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Comfort Inn Franchise Fees 2026: Royalty, Marketing and Initial Fee
Comfort Inn is an upper midscale brand from Choice Hotels. 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.
Comfort Inn fees at a glance
| Initial fee | $500 per room, minimum $50,000 (new franchises); $750 per room, minimum $65,000 (transfers and renewals); includes $5,000 application fee |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6% |
| Marketing or program fee | 3.5% (Marketing and Reservation Fee) |
| Royalty plus marketing | 9.5% of rooms revenue |
| Franchisor | Choice Hotels |
| Segment | Upper midscale |
| Disclosure year | 2026 |
Note: One FDD covers Comfort Inn, Comfort Inn & Suites and Comfort Suites. 2026 FDD (issued April 1, 2026, amended May 20, 2026) on file with the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Plus a Choice Privileges loyalty fee on member stays.
Source: Read in Comfort Inn’s 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). Source 1
How Comfort Inn compares
Comfort Inn’s royalty and marketing fees add up to 9.5% of rooms revenue. That is above the 8.7% average for the 11 upper midscale brands in our table with a comparable headline figure, the 8th-lowest of the 11.
| Upper midscale brand | Franchisor | Royalty | Marketing | Headline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GrandStay Hotels | GrandStay | 5% | 2% | 7% |
| Holiday Inn | IHG | 5% | 3% (Services Contribution) | 8% |
| Hyatt Select | Hyatt | 5% | 3% (Commercial Services Fee) | 8% |
| Wyndham Garden | Wyndham | 5% | 3% (Marketing and Global Sales Fee) | 8% |
| Wingate by Wyndham | Wyndham | 5.5% | 3% (System Assessment Fee) | 8.5% |
| Undergraduate by Hilton | Hilton | 5% | 4% | 9% |
| Holiday Inn Express | IHG | 6% | 3% (Services Contribution) | 9% |
| Comfort Suites | Choice Hotels | 6% | 3.5% (Marketing and Reservation Fee) | 9.5% |
| Country Inn & Suites by Radisson | Choice Hotels | 6% | 3.5% (Marketing and Reservation Fee) | 9.5% |
| Hampton by Hilton | Hilton | 6% | 4% | 10% |
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 Choice Hotels 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.
Other Choice Hotels brands
Comfort Suites · Quality Inn · Sleep Inn · Clarion · Clarion Pointe · Cambria Hotels · Ascend Hotel Collection · Econo Lodge · Rodeway Inn · MainStay Suites · Suburban Studios · WoodSpring Suites · Everhome Suites · Country Inn & Suites by Radisson · Radisson · Radisson Blu · Radisson Individuals · Park Inn by Radisson
Keep going
- Compare franchise fees for all 164 brands
- Price per key, cap rate and OTA cost calculators
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- 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.