Holiday Inn Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Holiday Inn franchise requires a total initial investment of $13.9M – $20.9M, including a $75K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The latest FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 8.3% charge-off rate across 215 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified
Overview
- Investment
- $13.9M – $20.9M
- 48th pct Lodging
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 1st pct Lodging
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 40th pct Lodging
- Units
- 2,340
- 58th pct Lodging
- SBA charge-off
- 8.3%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
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
- Total investment $13.9M – $20.9M including a $75K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Item 19 discloses per-room hotel operating metrics (not whole-unit revenue): 2025 Average Occupancy Rate 70.1% (range 26.3%-99.0%, median 70.5%); Average Daily Room Rate (ADR) $136.34 (range $81.11-$272.63, median $132.07); Average RevPAR $95.62 (range $41.02-$249.25, median $92.47), for 1,747 Mature Hotels open 2+ years as of 12/31/2025. Also discloses Average Enterprise Contribution (90.3%) and Loyalty Program Contribution metrics (66.2% average revenue contribution, $141.97 ADR, 68.1% room-nights contribution). No whole-hotel gross revenue or net income figures are disclosed.
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 78/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 8.3% across 215 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- 38 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
- Holiday Hospitality Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Six Continents Hotels, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- InterContinental Hotels Group, PLC
- Predecessor
- Holiday Inns Franchising, Inc. / Holiday Hospitality Franchising, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer, InterContinental Hotels Group, PLC
- Elie W. Maalouf
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- Three Ravinia Drive, Suite 100, Atlanta, Georgia 30346
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $38.8M
- vs $39.4M prior year
Overview
About
Holiday Inn Express and Holiday Inn Express & Suites branded hotels, operated under license from Holiday Hospitality Franchising, LLC, a subsidiary of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).
- CEO
- Elie W. Maalouf
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 1989
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 70% above the typical lodging franchise.
Source: FDD · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $75K | $75K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $150K | $225K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $13.6M | $20.6M |
| Total initial investment | $13.9M | $20.9M |
Source: Holiday Inn FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $13.9M – $20.9M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $150K – $225K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $75K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $17 |
| Training fee | $3K |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD · Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 19 discloses per-room hotel operating metrics (not whole-unit revenue): 2025 Average Occupancy Rate 70.1% (range 26.3%-99.0%, median 70.5%); Average Daily Room Rate (ADR) $136.34 (range $81.11-$272.63, median $132.07); Average RevPAR $95.62 (range $41.02-$249.25, median $92.47), for 1,747 Mature Hotels open 2+ years as of 12/31/2025. Also discloses Average Enterprise Contribution (90.3%) and Loyalty Program Contribution metrics (66.2% average revenue contribution, $141.97 ADR, 68.1% room-nights contribution). No whole-hotel gross revenue or net income figures are disclosed.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
6.0% royalty + 3.0% ad fund.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports "occupancy_adr_revpar" rather than annual gross sales. Not directly comparable across brands.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+1.6% 3-year CAGR) with 2,340 units.
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 Holiday Inn Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2,340
- Opened
- 39
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 2
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 20
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.5%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 1%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +1.6%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +1.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 42
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 3
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 8
- Transfers (3yr)
- 117
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 215
- Loan volume
- $539.4M
- Median loan
- $1.8M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 8.3%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 91.3%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 82
- Defaults
- 12
- Typical loan rate
- 5.3%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- NAICS 7211
- Jobs supported
- 3,155
- 0.9 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 5%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% to established operators
Vintage analysis
Holiday Inn charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Holiday Inn franchisees
Showing 3 of 82 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 8.3% — 48% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
Numerous suits by Holiday against licensees for unpaid fees/liquidated damages after termination (many resulting in counterclaims alleging breach of good faith, unreasonable standards, kickbacks from required vendors); several putative class actions alleging improper franchise practices/kickbacks under state deceptive trade practices and franchise acts, largely resolved in Holiday's favor or settled without payment; one historical settlement paid by Holiday of $10.9M (Lenexa Hotel matter); a confidential arbitration award against an IHG entity (Tsemex) and against IHG Hotels Limited in the Foremost Hospitality arbitration.
Largest disclosed settlement: $10,900,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers 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: Yes
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 0 |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination groundsℹ | 15 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | GA |
| Litigation count | 38 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Numerous suits by Holiday against licensees for unpaid fees/liquidated damages after termination (many resulting in counterclaims alleging breach of good faith, unreasonable standards, kickbacks from required vendors); several putative class actions alleging improper franchise practices/kickbacks under state deceptive trade practices and franchise acts, largely resolved in Holiday's favor or settled without payment; one historical settlement paid by Holiday of $10.9M (Lenexa Hotel matter); a confidential arbitration award against an IHG entity (Tsemex) and against IHG Hotels Limited in the Foremost Hospitality arbitration.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 120 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 24 hrs
- Training location
- Atlanta, GA / hotel site / virtual / regional
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 24 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- licensee, with Holiday reviewing for brand strategy alignment only (not commercial viability or legal compliance)
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- HotelKey Cloud PMS (or OPERA Cloud)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: HotelKey Cloud PMS (or OPERA Cloud)
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Holiday Inn franchise?
The total investment to open a Holiday Inn franchise ranges from $13.9M – $20.9M, 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 Holiday Inn franchise owners earn?
Holiday Inn 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 Holiday Inn's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Holiday Inn has a charge-off rate of 8.3% across 215 loans, meaning 8.3% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Holiday Inn franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Holiday Inn has 2,340 total units in the United States, including 2,340 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 39 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Holiday Inn a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Holiday Inn as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 78 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Holiday Inn, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.