SureStay Hotel by Best Western franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a SureStay Hotel by Best Western franchise takes $5,354,975 – $8,265,975 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $44,300 – $64,050. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 4% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 4%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
SureStay Hotel by Best Western franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $44,300 | $64,050 | $44,300 to $64,050 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $5,354,975 | $8,265,975 | $5,354,975 to $8,265,975 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $5,354,975 | $8,265,975 | $5,354,975 to $8,265,975 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means SureStay Hotel by Best Western's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 4% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 4% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 15 years |
See the full SureStay Hotel by Best Western cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How SureStay Hotel by Best Western's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where SureStay Hotel by Best Western's disclosed cost sits against the Lodging & Leisure category:
- Minimum startup cost of $5,354,975 — about in line with the Lodging & Leisure median of $6,130,275.
- Initial franchise fee of $44,300 — about 30% below the Lodging & Leisure median of $63,600.
Category medians are computed from the Lodging & Leisure brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Lodging & Leisure franchises
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How SureStay Hotel by Best Western's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2017–2021: began the window at 0 units; 183 units opened, 24 closed, ending at 210 units. (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for SureStay Hotel by Best Western or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask SureStay Hotel by Best Western for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether SureStay Hotel by Best Western is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether SureStay Hotel by Best Western grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only SureStay Hotel by Best Western can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the SureStay Hotel by Best Western franchise
SureStay Hotel by Best Western is a lodging & leisure franchisor with 210 units at the end of 2021 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2017 and 2021, it began the window at 0 units; its filings record 183 unit openings and 24 closures, ending at 210 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is Best Western International, Inc..
Disclosure filings report 12 franchise-related lawsuits. Review Item 3 of the FDD. (as of 2026-05)
From the franchisor's materials
The franchised business being offered is SureStay by Best Western, SureStay Studio by Best Western hotel system providing distinctive, high-quality lodging service for leisure and business travelers.
SureStay Hotel by Best Western franchise: quick answers
- How much does a SureStay Hotel by Best Western franchise cost?
- $5,354,975 – $8,265,975 all-in to open, per SureStay Hotel by Best Western's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many SureStay Hotel by Best Western units are there?
- 210 units at the end of 2021 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have SureStay Hotel by Best Western's units held up?
- 89.8% of units at risk between 2019 and 2021 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).