Wingate Inns Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Wingate Inns franchise requires a total initial investment of $407K – $16.3M, including a $15K – $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 0.0% charge-off rate across 30 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
- $407K – $16.3M
- 19th pct Lodging
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 1st pct Lodging
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 31st pct Lodging
- Units
- 194
- 42nd 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 $407K – $16.3M including a $15K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- Item 19 reports Average Daily Room Rate, Occupancy Rate, and RevPAR (and RevPAR Index) for 109 of 203 "Qualified" Chain Facilities, plus CRS/loyalty revenue-contribution percentages — no whole-unit gross sales or net income figures are disclosed, so avg_gross_sales/avg_net_income are left null per extraction rules.
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 68/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 30 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- 14 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
- Wingate Inns International, Inc.
- Parent company
- Wyndham Hotel Group, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
- Predecessor
- General Franchise Systems, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Geoff Ballotti
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 22 Sylvan Way, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054
- Auditor
- Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.4B
- Most recent fiscal year
Overview
About
The franchisee operates a Wingate by Wyndham guest lodging facility offering overnight accommodations and related services in the midscale hotel segment.
- CEO
- Geoff Ballotti
- Headquarters
- New Jersey
- Founded
- 1995
- FDD year
- 2026
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 18% below 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 | $15K | $15K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $134K | $200K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $258K | $16.1M |
| Total initial investment | $407K | $16.3M |
Source: Wingate Inns 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
- $407K – $16.3M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $134K – $200K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $36K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $36K |
| Renewal fee | $36K |
| Inventory (initial) | $312K – $326K |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 19 reports Average Daily Room Rate, Occupancy Rate, and RevPAR (and RevPAR Index) for 109 of 203 "Qualified" Chain Facilities, plus CRS/loyalty revenue-contribution percentages — no whole-unit gross sales or net income figures are disclosed, so avg_gross_sales/avg_net_income are left null per extraction rules.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
5.5% royalty + 3.0% ad fund.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports "other" rather than annual gross sales. Not directly comparable across brands.
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 Wingate Inns Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 194
- Opened
- 13
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 7
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.1%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 13
- Closed (3yr)
- 7
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 11
- 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
- 30
- Loan volume
- $71.0M
- Median loan
- $2.0M
- 50th percentile
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 11
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 5.5%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- NAICS 7211
- Jobs supported
- 173
- 0.6 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 15%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% to established operators
Top lenders financing Wingate Inns franchisees
Showing 3 of 11 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.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 30 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
Litigation (Item 3)
1 pending case against the franchisor (Canadian class action re destination marketing fees); 7 pending cases against parents/affiliates (antitrust/price-fixing suits re revenue management software, resort/hotel fee class actions, a breach-of-contract dispute, and a suit vs LuxUrban involving bankrupt counterparties); 2 resolved cases against the franchisor (a $575,000 settlement received from defendants in a NJ breach-of-contract suit, and a franchisee fraud/rescission suit settled in 2016); 4 resolved cases against parents/affiliates (resort-fee/TCCWNA class settlement, a $7,000 antitrust settlement, a call-recording privacy class settlement, and an FTC data-security consent order with no monetary relief).
Largest disclosed settlement: $575,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Deloitte & Touche 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 8.5% 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 |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 11 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Morris County, NJ (non-binding mediation; venue non-exclusive in Morris County, NJ and U.S. District Court for New Jersey) |
| Governing law | New Jersey |
| Litigation count | 14 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
1 pending case against the franchisor (Canadian class action re destination marketing fees); 7 pending cases against parents/affiliates (antitrust/price-fixing suits re revenue management software, resort/hotel fee class actions, a breach-of-contract dispute, and a suit vs LuxUrban involving bankrupt counterparties); 2 resolved cases against the franchisor (a $575,000 settlement received from defendants in a NJ breach-of-contract suit, and a franchisee fraud/rescission suit settled in 2016); 4 resolved cases against parents/affiliates (resort-fee/TCCWNA class settlement, a $7,000 antitrust settlement, a call-recording privacy class settlement, and an FTC data-security consent order with no monetary relief).
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 34 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Corporate designated location (hybrid) or online; separate onsite opening training and virtual compliance training also required
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 30 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- SynXis Property Hub or OPERA PMS (franchisee chooses)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: SynXis Property Hub or OPERA PMS (franchisee chooses)
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Wingate Inns franchise?
The total investment to open a Wingate Inns franchise ranges from $407K – $16.3M, with an initial franchise fee of $15K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Wingate Inns franchise owners earn?
Wingate Inns 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 Inns's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Wingate Inns has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 30 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 Wingate Inns franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Wingate Inns 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 Inns a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Wingate Inns as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 68 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.