Red Lion Inn & Suites franchise
2026 filing · March 31, 2026
Red Lion Inn & Suites at a glance
A midscale hotel operating as a Red Lion Inn & Suites by Sonesta; the same filing offers full-service Red Lion Hotels. At the end of 2025 there were 60 Red Lion Inn & Suites locations in the US, 59 franchised and 1 company-owned.
The business
- Industry
- Hotel
- Franchisor
- Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc
- The company that sells the franchises
- Current franchisor selling since
- 1999
- 27 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Newton, Massachusetts
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $17.1M–$23.6M
- A new 125-room Red Lion Inn & Suites
- Franchise fee
- $40,000
- The greater of $40,000 or $300 per guest room (Red Lion Hotels pay the greater of $60,000 or $300 per room)
- Royalty
- 5% of room revenue
- 5% of gross rooms revenue, paid monthly
- Brand fund
- 3%
- 3% of gross rooms revenue, paid monthly; it can rise to 4.5%
- Agreement length
- 20 years
- Territory
- None
- No exclusive territory
- Franchisor financing
- Some financing offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 60
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 59
- Company-owned
- 1
- States
- 20
- Most in Washington, Oregon and California
Support and records
- Lawsuits disclosed
- Yes
- Latest filing
- Mar 31, 2026
- 2026 filing
From Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Red Lion Inn & Suites among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Red Lion Inn & Suites | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $20,344,957 | Costs more than 98% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $40,000 | Lower than 46% of franchises |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 60 | More than 67% of franchises |
How much a Red Lion Inn & Suites franchise costs
Opening a new 125-room Red Lion Inn & Suites costs an estimated $17,074,113 to $23,615,800. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc, 2026 filing, page 38
Red Lion Inn & Suites franchise fee
The franchise fee is $40,000, the greater of $40,000 or $300 per guest room (Red Lion Hotels pay the greater of $60,000 or $300 per room). You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc, 2026 filing, page 22
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of gross rooms revenue, paid monthly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 3% of gross rooms revenue, paid monthly; it can rise to 4.5%. |
| Technology Fee | $4.00 per Guest Room per month |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc, 2026 filing, page 25
Other fees as filed, from page 26. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
No figures Red Lion Inn & Suites does not share sales or profit figures for its locations. Talking to current and former franchise owners is the usual way to learn what a location earns.
Source: Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc, 2026 filing, page 73
SBA loans to Red Lion Inn & Suites franchisees
Lenders approved 25 SBA-backed loans for Red Lion Inn & Suites franchisees from 2000 to 2017, $54.4M in all: 17 7(a) loans and 8 504 loans. Of the 22 that have ended, 19 were paid in full and 3 were charged off (13.6%). The other 3 haven’t ended yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
How Red Lion Inn & Suites compares
Of the 116 hotel franchises on this site, Red Lion Inn & Suites is the 84th cheapest to open and the 54th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Red Lion Inn & Suites | Typical hotel brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $17.1M | $9.44M | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $23.6M | $21.3M | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $40K | $54K | $40K |
| Brand fund | 3% | 3% | 2% |
| US locations | 60 | 37 | 21 |
| Change in franchised locations, 0 yrs | +5.4% | +9.2% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | No | 71 of 116 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 116 brands in hotel franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59 (−7) | 2 |
| 2022 | 56 (−3) | 2 |
| 2023 | 58 (+2) | 2 |
| 2024 | 58 (0) | 1 |
| 2025 | 59 (+1) | 1 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating. Counts cover both Red Lion brands. Company-owned includes affiliate-owned hotels.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: hotel franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2025, franchised locations went from 66 to 59 (−7, −11%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc, 2026 filing, page 74
2021–2022: Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc, 2024 filing, page 72
Where Red Lion Inn & Suites locations are
At the end of 2025, Red Lion Inn & Suites had locations in 20 states. The most are in Washington, Oregon and California.
- Washington13
- Oregon8
- California5
- Idaho4
- Illinois4
- Montana4
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Oregon | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| California | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Idaho | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Illinois | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Montana | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Nevada | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Texas | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Arizona | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Kansas | 2 | 0 | 2 |
All 20 states
| Wyoming | 2 |
|---|---|
| Colorado | 1 |
| Florida | 1 |
| Georgia | 1 |
| Iowa | 1 |
| Missouri | 1 |
| Nebraska | 1 |
| North Carolina | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 |
| Utah | 1 |
Source: Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc, 2026 filing, page 75
Who owns Red Lion Inn & Suites?
Red Lion Inn & Suites franchises are sold by Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc.
Red Lion Inn & Suites is one of the 6 Sonesta brands here.
From Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc’s 2026 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on pages 18–21. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | No bankruptcy of the franchisor. Office Properties Income Trust and some of its subsidiaries, which some of the franchisor's officers and directors help manage, filed for Chapter 11 in October 2025. |
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: Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc, 2026 filing, litigation on pages 18–21, bankruptcy on page 21
Red Lion Inn & Suites filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc’s 2026 filing, issued March 31, 2026; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | March 31, 2026 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
| 2024 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2021–2022 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other hotel franchises
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Other brands from Sonesta: Knights Inn, MOD Collection by Sonesta, Signature Inn, Sonesta ES Suites and Sonesta Simply Suites. See all 6 in the finder