Marriott International said on November 2 that its franchise and base management fees rose 13 percent in the third quarter to $1,341 million, and it named higher co-branded credit card fees first among the reasons. The same morning, Choice Hotels reported a higher U.S. royalty rate and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts said more than 40 independent luxury hotels will join its loyalty program through a deal with HotelREZ Hotels & Resorts.
Read together, the three releases describe how the big franchisors are making money from loyalty and commercial technology, and what owners and independents are being asked to pay into those systems in return.
Marriott: Bonvoy at 309 million members
According to Marriott’s third quarter release, worldwide RevPAR rose 6.5 percent against the third quarter of 2025, with 7.4 percent growth in the U.S. and Canada and 4.4 percent in international markets. Fee revenue grew faster than RevPAR. Franchise and base management fees reached $1,341 million, up from $1,190 million a year earlier, which Marriott attributed primarily to “higher co-branded credit card fees, higher RevPAR and rooms growth.” Incentive management fees rose 22 percent to $181 million.
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Chief executive Anthony Capuano tied the loyalty program’s size to partnerships outside the hotel stay: “Our broad portfolio of brands and experiences and powerful collaborations with Uber, Starbucks and others helped drive membership to approximately 309 million members around the world at quarter-end.”
Marriott also raised its full-year global RevPAR outlook to growth of 4.5 to 5 percent, added roughly 20,100 net rooms in the quarter and ended it with a pipeline of 4,209 properties and more than 634,000 rooms. Conversions made up over a third of signings and over 40 percent of openings in the first nine months of the year, according to the release.
Choice: royalty rate up 8 basis points
Choice Hotels’ results show a smaller, U.S.-focused franchisor working the same levers. U.S. RevPAR rose 3.8 percent. The U.S. average royalty rate expanded 8 basis points to 5.23 percent, and franchise and management fees rose 5 percent to $204 million, which Choice put down to higher U.S. royalties, royalty rate expansion, “increased franchisee programs and services revenue” and higher international royalties.
Chief executive Dom Dragisich said the company is “continuing to invest in commercial and technology capabilities that help franchisees capture more demand.” Choice also reported that U.S. franchise agreements awarded rose 24 percent in the quarter, that its U.S. conversion pipeline reached 25,500 rooms, up 29 percent from a year earlier, and that third quarter room exits fell 23 percent.
Wyndham: independents join the points program
Wyndham’s announcement takes the model to hotels that do not carry a Wyndham flag. Under the HotelREZ partnership, more than 40 hotels from HotelREZ’s Elegant Hotels of the World portfolio will join the Registry Collection Hotels brand by early next year. Wyndham describes many of them as small luxury boutiques of 20 to 50 rooms. They will integrate into Registry Collection’s sales, marketing and distribution channels and become part of Wyndham Rewards, which has about 129 million enrolled members, while remaining members of Elegant Hotels of the World.
A second, looser structure launches later this year. Properties in HotelREZ’s Best Loved Hotels collection will get selective access to Wyndham’s technology stack, including Wyndham Connect and Wyndham AI Concierge, and to its third-party distribution platform. Wyndham’s release also says it is expanding how guests find and book hotels through integrations with AI platforms, naming Claude, ChatGPT and Google Gemini. HotelREZ group chief executive Mark Lewis said: “At its heart, our partnership with Wyndham is about unlocking commercial opportunities for our member hotels.”
The deal follows Wyndham Rewards’ move into managed vacation homes last week, which we covered in Wyndham Rewards Adds Vacation Homes Through Homes & Havens.
What it means for operators
For franchised owners, the Marriott and Choice numbers point the same way. Brand fee income is growing faster than RevPAR, and the companies attribute part of that growth to items that sit outside the room rate: co-branded card fees at Marriott, programs and services sold to franchisees and a higher royalty rate at Choice. Owners renewing or signing a franchise agreement should ask which of their fees are tied to the loyalty program and the brand’s technology, how those fees are set and how they have moved over the past three years.
For asset managers, conversion is the growth route both companies name. Over a third of Marriott’s signings and a growing Choice conversion pipeline mean more existing hotels are moving onto brand reservation, loyalty and property systems. A conversion plan needs a budget and a timeline for that systems move, alongside the physical change of flag.
For independent hotels, Wyndham and HotelREZ offer two tiers of access: full membership of a soft brand with loyalty and distribution, or selective use of the brand’s AI tools and third-party distribution while keeping their own identity. The release does not give fees, commission levels, contract length or guest data terms for either tier. An independent weighing the offer should ask for each in writing, and ask who owns the guest profile when a Wyndham Rewards member books. Earlier loyalty changes we have tracked, such as BWH Hotels merging its loyalty programs under WorldHotels and Hilton’s Pay with Points at digital check out, show the points currency reaching further into booking and payment flows.
What to check before the next contract talk
Three questions follow from the releases. First, ask what share of brand fees now comes from loyalty related income such as co-branded cards, and whether any of that income is shared with properties. Second, for a conversion, cost the move to the brand’s reservation, loyalty and property systems separately from renovation. Third, for an independent offered loyalty access, get the fee schedule, the guest data terms and the exit terms before the property goes live in the brand’s channels.
