Super 8 franchise cost: investment, fees and the SBA default rate

Items 5, 6 and 7 · Super 8 FDD 2025 · Updated 2026

A Super 8 franchise costs $4,663,694–$6,929,131 in total initial investment, according to Item 7 of the brand's FDD (2025). Super 8's Royalty is 5.5% of Gross Room Revenue (guest-room rentals), not total sales; Item 6 adds a System Assessment Fee, loyalty charges, reservation fees and agency commissions. On the lending side, Super 8 franchisees defaulted on 2.5% of SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019 (7 of 279), and the average SBA loan to a Super 8 franchisee in that cohort was $1,651,599.

Super 8 franchise cost and SBA record.

Total initial investment (Item 7)	$4,663,694–$6,929,131
Ongoing fees (Item 6)	Super 8's Royalty is 5.5% of Gross Room Revenue (guest-room rentals), not total sales; Item 6 adds a System Assessment Fee, loyalty charges, reservation fees and agency commissions.
SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019	2.5%
Average SBA loan, 2010s cohort	$1,651,599
Average SBA loan since 2020	$2,092,248
Industry	Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels

How much does it cost to open a Super 8 franchise?

Item 7 of the FDD estimates the total initial investment at $4,663,694–$6,929,131. It is the franchisor's own estimate of what a new franchisee spends to open one unit, typically the franchise fee, equipment, premises or vehicle costs, opening inventory and an initial working-capital reserve. The low and high ends usually reflect different unit sizes, leasing versus buying, and local costs. Covers a 65-room new construction facility, excluding land and the cost of buying or leasing real estate; Item 7 separately estimates a conversion facility, which differs.

What does the SBA data add?

The federal loan record adds what the FDD cannot: Super 8 franchisees defaulted on 2.5% of SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019 (7 of 279 resolved loans), against the Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels industry average of 3.0%, according to U.S. Small Business Administration data with statuses as of June 30, 2026. Since 2020 they have taken 268 new SBA loans, of which 0 have already charged off.

Set the investment range against the loans: an average SBA loan of $1,651,599 against the $4,663,694–$6,929,131 investment range says roughly how much of a typical Super 8 opening was debt-financed in the 2010s. The brand page has the year-by-year record and the industry comparison.

Considering Super 8?

The Item 19 in Super 8's FDD was written by Super 8. The record on this page was written by the banks that lent to its owners and by the federal agency that paid when those loans went bad. Take that record with you, or have an analyst hold the brand's own disclosures up against it before you sign.

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The loan-level detail this page leaves out: the default rate of Super 8 loans by the owner's situation (start-up, existing business, or bought an existing one), what owners who repaid borrowed against owners who defaulted, the year of the loan the charge-offs came in, how much was written off, the states with the most loans and the lenders that made them. Plus the rate by approval year, lending since 2020, nearest peers, what its FDD discloses and the CSV behind every table, in a PDF a loan officer will recognize. Stamped with your order. Yours the moment you pay.

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An analyst takes Super 8's own disclosures, the Item 19 revenue claim, the Item 20 closures and transfers, the Item 3 litigation, and reads them line by line against this federal record, ending in a written verdict you can put in front of your attorney and lender. SBA Record Snapshot the moment you pay; the full teardown by email within 24 hours.

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Most SBA default figures published online use loans approved since 2020 — loans that have had six years or less to fail — so those rates are floors, not outcomes. Every rate on this site is computed from the matured FY2010–FY2019 cohort: loans that have been paid in full or charged off, so the result is settled. Loans approved since 2020 are shown as counts so early charge-offs are visible without being mistaken for a rate.

Frequently asked

How much does a Super 8 franchise cost?

What is the Super 8 franchise fee?

Super 8's FDD Item 5 fee is not in this dataset; the total initial investment (Item 7) is $4,663,694–$6,929,131.

What royalty does Super 8 charge?

Super 8's Royalty is 5.5% of Gross Room Revenue (guest-room rentals), not total sales; Item 6 adds a System Assessment Fee, loyalty charges, reservation fees and agency commissions.

What is Super 8's SBA loan default rate?

2.5%: 7 of 279 SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019 to Super 8 franchisees were charged off.

Source

Sources: Super 8 Franchise Disclosure Document (2025, Minnesota CARDS file 33216-202503-14); U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) loan program charge-off data, FY2010–FY2019. Franchise data is matched on the SBA's franchise code / brand name. "Failure rate" here means the share of approved loans (resolved: paid in full or charged off) that were charged off; it is not a measure of unit closures. Last updated September 30, 2026.

Cite this page

Franchise Failure Rates (2026). Super 8 franchise cost, Items 5–7, and SBA 7(a) default rate. From the Super 8 FDD and U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.

https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/super-8/cost/ · Data & methodology

Author: Franchise Failure Rates · First published August 17, 2026 · Updated September 30, 2026 · Citation format