How to Start a Trademark Hotel Collection Franchise in 7 Steps: Checklist

Formal candidacy uses a Membership Application describing the proposed hotel and location. The 2026 FDD requires a $2,500 non-refundable Application Fee when the application is submitted; if TMH Worldwide approves the application, that amount is credited toward the Affiliation Fee. The FDD does not publish a universal minimum net worth, liquidity threshold, credit-score floor, education requirement, or hotel-ownership requirement for every Trademark Collection applicant.

Approval is still discretionary. TMH Worldwide may require a positive market feasibility study from an approved nationally prominent accounting or consulting firm as a condition of site approval. The franchisor states that it typically reviews the completed application, supporting documents, and proposed site and awards or declines the franchise within 30 to 60 days, but it sets no contractual deadline for completing that review.

Two separate optional support programs appear in the FDD: Women Own the Room, for qualifying majority women-owned members, and BOLD, for qualifying majority Black-owned members. Eligibility and benefits are determined by Wyndham in its discretion, and the programs do not replace the core application, agreement, site, improvement, technology, training or opening-authorization requirements described here.

Personal day-to-day operation is not mandatory. If the owner does not directly manage the hotel, the member must employ a management company or individual manager with significant training and experience managing similar lodging facilities, and the general manager must complete Wyndham's required training. TMH Worldwide may require an approved third-party manager when the owner lacks significant hotel-management experience or receives a Development Incentive. Entity owners and other significant owners generally must sign the Guaranty; applicable spouses may also have signing obligations.

The federal Franchise Rule requires the franchisor to furnish the FDD at least 14 calendar days before asking a prospective franchisee to sign a binding franchise agreement or pay money to the franchisor or an affiliate. That disclosure period is a pre-sale protection, not an estimate of how long application review or hotel development will take. The FTC also advises prospects to read all 23 FDD Items and seek explanations before investing.

The Trademark Collection FDD requires an application fee with the Membership Application and an Affiliation Fee when the Membership Agreement is signed for a new construction or conversion facility. Because disclosure timing and the application-payment trigger are separate rules, the buyer should verify the actual FDD delivery date and payment request sequence for the transaction rather than assume inquiry, application, approval, signing, and payment happen together.

Once approved and ready to contract, the governing document is the Membership Agreement, supplemented by the applicable Schedule D addendum for conversion, new construction, or transfer. Depending on the project, the buyer also may need the Guaranty, Affiliation Fee Note, Development Incentive Note, Master Information Technology Agreement and PMS schedule, Elavon Hosted Services Agreement, and other ancillary documents. A transfer is not merely a new conversion: the transferee assumes unresolved obligations of the prior member unless the new agreement expressly supersedes them.

The same Membership Agreement framework does not create the same pre-opening sequence for every project. Schedule D separates conversion, new construction, and transfer facilities because the site-control proof, improvement work, milestones, and meaning of Opening Date differ.

These durations use the same unit but have different triggers, so they should be treated as separate schedule controls rather than added together. The chart shows disclosed review periods and deadlines that a buyer can place on the project calendar once each triggering event is known.

The franchisee must procure an approved property management system that can interface with Wyndham's Central Reservation System and execute the Master Information Technology Agreement plus the applicable PMS schedule. The current approved PMS choices disclosed in the FDD are SynXis Property Hub and Oracle OPERA. The applicable setup and implementation fee is due at least 30 days before Opening Date. The hotel also must implement required connectivity, Wyndham Gateway and the payment gateway arrangements described in the technology agreements.

Required training depends on role and format. New-construction hotels must participate in on-site Opening Training; conversion hotels may be required to do so if an architectural PIP applies. That training can occur from two weeks before Opening Date through 60 days after it and lasts from one to five days depending on room count. The initial general manager must complete the approximately 34-hour Hospitality Management Program no later than 90 days after Opening Date, while designated employees must successfully complete other required training programs.

TMH Worldwide may inspect during or after construction or renovation and may approve opening when the facility meets System Standards and the format-specific Schedule D conditions. For new construction, the member must submit the required ADA Certification before opening authorization; the architect and contractor remain responsible for professional and code compliance, and local permits or approvals remain third-party dependencies. The FDD's certification requirement should be read together with the Department of Justice's official 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and advice from qualified accessibility and construction professionals.

Use the signed Membership Agreement and its Schedule D as the project control document. The following checklist separates brand approval from the buyer's own real-estate, financing, professional, and governmental obligations.

The 2026 FDD and signed agreementscontrol contractual requirements. Public pages are useful for current brand context, development-process explanations and federal compliance guidance, but they do not replace the Membership Agreement or Schedule D.

• Trademark Collection by Wyndham development page
• Wyndham hotel conversion process
• Wyndham hotel-franchise process FAQs
• FTC Consumer's Guide to Buying a Franchise
• FTC Franchise Rule
• U.S. Department of Justice ADA design standards
• Women Own the Room development program
• BOLD by Wyndham development program

The verified path is application and site review, federal FDD review, approval and contract execution, site control, format-specific PIP or new-build milestones, required technology and training setup, inspections and certifications, and finally franchisor authorization to operate under Trademark Collection by Wyndham. The total timeline is official but format-specific: conversion pre-opening work generally uses a 90-day default window unless the PIP says otherwise, while new construction must reach authorized opening within 30 months; a transfer can follow a different opening definition.

The most important applicant-controlled dependency is keeping the real-estate, design, permitting, construction or renovation, technology, staffing and documentation work aligned to the signed Schedule D. The most important franchisor or third-party dependency is timely site/plan review and approval alongside lender, landlord, contractor, supplier and government-authority performance. Before committing to a target opening date, verify the exact Effective Date, PIP or Milestone Schedule, any discretionary extension terms, and the specific conditions TMH Worldwide will require for written opening authorization.