Holiday Inn Express is a budget hotel chain, with locations around the world. The rooms are generally small, but they have all the basic amenities that you would expect from a hotel of this type.

The price of a Holiday Inn Express varies by location. In general, you can expect to pay between $50 and $100 per night for a room at this hotel chain. Those prices do not include taxes or fees that may apply at different times of the year (for example, during holidays).

If you want to save money on your stay at a Holiday Inn Express location, consider booking online. The cost will be lower than if you book over the phone or in person at the hotel itself.

The average cost of a hotel room varies greatly depending on factors such as location and level of luxury.

For example, a room at the Holiday Inn Express in Santa Monica, California, costs $105 per night. The same room in Orlando, Florida, costs $62 per night.

The price of building a hotel depends on the size and location of the hotel. A small hotel near a freeway may cost less than $5 million to build while an upscale resort could cost more than $20 million.

How much does it take to own a holiday inn express?

Item	Details
Cost of Building a Hotel	Small Hotel: 20 rooms, 2 floors – approximately $280,000. Large Hotel: 200 rooms, 3 floors – approximately $1 million.
Initial Investment	Minimum $500,000 needed for land acquisition and construction.
Annual Operating Costs	Approximately $2 million for maintenance and operational expenses.
Additional Capital Expenditures	Costs for facilities upgrades and new amenities.
Deposit for Holiday Inn Express	Recommended starting deposit: $5,000 – $10,000.
Cost to Build a Holiday Inn Express	Average cost ranges from $2 million to $10 million based on factors like location and size.
Cost to Own a Holiday Inn Express	Average cost ranges from $1 million to $6 million depending on various factors.
Building Permits and Utilities	Building Permits: Typically between $5,000 and $10,000 per permit. Utilities: Ensure access to water, gas, and sewer lines when purchasing land.
About Holiday Inn Express	Founded in 1983. Operates over 1,800 hotels globally. Focus: Mid-priced accommodations with great amenities at affordable prices. Designed as a business-oriented hotel.

🛠 What This Is About
Holiday Inn franchise: how much it costs to start, ongoing fees, and what to expect as an investor or operator.

🧱 How It Works

• A Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express franchise requires paying a brand fee and building or converting a full‑service or limited‑service hotel.
• Investment costs vary by brand (full Holiday Inn vs Express), size (guest‑room count), and location.
• IHG sets the franchise terms: initial application fee, royalty fee (based on gross revenue), and advertising contributions.

📋 Materials or Tools Needed
(Not physical, but financial prerequisites)

• Liquid capital: often ≥ $300,000 cash investment
• Net worth and working capital: typically $150,000–275,000 on top of franchise payment

⚙ Step‑by‑-Step Investment Overview

1. Franchise Application Fee
   • Standard: $50,000 per property
   • In some cases may be reduced to $25,000 or $15,000 depending on agreement
2. Total Initial Investment
   • Holiday Inn Express (usually ~93 rooms): ranges from $7.9M to $11.1M
   • Full Holiday Inn (around 125 rooms): from $12.5M to $24M, with some ranges up to $23.3M or more
3. Ongoing Fees
   • Royalty: 5% of gross room revenue
   • Marketing/ad fund: typically 3% (some sources note up to 6%)

📊 Investment Summary Table

Franchise Format	Franchise Fee	Total Investment Range	Royalty Fee	Ad/Marketing Fee
Holiday Inn Express (~93 rooms)	$50,000	$7.9M – $11.1M	~5%	~3%
Full Holiday Inn (~125 rooms)	$50,000	$12.5M – $24M (up to $23.3M)	~5%	~3–6%

(Estimates exclude real estate purchase.)

✅ Pros and Cons

✅ Pros	⚠️ Cons
Instant access to global brand recognition and booking system (IHG support)	Massive capital outlay required—often $10M+, need strong reserves
Established operating systems and developer support	Ongoing fees reduce margins—8%+ of gross revenue
Easier to finance vs independent hotels due to lender familiarity	Longer break‑even period (~24 months) and payback (~60 months)
Resale value higher due to branded status	Strict brand standards and renewal conditions

🔍 Compared with Similar Opportunities

• Franchise Help lists slightly lower total investment ranges ($8.8M–$19.9M) and potential lower franchise fee tiers ($15K–$50K)
• Franchise Grade analysis aligns with larger investment figures ($12.96M–$19.8M) and confirms working capital needs $150K–$275K.
• FDD Exchange data shows inclusive costs per room: ~$123K–186K/room depending on format

💡 Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Underestimating working‑capital needs (staff, occupancy ramp‑up).
• Not verifying real market ROI—operating costs and variable revenue can vary widely.
• Ignoring brand compliance upgrades at renewal—failure may force rebranding or removal.
• Assuming franchise investment alone equals profitability—it often requires multiple properties and strong ops experience.

👷 Who Should Use This

• Experienced hospitality investors or groups with capital access.
• Developers able to manage large-scale hotel build or conversion projects.
• Businesses planning long-term full-service or select-service hotel operations under IHG’s brand umbrella.

🧰 Expert Tips

• Partner with others: hotel franchises often work best with capital & operations teams, not solo owners.
• Engage with third-party lenders experienced in hotel finance—IHG affiliates may connect you.
• Talk to existing franchisees in your market to understand actual cost and returns.
• Plan for spike in non‑room revenue streams (F&B, events) when calculating ROI.

📌 Quick Facts

• Franchise fee: typically $50,000 (minimum $50K; can be reduced in special cases to $15–$25K)
• Total initial investment: $7.9M–$24M depending on format and size
• Ongoing fees: Royalty ~5%, Ad fund ~3%, sometimes up to 6% royalty in high service formats
• Typical payback period: about 5 years (60 months); breakeven around 2 years (24 months)

Holiday inn express franchise profit

The cost to build a Holiday Inn Express is $5.5 million on average. The cost to own a Holiday Inn Express is $6.5 million on average.

The Holiday Inn Express franchise fee is $40,000. The total investment range for Holiday Inn Express is $3,100,000 – $6,100,000 with an estimated franchisee investment of $1,600,000 – $2,600,000.

The initial investment ranges from $1.6 million to $2.6 million for a Holiday Inn Express hotel and includes:

Initial Franchise Fee:$40,000

Training and Support:$2300

Hospitality Service Fee:$1200 per month

The cost to build a Holiday Inn Express is $1.5 million to $3 million. The average cost to buy a hotel for sale is $15 million and the average price per room is $120,000. Holiday Inn Express also offers franchise opportunities for between $75,000 and $250,000.

The total cost of starting your own Holiday Inn Express franchise will depend on whether you opt for a single-unit or multi-unit location. If you’re buying a single-unit establishment, the costs will range from about $1.5 million to $3 million for construction and equipment (including an ATM). On top of that, you’ll need to pay approximately $100,000 in start-up costs and fees.

If you want to open multiple locations in one area – which is a great idea if there are enough potential customers in the area – then you can expect your initial investment to be between $15 million and $25 million. That includes construction costs for each unit as well as equipment, training materials and other expenses related to running multiple locations at once.

The Holiday Inn Express is a budget hotel chain owned by InterContinental Hotels Group. The hotel brand was established in 1994 and there are more than 1,400 properties worldwide. Holiday Inn Express hotels can be found in more than 80 countries around the world.

The average cost to build a Holiday Inn Express property is $3.5 million to $4 million. The cost of land, construction materials and labor will vary depending on factors like location and size of the property.

The initial franchise fee for Holiday Inn Express is $40,000 with an ongoing royalty fee of 6 percent of gross revenue (before taxes).

The average price of a Holiday Inn Express hotel is $1.5M. The average price of a Holiday Inn Express motel is $1M.

The cost to build an average Holiday Inn Express hotel/motel is $2.2M. This includes land costs, construction costs, and furniture costs.

The total investment in building an average Holiday Inn Express hotel/motel is $3M. This includes land costs, construction costs, furniture costs and franchise fees paid to franchisor.

Holiday Inn Express is a hotel brand of InterContinental Hotels Group. It is the entry-level brand in the Holiday Inn hotel chain.

The Holiday Inn Express brand was launched in 1987 as a limited service hotel with no restaurant or room service, but now has full-service hotels. The first Holiday Inn Express Hotel was opened in Hollywood, Florida by the then-owner of the Holiday Inn brand, HFS Corporation (now InterContinental Hotels Group)

The brand was renamed IHG Express by June 2001, and again renamed Holiday Inn Express by 2001.

As of 2017 there were 1,058 Holiday Inn Express hotels worldwide with 149,000 rooms, making it the world’s largest chain of limited service hotels by number of rooms.[1]