Aloft Hotels Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Aloft Hotels is Marriott's upper-midscale, design-forward select-service hotel franchise aimed at younger travelers. Franchisees own and operate individual properties, running rooms, bar, and guest services on Marriott's systems.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Aloft Hotels franchise requires a total initial investment of $13.3M – $29.4M, including a $75K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.5% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $13.3M – $29.4M
- 51st pct Lodging
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 38th pct Lodging
- Units
- 166
- 51st pct Lodging
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Lodging · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Lodging avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $13.3M – $29.4M including a $75K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports ADR/Occupancy/RevPAR (not full gross sales). For the 149 STR Included Hotels in 2024: average ADR $154.61, average OCC 69.7%, average RevPAR $107.73, RevPAR Index 100.8. RevPAR ranged $31.92-$197.04 (median $99.76); ADR ranged $80.85-$232.01 (median $144.86). No revenue/profit figures disclosed.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 64/100 (higher is better).
- LEGAL15 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3, higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- MIF, L.L.C.
- Parent company
- Marriott International, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 7750 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $103.3M
- vs $94.4M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Anthony Capuano
- Headquarters
- Maryland
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 35
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 117% above the typical lodging franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Application Fee | $75K | $75K | |
| Pre-Opening Training, Revenue Management, Marketing & Digital Support, and Related Servicesnot refundable | $50K | $81K | |
| Property Management, Reservation, Yield Management, Opportunity Management, and Other Systems | $83K | $135K | |
| Market Feasibility Study | $6K | $18K | |
| Real Estate | — | — | |
| Building Permit, Tap, and Impact Fees | — | — | |
| Building Construction | $127K | $212K | |
| Kitchen and Laundry Equipment | $4K | $6K | |
| Furniture and Fixtures | $17K | $24K | |
| Technology Hardware & Software and Network Infrastructure | $136K | $239K | |
| Operating Supplies | $184K | $252K | |
| Professional Design Services (including stylist) | $380K | $854K | |
| Insurance | — | — | |
| Start-up Costs | $2K | $4K | |
| Hard Cost Contingency (5% of hard costs) | — | — | |
| Food Safety and Sanitation Compliance | $210 | $210 | |
| Food and Beverage Consulting Services | $6K | $8K | |
| Opening Advertising | $121K | $156K | |
| Additional Funds (first 3 months) | $3K | $5K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.2M | $2.1M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $13.3M – $29.4M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $160K – $550K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $75K – $75K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $150K |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Aloft Hotels did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Aloft Hotels unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
0%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 reports ADR/Occupancy/RevPAR (not full gross sales). For the 149 STR Included Hotels in 2024: average ADR $154.61, average OCC 69.7%, average RevPAR $107.73, RevPAR Index 100.8. RevPAR ranged $31.92-$197.04 (median $99.76); ADR ranged $80.85-$232.01 (median $144.86). No revenue/profit figures disclosed.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.5% — below the Lodging average of 10.4%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports occupancy, ADR and RevPAR rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System expanding at 6.5% CAGR over 3 years across 166 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
Only 15% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Lodging averages
How Aloft Hotels Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 166
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.6%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 15.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +6.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +6.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 5
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 5
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 3.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 99.4%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 0.6%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 34 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 3 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 3
- Loan volume
- $8.2M
- Median loan
- $1.0M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (3 loans) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Aloft presents meaningful caution-level risk due to extreme capital requirements without financial transparency, litigation overhang from data breach, stagnant unit growth, and unprotected territories—requiring deep validation of actual unit economics before commitment.
Litigation (Item 3)
Item 3 discloses: (A) Data Security Incident matters (4 case groups incl. MDL No. 19-md-2879, City of Chicago v. Marriott, administrative investigations, Canadian actions); (B) Destination/Resort Fee matter (District of Columbia v. Marriott); (C) 3 franchisor-initiated arbitrations/suits (Arkansas Knoxville Hotel, Lucky Cleveland Holdings, Pride Hotel); (D) 3 other pending actions (Portillo v. CoStar antitrust, Segal v. Amadeus antitrust, Hall v. Marriott $16M NC verdict on appeal); (E) 6 concluded actions (Rahman, HPT arbitration, Rivera, Puleo, Cityfront, Todd Hall). Most matters target parent MII; franchisor-initiated suits target franchisees.
Largest disclosed settlement: $52,000,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDMassive capital requirement ($13.3M-$36.2M) with no disclosed net income data to validate ROI
- 02MINORAnemic unit growth of only 2.5% YoY suggests market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction in 166-unit system
- 03HIGHOngoing 2018 Starwood data breach litigation creates reputational risk and potential liability exposure for franchisees
- 04MINORNo protected territory means direct competition from other Aloft franchisees and Marriott brands in same market
- 05MINOR5.5% royalty on gross room sales is owed regardless of profitability, creating cash flow pressure during downturns
- 06MINORMultiple class-action lawsuits and antitrust investigations indicate systemic franchisor governance issues
- 07MINORAbsence of Item 19 (financial performance representations) prevents validation of $107.73M average revenue claim
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 0 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 0 |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 15 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Item 3 discloses: (A) Data Security Incident matters (4 case groups incl. MDL No. 19-md-2879, City of Chicago v. Marriott, administrative investigations, Canadian actions); (B) Destination/Resort Fee matter (District of Columbia v. Marriott); (C) 3 franchisor-initiated arbitrations/suits (Arkansas Knoxville Hotel, Lucky Cleveland Holdings, Pride Hotel); (D) 3 other pending actions (Portillo v. CoStar antitrust, Segal v. Amadeus antitrust, Hall v. Marriott $16M NC verdict on appeal); (E) 6 concluded actions (Rahman, HPT arbitration, Rivera, Puleo, Cityfront, Todd Hall). Most matters target parent MII; franchisor-initiated suits target franchisees.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 154 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Off-site and on-site
- Time to open
- 30 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Designated POS System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Designated POS System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
172 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Aloft Hotels · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Aloft Hotels franchise?
The total investment to open a Aloft Hotels franchise ranges from $13.3M – $29.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $75K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Aloft Hotels franchise owners earn?
Aloft Hotels does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Aloft Hotels FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Aloft Hotels FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Aloft Hotels's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Aloft Hotels (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Aloft Hotels franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Aloft Hotels has 166 total units in the United States, including 164 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Aloft Hotels a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Aloft Hotels as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 64 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.