Hotel franchise fees › Red Lion Hotels / Red Lion Inn & Suites
Red Lion Hotels / Red Lion Inn & Suites Franchise Fees 2026: Royalty, Marketing and Initial Fee
Red Lion Hotels / Red Lion Inn & Suites is a midscale brand from Sonesta. 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.
Red Lion Hotels / Red Lion Inn & Suites fees at a glance
| Initial fee | Greater of $60,000 or $400 per room |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5% of GRR |
| Marketing or program fee | 3% of GRR |
| Royalty plus marketing | 8% of rooms revenue |
| Franchisor | Sonesta |
| Segment | Midscale |
| Disclosure year | — |
Source: Fees the franchisor supplied to a trade publication. Confirm them in the brand’s current FDD before you sign. Source 1 · Source 2
How Red Lion Hotels / Red Lion Inn & Suites compares
Red Lion Hotels / Red Lion Inn & Suites’s royalty and marketing fees add up to 8% of rooms revenue. That is below the 8.6% average for the 13 midscale brands in our table with a comparable headline figure, the 2nd-lowest of the 13.
| Midscale brand | Franchisor | Royalty | Marketing | Headline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| avid hotels | IHG | 5% | 3% (Services Contribution) | 8% |
| AmericInn by Wyndham | Wyndham | 5% of gross revenues | 3.25% (2% marketing plus 1.25% reservation fee) | 8.25% |
| Garner | IHG | 5.5% | 3% (Services Contribution) | 8.5% |
| Ramada by Wyndham | Wyndham | 5% | 3.5% (2% marketing plus 1.5% reservation fee) | 8.5% |
| Baymont by Wyndham | Wyndham | 5% | 3.5% (System Assessment Fee) | 8.5% |
| Sonesta Essential | Sonesta | 5% | 3.5% (Brand Promotion Fee; can rise to 4.5%) | 8.5% |
| Quality Inn | Choice Hotels | 5.25% | 3.5% (Marketing and Reservation Fee) | 8.75% |
| Clarion | Choice Hotels | 5.5% | 3.25% (Marketing and Reservation Fee) | 8.75% |
| Clarion Pointe | Choice Hotels | 5.5% | 3.25% (Marketing and Reservation Fee) | 8.75% |
| Park Inn by Radisson | Choice Hotels | 5.5% | 3.25% (Marketing and Reservation Fee) | 8.75% |
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 Sonesta 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 Sonesta brands
Sonesta Hotels, Resorts & Cruises · The Royal Sonesta · The James Hotels · Classico Collection by Sonesta · MOD Collection by Sonesta · Sonesta Select · Sonesta Essential · Sonesta ES Suites · Sonesta Simply Suites · Americas Best Value Inn · Signature Inn
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.