MainStay Suites Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
MainStay Suites is a Choice Hotels economy extended-stay franchise with in-room kitchens for longer stays. Franchisees own and operate individual properties, running rooms, housekeeping, and revenue management.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A MainStay Suites franchise requires a total initial investment of $8.7M – $15.8M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2024 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 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $8.7M – $15.8M
- 39th pct Lodging
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 1st pct Lodging
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 40th pct Lodging
- Units
- 126
- 39th 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
- Total investment $8.7M – $15.8M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Item 19 reports occupancy rate, ADR, and RevPAR for the Performance Sample (112 of 126 hotels), not gross sales quartiles or single-unit gross. No quartile or per-unit gross sales figures disclosed.
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 76/100 (higher is better).
- System growing at 24.8% CAGR over 3 years with 126 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Choice Hotels International, Inc.
- Parent company
- Choice Hotels International, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 915 Meeting Street, Suite 600, North Bethesda, Maryland 20852
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.5B
- vs $1.4B prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Patrick S. Pacious
- Headquarters
- Maryland
- Founded
- 1963
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 40
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 20% above the typical lodging franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $200K | $420K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $8.4M | $15.3M |
| Total initial investment | $8.7M | $15.8M |
Source: MainStay Suites 2024 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
- $8.7M – $15.8M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $200K – $420K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $472 |
| Transfer fee | $50K |
| Inventory (initial) | $213K – $330K |
| Total fee load | 8.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 19 reports occupancy rate, ADR, and RevPAR for the Performance Sample (112 of 126 hotels), not gross sales quartiles or single-unit gross. No quartile or per-unit gross sales 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 8.5% — below the Lodging average of 10.3%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports "other" rather than annual gross sales. Not directly comparable across brands.
Operator retention
System expanding at 24.8% CAGR over 3 years across 126 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 MainStay Suites Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 126
- Opened
- 14
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 2.4%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +24.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +24.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 14
- Closed (3yr)
- 3
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 1.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 1.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 30 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 9 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 9
- Loan volume
- $15.7M
- Median loan
- $1.3M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (9 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
- 9
- 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
MainStay Suites presents elevated risk due to franchisor's aggressive litigation posture (71 royalty actions annually), opaque profitability metrics, anemic unit growth, and high capital requirements relative to disclosed revenues.
Litigation (Item 3)
Section I discloses 3 pending matters: (1) Norma Knuth v. Radisson (Saskatchewan class action re undisclosed destination marketing fees, $403M demand); (2) Jai Sai Baba LLC v. Choice (E.D. Pa.; ~90 franchisees alleging RICO/Sherman Act/Civil Rights/state franchise law violations, stayed pending individual arbitration); (3) T&T Management v. Choice (M.D. Fla.; breach/data misappropriation re a Country Inn hotel). Section II lists many franchisor-initiated AAA arbitrations and court actions to recover royalties and liquidated damages.
Largest disclosed settlement: $403,000,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 76 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHAggressive litigation pattern: 71 royalty recovery actions in one fiscal year suggests systemic collection issues or franchisee financial distress
- 02MEDHigh investment threshold ($8.7M–$15.8M) with undisclosed net income creates opacity on actual profitability and ROI
- 03MEDModest unit growth (9.6% YoY) with 126 units is underwhelming for a branded economy hotel chain; limited scale advantages
- 04MINORSignificant post-termination IP enforcement actions (12 cases) indicate compliance/brand protection problems among departed franchisees
- 05MEDRevenue-to-investment ratio concern: $2.1M average revenue against $8.7M–$15.8M investment suggests 5–8 year payback at best, before accounting for undisclosed expenses
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · 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 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | 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 |
| Termination groundsℹ | 3 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 6 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Maryland |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Section I discloses 3 pending matters: (1) Norma Knuth v. Radisson (Saskatchewan class action re undisclosed destination marketing fees, $403M demand); (2) Jai Sai Baba LLC v. Choice (E.D. Pa.; ~90 franchisees alleging RICO/Sherman Act/Civil Rights/state franchise law violations, stayed pending individual arbitration); (3) T&T Management v. Choice (M.D. Fla.; breach/data misappropriation re a Country Inn hotel). Section II lists many franchisor-initiated AAA arbitrations and court actions to recover royalties and liquidated damages.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 50 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 105 hrs
- Training location
- North Bethesda, Maryland; Scottsdale, Arizona; online; or a property designated by franchisor
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- choiceADVANTAGE
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: choiceADVANTAGE
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
60 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
MainStay Suites · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a MainStay Suites franchise?
The total investment to open a MainStay Suites franchise ranges from $8.7M – $15.8M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do MainStay Suites franchise owners earn?
MainStay Suites 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 MainStay Suites's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for MainStay Suites (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 MainStay Suites franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, MainStay Suites has 126 total units in the United States, including 126 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 14 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is MainStay Suites a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates MainStay Suites as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 76 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 MainStay Suites, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Lodging franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Lodging category
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.