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Hilton Hotels & Resorts Franchise Fees 2026: Royalty, Marketing and Initial Fee
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an upper upscale brand from Hilton. 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.
Hilton Hotels & Resorts fees at a glance
| Initial fee | $85,000 plus $400 for each additional guest room or suite over 250 (new development or conversion) |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5% |
| Marketing or program fee | 4% |
| Royalty plus marketing | 9% of rooms revenue |
| Franchisor | Hilton |
| Segment | Upper upscale |
| Disclosure year | 2026 |
Note: Also a monthly food and beverage fee of 3% of gross food and beverage revenue.
Source: Read in Hilton Hotels & Resorts’s 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). Source 1
How Hilton Hotels & Resorts compares
Hilton Hotels & Resorts’s royalty and marketing fees add up to 9% of rooms revenue. That is above the 8.5% average for the 4 upper upscale brands in our table with a comparable headline figure, the 3rd-lowest of the 4.
| Upper upscale brand | Franchisor | Royalty | Marketing | Headline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyndham Grand | Wyndham | 5% | 3% (Marketing and Global Sales Fee) | 8% |
| Dolce Hotels and Resorts by Wyndham | Wyndham | 5% | 3% (marketing fee) | 8% |
| Radisson Blu | Choice Hotels | 6% | 3% (Marketing and Reservation Fee) | 9% |
| Embassy Suites by Hilton | Hilton | 3.5% year 1, 4.5% year 2, 5.5% thereafter (new development/conversion); 5.5% for change of ownership or re-licensing | 4% | — |
| Sheraton | Marriott | 6% of gross room sales plus 2% of gross F&B sales | 1% | — |
| Marriott Hotels | Marriott | 6% of gross room sales plus 3% of gross F&B sales | 1% | — |
| Westin | Marriott | 7% of gross room sales plus 3% of gross F&B sales | 1.325% | — |
| Le Méridien | Marriott | 5% of gross room sales plus 2% of gross F&B sales | 1% | — |
| Renaissance | Marriott | 5% | 1.5% | — |
| Delta Hotels | Marriott | 5% | 1.5% | — |
What it costs on a typical hotel
Take a 100-room Hilton Hotels & Resorts running 70% occupancy at a $130 average daily rate. That is about $3,321,500 in rooms revenue a year.
| Royalty (5%) | $166,075 a year |
| Marketing (4%) | $132,860 a year |
| Royalty plus marketing | $298,935 a year |
Illustrative math by The Hotelier Times, not a quote. It leaves out reservation, loyalty, technology and other program fees, which usually push the real total higher.
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 Hilton 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 Hilton brands
Hampton by Hilton · Hilton Garden Inn · Home2 Suites by Hilton · Tru by Hilton · Homewood Suites by Hilton · DoubleTree by Hilton · Embassy Suites by Hilton · Curio Collection by Hilton · Tapestry Collection by Hilton · Canopy by Hilton · Motto by Hilton · Spark by Hilton · LivSmart Studios by Hilton · Tempo by Hilton · Graduate by Hilton · LXR Hotels & Resorts · Outset Collection by Hilton · Apartment Collection by Hilton · Undergraduate by Hilton
Keep going
- Compare franchise fees for all 164 brands
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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.