HardTop Hotel franchise
2026 filing · March 11, 2026GrowingShares sales figures
HardTop Hotel at a glance
A business that swaps, stores and rents removable vehicle hard tops and soft tops. At the end of 2025 there were 6 HardTop Hotel locations in the US, 5 franchised and 1 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- HardTop Hotel LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $116K–$206K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $50,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 8%
- 8% of gross revenue, paid weekly, plus 1% to the brand fund and at least $12,000 a year on local marketing
- Brand fund
- 1%
- 1% of gross revenue, paid weekly; it can rise to 2%
- Agreement length
- 7 years
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 6
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 5
- Company-owned
- 1
- Change in 3 years
- +5
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 4
- Most in Colorado, Massachusetts and New Jersey
Support and records
From HardTop Hotel LLC’s 2026 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 118; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
HardTop Hotel among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | HardTop Hotel | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $161,011 | Costs less than 75% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $50,000 | Higher than 70% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 8% | Higher than 85% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 6 | Fewer than 69% of franchises |
How much a HardTop Hotel franchise costs
Opening one HardTop Hotel costs an estimated $116,129 to $205,893. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: HardTop Hotel LLC, 2026 filing, page 14
HardTop Hotel franchise fee
The franchise fee is $50,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: HardTop Hotel LLC, 2026 filing, page 8
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 8% of gross revenue, paid weekly, plus 1% to the brand fund and at least $12,000 a year on local marketing. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1% of gross revenue, paid weekly; it can rise to 2%. |
| Proprietary Software | $70, subject to increase by up to 10% annually on a cumulative basis |
| Additional Training - Courses | Up to $500 per person, plus the cost of travel, meals, lodging, etc. |
| Required Minimum Expenditure for Local Marketing and Advertising | $12,000, annually |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: HardTop Hotel LLC, 2026 filing, page 8
Other fees as filed, from pages 8–11. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures HardTop Hotel publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: HardTop Hotel LLC, 2026 filing, page 32
How HardTop Hotel compares
Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Figure | HardTop Hotel | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $116K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $206K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $50K | $40K |
| Royalty | 8% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1% | 2% |
| US locations | 6 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0 (0) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 (0) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 5 (+5) | 1 | +5 | 0 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
HardTop Hotel passes four of the five tests on our list of the best franchises to own; it had fewer than 100 US locations three years ago.
More in the guides: franchise failure rates.
Source: HardTop Hotel LLC, 2026 filing, page 35
Where HardTop Hotel locations are
At the end of 2025, HardTop Hotel had locations in 4 states. The most are in Colorado, Massachusetts and New Jersey.
- Colorado2
- Massachusetts2
- New Jersey1
- Pennsylvania1
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| New Jersey | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: HardTop Hotel LLC, 2026 filing, page 36
Who owns HardTop Hotel?
HardTop Hotel franchises are sold by HardTop Hotel LLC.
From HardTop Hotel LLC’s 2026 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: HardTop Hotel LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 7, bankruptcy on page 7
HardTop Hotel filings
The figures on this page come from HardTop Hotel LLC’s 2026 filing, issued March 11, 2026, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | March 11, 2026 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
