What are all the initial fees a Caption By Hyatt franchisee might pay, considering both Item 5 and Item 7?
Caption_By_Hyatt Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Item 5
INITIAL FEES
Application Fee
You will pay us a lump-sum application fee when you submit the franchise application through our online application portal. If the Hotel is new to the Brand Hotel network, the lumpsum new development application fee is $95,000 plus an additional $500 for each guest room in the Hotel over 200 rooms. If you are purchasing an existing Brand Hotel, you or the transferor will pay us a lump-sum change of ownership application fee of $150,000 when you submit the franchise application through our online application portal. If you withdraw your franchise application before we approve it, or if we do not approve your franchise application for any reason, then we will refund your application fee, less a $7,500 fee to cover our costs for evaluating your application. After we approve your franchise application, the application fee is non-refundable, even if we and you do not sign a Franchise Agreement. If you and we agree to add any guest rooms to the Hotel before the Hotel opens, then you must pay us, when we approve the additional guest rooms, an additional non-refundable application fee of $500 multiplied by the number of additional guest rooms over 200 total guest rooms at the Hotel.
PIP Preparation Fee
If you are converting an existing structure to a Brand Hotel, you will pay us a nonrefundable fee of $10,000 for our preparation of the Property Improvement Plan (the "PIP"), which
will detail the improvements necessary to renovate the structure to a Brand Hotel, at the time you submit your franchise application and the application fee.
Operator Approval and Onboarding
If you or the management company that you select to operate the Hotel is not already an approved operator of Brand Hotels, you or the management company must complete our operator approval and onboarding program. Currently, the entry fee for this program is $10,000 for 2 participants, plus re-entry fees up to $10,000 if you fail to successfully complete any stage of the program. Any additional participants beyond 2 will be charged a fee of $2,500 per participant. We may periodically increase the fees for this program.
Comfort Letter Fee
[Item 7: Estimated Initial Investment]
Explanatory Notes
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- Application fee. The application fee listed above is for a Brand Hotel with 125 to 300 guest rooms. In Item 5, we describe the application fee and the conditions for its refund.
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- Telecommunications systems, security system and Technology System equipment. We include in this estimate the projected costs of acquisition/installation and the annual support and service contracts for the first year that the Hyatt Group provides as part of Mandatory Services.
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- Furniture, fixtures, other fixed assets, and equipment. Costs for fixtures, equipment, furnishings, furniture, room equipment and appliances and other items (collectively, "FF&E") depend mostly on the Hotel's size and configuration. This item covers costs for all FF&E for the Hotel except the costs for telecommunications systems, security system and Technology System equipment and related fees that we describe separately in Note 2 above and the OS&E that we describe in Note 4 below.
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- Operating Supplies and Equipment. Costs for initial operating supplies and equipment, including initial food and beverage inventory, bed linens, personal care amenities, cleaning supplies, and other consumables and similar items we periodically specify for the Hotel (collectively, "OS&E") depend mostly on the Hotel's size and location. This item does not include the FF&E for the Hotel that we describe in Note 3 above or the costs for telecommunications systems, security system, and Technology System equipment and related fees that we describe in Note 2 above.
General and administrative.
This item includes costs for permit fees, security deposits, utility deposits and startup requirements, impact fees (one-time charges that the government levies to offset service costs relating to the new development), tap fees (charges for connecting to existing water or sewer lines), and various business licenses.
Landlords sometimes pay some of the tap or impact fees, and the amount depends on municipal requirements and the final Hotel configuration.
This item also includes costs for insurance, legal and accounting expenses.
Revenue management fees and field marketing program fees.
These items include revenue management program fees and field marketing program fees, respectively, during the preopening period and the first 3 months of operation.
We describe these fees in Item 5.
The total amount you may pay us for pre-opening revenue management services ranges from $0 to $7,000.
We also reserve the right to charge you for reimbursement of expenses reasonably incurred by us, including for transportation and related expenses, printing, photocopying, postage, and delivery services.
We may periodically increase these fees at any time upon 30 days' written notice to you, but we may not increase these fees by more than 10% per calendar year.
Field Marketing Program
Up to 6 months before the opening of your Hotel, you may elect to receive from the Hyatt Group certain centralized resources to guide and support local integrated marketing for hotels that leverage the expertise of a designated field marketing team for a fee (which may contain a profit component, not to exceed a competitive amount), pursuant to the Field Marketing Program
Schedule to the Central Services Agreement (the "Field Marketing Program Schedule"). Inclusions and deliverables vary by service level, and may include management of local digital marketing, regional marketing campaigns, website management, social media consultation, local promotion creation and execution, and brand activations. The current nonrefundable monthly subscription fee due under the Field Marketing Program Schedule is dependent on the service tier level then in effect for Tier 1: $996 per month; for Tier 2: $1,867 per month; and for Tier 3: $2,747 per month. The total amount you may pay us for pre-opening field marketing services ranges from $0 to $16,482.
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Caption By Hyatt Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees may encounter several initial fees. The application fee for a new hotel is $95,000, with an additional $500 for each guest room over 200. For an existing hotel changing ownership, the application fee is $150,000. A partial refund of the application fee is possible if the application is withdrawn or not approved, but a $7,500 fee will be charged to cover evaluation costs. If additional guest rooms are added before the hotel opens, there's an additional non-refundable fee of $500 per room over 200 total guest rooms.
If converting an existing structure, Caption By Hyatt charges a $10,000 nonrefundable fee for preparing the Property Improvement Plan (PIP). There is also an operator approval and onboarding program with an entry fee of $10,000 for two participants, plus potential re-entry fees up to $10,000 if any stage is failed. Additional participants beyond the initial two incur a fee of $2,500 each. Franchisees may also elect to receive pre-opening revenue management services, which can range from $0 to $7,000, and pre-opening field marketing services, ranging from $0 to $16,482.
Item 7 also mentions an application fee for a Brand Hotel with 125 to 300 guest rooms, costs for telecommunications, security, and technology systems, furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E), and operating supplies and equipment (OS&E). Furthermore, franchisees should anticipate expenses for permits, security and utility deposits, startup requirements, impact and tap fees, business licenses, insurance, and legal and accounting costs. Revenue management and field marketing program fees during the pre-opening period and the first three months of operation are also included in the initial investment. These initial fees can vary significantly based on the hotel's size, location, and specific circumstances.
Prospective Caption By Hyatt franchisees should carefully review Item 5 and Item 7 of the FDD, and clarify with the franchisor the specific fees applicable to their situation. Understanding the full scope of these initial fees is crucial for accurate financial planning and assessing the overall investment required to start a Caption By Hyatt franchise.