiate: ramp-up royalty discounts, key money and conversion incentives are common. Ask Marriott for its estimate of total fees as a share of rooms revenue, and read Items 5 and 6 of the current FDD before you sign. Our analysis of what owners really pay a brand puts the typical all-in bill at 10% to 13% of rooms revenue.
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Keep going
- Compare franchise fees for all 164 brands
- Price per key, cap rate and OTA cost calculators
- Hotels for sale across the U.S.
- 2026 hotel sales tracker
The Hotelier Times is a publisher, not a franchise adviser. Fees change; confirm every figure in the brand’s current Franchise Disclosure Document. Spot an error? Email nathan@hoteliertimes.com.