Red Lion
The total investment to open a Red Lion franchise ranges from $113,700 to $287,500. Ongoing royalties are 5% plus a 1% advertising fee.
What is the Red Lion franchise?
Red Lion is a hotel and motel business for leisure and business travelers. The estimated total initial investment to open is $113,700 to $287,500, according to the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document.
The royalty is 5 percent of sales, and the advertising or brand fund fee is 1 percent. The franchise agreement term is 10 years.
Loan Activity Score
35/100
SBA Default Rate
9.7%
Active Lenders
24
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Red Lion has 24 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 24 lenders made 31 loans to franchisees of Red Lion. PeerSense calculates Red Lion's score as 35 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity. Cost figures are based on the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document.
24 locations
$113,700 to $287,500
24
24 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
FairDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Red Lion
31
Total SBA loans
$2.3M
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Red Lion
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Established (25 to 99 loans)
Are lenders increasingly or decreasingly funding this brand? Growing trends score highest.
Blended default rate (recent + all time) compared to NAICS sector peers.
Quality lenders actively backing this brand, with penalty for lender pullback.
FDD availability, Item 19 disclosure, and overall data completeness.
Geographic spread of SBA funded locations across states.
SBA Lending Performance
SBA Default Rate
9.7%
vs 10.3% peer avg
SBA Loans
31
Total Volume
$70.7M
Active Lenders
24
2 selective
States
8
vs. SBA Sector Average
SBA loan default rate vs. all franchises in the same NAICS sector, not limited to direct competitors
Key Highlights
Franchise Financing Resources
Data Insights
Key performance metrics for Red Lion based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
9.7%
0.6% below peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
31 loans
Across 24 lenders
Lender Diversity
24 lenders
Avg 1.3 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Mid range investment
$113,700 to $287,500 total
Red Lion: Deep SBA Data
Brand specific metrics derived directly from SBA 7(a) approval records: peak lending year, leading state, average loan size, and lender concentration. PeerSense computes these per brand so capital advisors and prospective franchisees can benchmark this opportunity against the rest of the franchise universe.
Peak SBA Year
2021
8 approvals. The best year on record for Red Lion.
Top SBA State
Washington
19 SBA financed Red Lion locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$2.2M
Median $2.3M. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Red Lion unit.
Lender Concentration
30.5%
Moderately Spread
Share of Red Lion approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Red Lion's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 2021 (8 approvals). The last five fiscal years account for 45% of cumulative volume ($26M approved). Operator density is highest in Washington with 19 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $2.2M, with the median at $2.3M. Lender mix is moderately spread: the top three SBA lenders account for 30.5% of approvals. Meaningful choice exists, but specific lenders carry the brand.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$1,177
Principal & Interest only
Indicative only, as of October 1, 2026. Not a quote, commitment or offer of credit. Final pricing, leverage and terms are determined by the lender at underwriting, after full transaction materials are reviewed. PeerSense sources the file. The lender sets pricing. What these terms mean.
Locations
Red Lion, unit breakdown
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Page Review
Reviewed by Edward L. Freeman, Founder and Managing Director, PeerSense
- PeerSense is a capital advisory firm that places commercial financing with direct capital sources; it does not lend, fund, or approve loans, and the capital source sets final terms.
- Edward L. Freeman founded PeerSense in January 2020.
- He is a Registered Franchise Consultant with Business Alliance, Inc., a credential issued in March 2022, and worked as a franchise consultant there from March 2022 to May 2023.
- His recorded experience includes a $22 million SBA construction loan, with about $16 million funded on the deal.
- In the 12 months through September 30, 2026, PeerSense tracked 912 publicly announced financings with a disclosed size of $361.32 billion. PeerSense Capital Data Report · Methodology page
Last reviewed LinkedIn profileAbout Edward Freeman