A typical 200-room U.S. Kimpton hotel may support an estimated pre-tax operating earnings proxy in this range under the scenarios below. The base scenario is about $2.2 million. These amounts are not disclosed owner income, distributions, or after-tax take-home pay; they are a room-revenue-based operating estimate before financing principal and personal income taxes.
This range is an independent analytical scenario, not an Item 19 financial performance representation by IHG Franchising, LLC. It combines identified facts from the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document with a separately identified hotel-industry operating-margin benchmark and explicit sensitivity assumptions. Actual results can differ materially by market, hotel format, room count, occupancy, rate, food-and-beverage mix, labor, occupancy costs, financing, capital needs, owner involvement, and execution.
Legal franchisor: IHG Franchising, LLC. FDD issuance: April 2, 2026. Item 19: historical occupancy, Average Daily Room Rate, Revenue Per Available Room, Enterprise Contribution, and loyalty contribution for 49 “Mature Hotels”; no total hotel revenue, operating profit, EBITDA, net income, cash flow, owner compensation, or owner distributions. Population: licensed and managed hotels in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, not a U.S.-only licensed cohort. External benchmark: January 2026 U.S. Hotel/Gaming sector margin data. Checked: July 14, 2026.
The central room-revenue performance anchor in Item 19 for the 49-hotel Mature Hotel cohort.
Hotels open at least two full years and meeting the FDD’s other eligibility conditions.
6% royalty plus 3% Services Contribution; additional variable and fixed fees remain.
Pre-tax lease-adjusted Hotel/Gaming margin across 63 U.S. public companies, not a Kimpton unit margin.
Item 7’s typical hotel size; actual Kimpton properties can be smaller or substantially larger.
What does Kimpton Item 19 actually measure?
Officially, Item 19 measures room performance and reservation-channel contribution—not owner earnings. Its 2025 table reports average and median occupancy, Average Daily Room Rate and Revenue Per Available Room for 49 Mature Hotels, plus Enterprise Contribution and IHG One Rewards measures. RevPAR is room revenue per available room; it excludes the expenses needed to convert revenue into profit and does not capture all food, beverage, meeting, parking, resort, or other operating revenue.
| Official Item 19 measure | Average | Median | Reported range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupancy rate | 74.1% | 72.1% | 41.3%–93.3% |
| Average Daily Room Rate | $277.37 | $240.56 | $131.27–$991.05 |
| Revenue Per Available Room | $205.56 | $179.19 | $54.25–$684.20 |
| Enterprise Contribution | 88.5% | 88.5% | 76.3%–95.5% |
| IHG One Rewards contribution | 50.8% | 51.0% | 29.9%–74.0% |
Source: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants 2026 FDD, Item 19, pp. 98–101. Fourteen of 49 Mature Hotels, or 28.6%, exceeded the $205.56 average RevPAR. The franchisor states that the information was largely derived from hotel-submitted data and was not independently audited or verified.
The median and average sit far below the reported high, showing a strongly dispersed hotel population.
Interpretation: The average is pulled above the median by high-performing properties, so the median is the more conservative central anchor for a scenario model.
Source: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants 2026 FDD, Item 19, pp. 98–99. Values are historical RevPAR, not profit or owner compensation.
The 49-hotel cohort combines licensed and managed properties across four countries or regions within IHG’s Americas Region. Item 20 shows 16 licensed and 39 managed outlets at the end of 2025, with no company-owned outlets; “managed” hotels are owned by others but managed by IHG affiliates. Item 19 does not provide a U.S.-only licensed-hotel breakout, so its metrics cannot be treated as a clean sample of U.S. franchisee economics.
How was the annual earnings range estimated?
The estimate converts official median RevPAR into a 200-room annual room-revenue proxy, then applies an external pre-tax operating-margin sensitivity. This is a Mode C estimate because the FDD provides usable room-revenue performance but no same-brand profit measure.
Estimated pre-tax operating earnings proxy = annual room-revenue proxy × scenario operating margin
- Revenue anchor: official median RevPAR$179.19 from the 49 Mature Hotels in Item 19. The Conservative and Upside revenue cases use 80% and 120% of that median as explicit analytical assumptions, not FDD-reported percentiles.
- Format anchor: typical 200-room hotelItem 7 models a typical 200-room Kimpton. The calculation is per hotel, not per owner or portfolio.
- Margin anchor: broad sector proxyThe base 16.44% margin is the January 2026 pre-tax lease-adjusted operating margin for the U.S. Hotel/Gaming sector in the NYU Stern dataset. Conservative and Upside margins are 3 percentage points below and above that benchmark.
- No fee double countThe external margin is treated as an all-in operating proxy, so royalty, Services Contribution and other normal operating costs are not subtracted a second time. Their contractual bases are shown separately below.
- What the proxy excludesThe range is before interest, financing principal and personal income taxes. The benchmark’s operating-income definition is after depreciation and amortization; capital expenditures, replacement reserves, ownership-level overhead and actual debt service are not separately modeled.
| Scenario | RevPAR assumption | Room-revenue proxy | Operating earnings proxy |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Conservative 80% of median; 13.44% margin |
$143.35 | $10.5 million | $1.4 million |
|
Base Median; 16.44% margin |
$179.19 | $13.1 million | $2.2 million |
|
Upside 120% of median; 19.44% margin |
$215.03 | $15.7 million | $3.1 million |
Per typical 200-room hotel; pre-tax operating proxy before financing principal and personal taxes.
Interpretation: Revenue performance and operating margin compound: the Upside case is more than twice the Conservative case even though each input moves within a transparent sensitivity band.
Sources and method: Median RevPAR and typical room count from the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants 2026 FDD, Items 19 and 7; margin benchmark from NYU Stern’s January 2026 U.S. sector margin dataset. Calculations use full-precision inputs and are rounded to the nearest $0.1 million for publication.
The base model’s $13.1 million is annual room revenue, not owner income. It must fund hotel payroll, departmental expenses, undistributed operating costs, occupancy and property costs, franchise and distribution charges, repairs, insurance, taxes, management, and other obligations before any residual can reach the owner.
Why is the evidence confidence limited?
Confidence is LIMITED because the result depends materially on a broad external margin rather than a same-brand profit disclosure. The room-revenue anchor is official, but the profit conversion is not. The largest unresolved issue is the absence of a comparable U.S. licensed-hotel operating statement showing total revenue, departmental costs, undistributed expenses, fixed charges and owner-level cash requirements.
- Mixed ownership and geographyItem 19 combines licensed and managed hotels in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Labor, taxes, insurance, utilities, demand patterns and operating structures can differ materially.
- Room revenue is incompleteKimpton is a full-service luxury and lifestyle hotel format with restaurants, bars and meeting/event space. The model omits non-room revenue because Item 19 does not disclose it, yet the margin benchmark is based on company-wide sales.
- The external benchmark is broadThe Hotel/Gaming category includes 63 public companies and is not a sample of Kimpton franchisees or even solely hotel properties. Public-company overhead, leases and business mix may not resemble one franchised hotel.
- Capital and financing are property-specificA hotel owner’s distributable cash can be materially below operating income after interest, principal, furniture-fixture-equipment reserves, renovations, property taxes, insurance and ownership-level expenses.
- The FDD contains a period-label inconsistencyThe primary tables and eligibility dates state 2025, while two narrative passages call the same information “2024 fiscal year.” The model uses the dated 2025 tables, but a buyer should obtain written clarification and substantiation.
Does active owner involvement increase the result?
Active oversight may improve execution, but the FDD does not support adding a general-manager salary to owner earnings. Item 15 requires direct management control by an approved management company or an approved owner, while also requiring a General Manager and Director of Sales to work exclusively for the hotel. A multi-hotel owner must maintain a separate qualified General Manager for each hotel.
| Owner model | FDD operating structure | Earnings treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Manager-run | Approved management company or approved owner retains control; dedicated hotel leadership remains. | Residual operating profit belongs in the owner estimate only after normal management and staffing costs. |
| Actively supervised by owner | Owner may oversee asset strategy, budgets, rate discipline, capital planning and management performance if approved. | Potential value comes through better operations, not an automatic wage add-back. |
| Owner replaces a hotel executive | Not assumed. Any dual role would require qualification, exclusivity and written approval under the applicable standards. | No “owner-operator benefit” is published without evidence that a required paid position can actually be eliminated. |
Source: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants 2026 FDD, Item 15, pp. 92–93. Owner involvement should not be confused with passive ownership or with a guaranteed distribution.
Which franchise fees most directly affect earnings?
The clearest recurring room-revenue burden is 9% of Gross Rooms Revenue: a 6% royalty plus a 3% Services Contribution. That is not the complete fee burden. Food-and-beverage royalties, loyalty contributions, distribution commissions, technology fees, local marketing and other program costs depend on the hotel’s revenue mix, booking channels, systems and participation.
| Recurring obligation | FDD amount or basis | How it affects interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 6% of Gross Rooms Revenue | Core revenue-based charge. |
| Services Contribution | 3% of Gross Rooms Revenue | Core system, marketing, reservations and training contribution; the FDD permits limited increases on notice. |
| Food-and-beverage royalty | 1% of Gross Food and Beverage Sales | Material for a full-service hotel with restaurants, bars and event operations. |
| Loyalty Program Contribution | 4.55% of qualifying full-folio revenue from IHG One Rewards members; 1.365% of qualifying room and meeting revenue booked through IHG Business Rewards | Varies with loyalty-member and business-rewards mix. |
| Technology Services Fee | $17.75 per room per month | About $42,600 per year for a 200-room hotel before other technology charges. |
| Distribution and booking charges | Examples include travel-agent commissions, digital marketing commissions, GDS and group-booking fees | Channel mix can materially change the effective cost of acquiring room revenue. |
Source: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants 2026 FDD, Item 6, pp. 27–32. The table is selective, not exhaustive. Item 7 startup investment is not subtracted from one year of revenue because construction and opening costs are not annual operating expenses.
What should a buyer verify before relying on the range?
A buyer should replace the broad margin proxy with property-level evidence before making an investment decision. The most useful diligence is a reconciled operating statement for comparable U.S. licensed Kimpton hotels, supported by Item 19 substantiation and interviews with current and former licensees.
- Resolve the reporting-period inconsistencyAsk IHG Franchising, LLC to confirm in writing whether every Item 19 table and definition refers to calendar 2025 and to explain the two “2024 fiscal year” references.
- Request the Item 19 substantiationReview the methodology, databases, hotel list, room counts, ownership type, country, exclusions and calculations behind occupancy, ADR, RevPAR and Enterprise Contribution.
- Separate licensed from managed economicsObtain U.S. licensed-hotel results and determine whether management fees, owner overhead, property taxes, insurance, reserves and capital expenditures are included.
- Build a complete revenue bridgeReconcile rooms, food and beverage, meetings, resort or destination fees, parking and other revenue, then map every departmental and undistributed expense.
- Stress-test financing and capital needsModel interest, principal, lender reserves, furniture-fixture-equipment reserves, required renovations and property-improvement obligations separately from operating earnings.
- Interview comparable ownersPrioritize similar room counts, urban or resort setting, property age, union status, management structure and opening maturity. Ask about actual distributions, not only hotel EBITDA.
What is the strongest defensible annual range?
The strongest defensible published range is approximately $1.4 million to $3.1 million per typical 200-room hotel, with a $2.2 million base scenario. It is a LIMITED-confidence, FDD-anchored operating earnings estimate—not an official Kimpton profit or owner-compensation result. RevPAR and room count are the most direct revenue drivers; the largest uncertainty is the missing same-brand U.S. licensed-hotel profit statement. Before relying on the estimate, a buyer should verify Item 19’s period, cohort and substantiation, obtain a complete property-level operating bridge, and compare actual owner distributions through franchisee interviews.
Related Blogs
- What Are Some Alternatives to the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Franchise?
- How Does Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Franchise Work?
- How to Start a Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Franchise in 7 Steps: Checklist
- How Does Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Franchise Work?
- What Are the Pros and Cons of Owning a Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Franchise?