Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
JW Marriott is Marriott's luxury full-service hotel franchise for upscale business and leisure travelers. Franchisees own and operate individual properties, running rooms, dining, events, and guest services on Marriott's systems.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott franchise does not disclose total investment in its current FDD, including a $100K – $120K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 11 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $100K
- 3rd pct Lodging
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 1st pct Lodging
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 40th pct Lodging
- Units
- 369
- 48th pct Lodging
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % 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 $100K including a $100K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- MIF, L.L.C. statements of income ($ in thousands). FY2025 total revenue $147,482K = net fee revenues $96,599K (gross fee revenue $98,016K less contract investment amortization $1,417K) plus cost reimbursement revenue $50,883K. Other revenue = licensing fees and other revenue $2,989K (component of gross fee revenue).
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 86/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 11 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- Item 19 reports "operating_metrics" instead of annual gross sales. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- MIF, L.L.C.
- Parent company
- Marriott International, Inc.
- CEO title
- Director, Chief Executive Officer, and President (of MII)
- Anthony Capuano
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 7750 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $147.5M
- vs $103.3M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Anthony Capuano
- Headquarters
- MD
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 40
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $100K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $1.1M – $2.4M
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $100K – $120K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $210 |
| Training fee | $105K |
| Transfer fee | $16K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Financial Performance
MIF, L.L.C. statements of income ($ in thousands). FY2025 total revenue $147,482K = net fee revenues $96,599K (gross fee revenue $98,016K less contract investment amortization $1,417K) plus cost reimbursement revenue $50,883K. Other revenue = licensing fees and other revenue $2,989K (component of gross fee revenue).
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 7.0% — below the Lodging average of 10.3%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports "operating_metrics" rather than annual gross sales. Not directly comparable across brands.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+2.0% 3-year CAGR) with 369 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 Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 369
- Opened
- 7
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 2
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.8%
- Company-owned
- 119
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 68%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +2.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +2.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 7
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 2
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 9
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 1.2%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 5 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 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 11
- Loan volume
- $26.1M
- Median loan
- $2.4M
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 9
- Defaults
- 0
Vintage analysis
Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott franchisees
Showing 3 of 9 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.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 9 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 5 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 11 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% 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
JW Marriott presents moderate-to-cautionary risk: stagnant growth, material litigation exposure, opaque financials, and heavy royalty load without disclosed profitability benchmarks.
Litigation (Item 3)
Ongoing data breach litigation from 2018 Starwood incident (MDL plus thousands of individual plaintiffs in NY state court); Canadian class action; two hotel antitrust class actions (Portillo, Segal); franchisee credit card proceeds dispute (SRG Investment). Concluded cases include resort fee class actions, UK ICO penalty, FTC/AG settlements totaling $52M+, Chicago settlement $5.8M.
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)
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
Score breakdown · what drove the 86 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORMinimal unit growth (2.0% YoY) suggests market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction in luxury hotel segment
- 02MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure prevents validation of actual franchisee profitability claims despite 6% + 3% royalty burden
- 03HIGHSignificant ongoing litigation from 2018 Starwood data breach, resort fee investigations, and antitrust claims creates operational and reputational risk
- 04MEDHigh capital barrier and 20-year commitment with no disclosed average net income creates asymmetric risk for franchisee vs. franchisor
- 05MINORLuxury hotel segment vulnerable to economic downturns, travel disruption, and labor cost inflation affecting already-thin margins
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · 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 | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 7 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | MD |
| Litigation count | 5 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Ongoing data breach litigation from 2018 Starwood incident (MDL plus thousands of individual plaintiffs in NY state court); Canadian class action; two hotel antitrust class actions (Portillo, Segal); franchisee credit card proceeds dispute (SRG Investment). Concluded cases include resort fee class actions, UK ICO penalty, FTC/AG settlements totaling $52M+, Chicago settlement $5.8M.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Franchisor-designated location (on-site and virtual); pre-opening training at hotel or franchisor facilities
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 33 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Simphony POS by Oracle
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Simphony POS by Oracle
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
100 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What do Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott franchise owners earn?
Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott 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 Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 11 loans, meaning 0.0% 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 Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott has 369 total units in the United States, including 250 franchised units and 119 company-owned units. 7 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Marriott Hotel / JW Marriott as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 86 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.