Wingate by WyndhamFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Wingate by Wyndham franchise requires a total initial investment of $407K – $16.3M, including a $36K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.5% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 11.4% charge-off rate across 144 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $407K – $16.3M
- 21st pct Lodging
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 2nd pct Lodging
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 31st pct Lodging
- Units
- 194
- 40th pct Lodging
- SBA default
- 11.4%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Lodging · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Lodging avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Franchising since 1998. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 194 to 189 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
15 legal cases disclosed in the FDD. Read Item 3 before signing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $407K – $16.3M including a $36K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- Item 19 discloses "Average and Median ADR, Occupancy Rate, and RevPAR" rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 41/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 11.4% across 144 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- 15 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
- Legal entity
- Wingate Inns International, Inc.
- Parent company
- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Geoff Ballotti
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 22 Sylvan Way, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054
- Auditor
- Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.4B
- vs $1.4B prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- WSSI
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees own and operate 3-4 star limited-service hotel properties under the Wingate by Wyndham brand, managing daily front-desk operations, housekeeping, maintenance, and guest services. Franchisees handle P&L responsibility for labor, utilities, and local marketing while paying 5.5% royalty on gross room revenue and adhering to strict brand standards and reservation system requirements.
- CEO
- Geoff Ballotti
- Headquarters
- NJ
- Founded
- 1995
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 37
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Fee (inclusive of Application Fee)not refundable | $36K | $36K | |
| Photosnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Training Tuitionnot refundable | $6K | $7K | |
| Training Expensesnot refundable | $3K | $6K | |
| Market Studynot refundable | $5K | $15K | |
| Real Estate and Site Preparation | — | — | |
| Architecture, Design and Engineering, Phase I Environmental, Permits, Licenses, Deposits and Related Feesnot refundable | $362K | $603K | |
| Facility Constructionnot refundable | $8.9M | $13.0M | |
| Construction Contingencynot refundable | $444K | $649K | |
| Technology Systemsnot refundable | $69K | $71K | |
| Property Management Set-Up and Installationnot refundable | $6K | $22K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipmentnot refundable | $925K | $1.0M | |
| Signagenot refundable | $45K | $100K | |
| Opening Inventorynot refundable | $312K | $326K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $23K | $45K | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $3K | $15K | |
| Pre-Opening Wagesnot refundable | $83K | $149K | |
| Miscellaneous Non-Tangible Asset Costsnot refundable | $19K | $37K | |
| Additional Funds for 3 Month Initial Periodnot refundable | $134K | $200K | |
| Total initial investment | $11.4M | $16.3M |
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
- $407K – $16.3M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $134K – $200K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $36K – $36K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- Gross Room Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $6K |
| Transfer fee | $36K |
| Renewal fee | $36K |
| Inventory (initial) | $312K – $326K |
| Total fee load | 8.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
This brand's FDD disclosed "Average and Median ADR, Occupancy Rate, and RevPAR" in Item 19 rather than annual gross sales. This metric cannot be directly compared across brands, so we omit it from rankings.
vs Lodging averages
How Wingate by Wyndham Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 194
- Opened
- 13
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 8
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.1%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +2.6%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +2.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 11
- Transfer rate
- 5.7%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 96.0%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 0.5%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 3.6%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 25 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
- 144
- Loan volume
- $340.0M
- Median loan
- $4.0M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 11.4%
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 45
- Defaults
- 9
Vintage analysis
Wingate by Wyndham charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Wingate by Wyndham's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 9-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Wingate presents caution-level risk due to anemic unit growth, material litigation exposure, zero financial transparency via Item 19, and royalty structure without performance visibility.
Litigation (Item 3)
Two pending class action lawsuits: (1) Norma Knuth v. Wyndham Worldwide Corporation et al. regarding Destination Marketing Fees charged to hotel guests in Canada, seeking $403 million in restitution; (2) Benoit v. Integrated Decision and Systems Inc. et al. involving multiple hotel companies including Wyndham entities.
Largest disclosed settlement: $403
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Deloitte & Touche LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- 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 41 / 100 rating
- 01MINORMinimal system growth (2.6% YoY) with only 194 units suggests market saturation or brand weakness
- 02MINORNo Item 19 disclosure (Average Revenue/Net Income) prevents ROI validation and is a major transparency gap
- 03HIGHExtensive litigation history including FTC settlement, price-fixing allegations, and class actions indicates systemic compliance and governance issues
- 04MINORWide investment range ($406K–$16.3M) with no average unit economics disclosure creates uncertainty about true profitability
- 05MED5.5% royalty on gross room revenue is above mid-scale average and compounds risk without disclosed net income benchmarks
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 0 |
| Territory type | Negotiated |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | 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 |
| Termination groundsℹ | 3 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New Jersey |
| Litigation count | 15 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two pending class action lawsuits: (1) Norma Knuth v. Wyndham Worldwide Corporation et al. regarding Destination Marketing Fees charged to hotel guests in Canada, seeking $403 million in restitution; (2) Benoit v. Integrated Decision and Systems Inc. et al. involving multiple hotel companies including Wyndham entities.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 45 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 30 hrs
- Training location
- On-site at franchisee's restaurant and corporate training location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee
- POS system
- SynXis Property Hub and Oracle OPERA Cloud
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: SynXis Property Hub and Oracle OPERA Cloud
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
84 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Wingate by Wyndham · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Wingate by Wyndham franchise?
The total investment to open a Wingate by Wyndham franchise ranges from $407K – $16.3M, with an initial franchise fee of $36K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Wingate by Wyndham franchise owners earn?
Wingate by Wyndham 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 Wingate by Wyndham's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Wingate by Wyndham has a charge-off rate of 11.4% across 144 loans, meaning 11.4% 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 Wingate by Wyndham franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Wingate by Wyndham has 194 total units in the United States, including 194 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 13 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Wingate by Wyndham a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Wingate by Wyndham as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 41 out of 100, 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.
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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.