Ruby Hotels Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Ruby Hotels is IHG's upscale lean-luxury hotel franchise offering design-forward urban properties. Franchisees own and operate the hotels, managing guest services, food and beverage, and revenue under brand standards.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Ruby Hotels franchise requires a total initial investment of $8.0M – $38.5M, including a $75K – $100K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $8.0M – $38.5M
- 39th pct Lodging
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 0 outlets
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 3rd pct Lodging
- Units
- 0
- 0th 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 $8.0M – $38.5M including a $75K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSNo Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 39/100 (higher is better).
- LEGAL46 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
- Ruby Hotel Group (GEM Brand Company Limited)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer, InterContinental Hotels Group, PLC
- Elie W. Maalouf
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- Three Ravinia Drive, Suite 100, Atlanta, Georgia 30346
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $39.4M
- vs $38.8M prior year
Affiliated brands
- Six Continents Limited
- IHG Franchising
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Elie W. Maalouf
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 1989
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 0
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 137% above the typical lodging franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $75K | $75K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $250K | $1.1M |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $7.7M | $37.3M |
| Total initial investment | $8.0M | $38.5M |
Source: Ruby Hotels 2026 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
- $8.0M – $38.5M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $250K – $1.1M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $75K – $100K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Rooms Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 26.3%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $17 |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Inventory (initial) | $396K – $625K |
| Total fee load | 26.3% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Ruby 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 Ruby 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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
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 26.3% — above the Lodging average of 10.4%.
Disclosure
Franchisor chose not to disclose financial performance representations. You will need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
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 Ruby Hotels Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 0
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 4 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 4
- Loan volume
- $2.5M
- Median loan
- $618K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (4 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
Pre-opening brand (began 2025, 0 units) under strong parent IHG/Holiday: parent net worth $888.9M, net income $69.8M. The 33 disclosed litigations are Holiday/IHG franchisee disputes and class actions - very high count but normal relative to IHG's massive global system and at parent level. Primary concern is no operating history and no Item 19.
Litigation (Item 3)
9 case reference(s): 1 pending, 0 settled.
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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 39 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORPre-opening, 0 units, no track record
- 02HIGH33 litigations but normal for IHG's massive system, parent-level
- 03MINORParent net worth $888.9M, net income $69.8M
- 04MINORNo Item 19 disclosure
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 26.3% 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 |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 46 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
9 case reference(s): 1 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 604 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 432 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Premium OPERA Cloud PMS or HotelKey Cloud PMS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Premium OPERA Cloud PMS or HotelKey Cloud PMS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
10 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Ruby Hotels · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Ruby Hotels franchise?
The total investment to open a Ruby Hotels franchise ranges from $8.0M – $38.5M, 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 Ruby Hotels franchise owners earn?
Ruby 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 Ruby 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 Ruby Hotels FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Ruby Hotels's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Ruby 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.
Is Ruby Hotels a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Ruby Hotels as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 39 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 Ruby Hotels, 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.