Growth Club
1851 Growth Club
Top Travel Franchises Over 50 Units
10 of our favorite travel franchises with 50+ units.
In strong economies, travel is one of the most lucrative segments in any industry. Even when the market turns and consumers start tightening their belts, the relatively low overhead of travel agencies keep them viable and hotels continue to benefit from international travel. And while Travel is not a segment most consumers associate with franchising, it is a business that is uniquely well-suited for the industry, and many travel brands boast some of the largest multi-unit franchisees of any segment in the industry.
We rounded up ten of our favorite travel franchise brands with 50 or more units, including both hotels and travel agencies. If you’re interested in joining the segment, these are ten brands to have on your radar.
2,433 Units
Backed by American Express Travel, Cruise Planners is one of the largest franchised travel agencies in the world. A home-based agency, it is also one of the more flexible and low-cost models for franchisees, a benefit that has earned the franchise a slew of industry awards and accolades. The name Cruise Planners is perhaps a bit of an under-sell. The franchise’s services run the gamut of travel packages, from cruises to land vacations to travel insurance, car rentals and hotels. With an initial investment of $10,995, the cost of entry is significantly lower than most other agencies.
1,331 Units
With more than 25 years of experience in the segment, Dream Vacations has long been a leading travel agency. Dream Vacations owners sell full-service travel packages for individuals, couples, families, groups and businesses. Like Cruise Planners, Dream Vacations is a home-based agency network with a low initial investment (between $3,245 and $21,850). Dream Vacations even earned a spot on Entrepreneur’s list of top affordable franchises in 2018. Dream Vacation also offers a number of discounts and incentives for franchisees, including discounted investment prices for military veterans.
255 Units
The largest cruise seller in North America, Expedia CruiseShipCenters is focused predominantly on cruises, but it also offers full-service travel booking. Unlike Dream Vacations and Cruise Planners franchisees, Expedia CruiseShipCenters owners manage teams of agents out of brick-and-mortar storefronts. That infrastructure demands a steeper investment cost than home-based agencies (between $99,430 and $183,00), but the rewards are equally high. Not only does the team model allow more sales, it allows owners to step back from day-to-day operations to focus on the growth of the business. Because Expedia CruiseShipCenters is part of the Expedia family of brands, franchisees also benefit from a massive international marketing budget and near-ubiquitous name recognition.
572 Units
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is the flagship brand of the iconic, global Hilton empire. Hilton Hotels & Resorts’ 572 locations extend across 85 countries and six continents, with units in some of the most travel-heavy metropolitan areas and vacation destinations in the world. Hilton’s other hotel brands, including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Embassy Suites by Hilton and Hampton by Hilton, are positioned to attract different classes of travelers, but Hilton Hotels & Resorts is designed and priced to accommodate both business and leisure travelers within a wide range of budgets.
Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express
3,733 Units
Originally founded as a motel chain in England more than 60 years ago, Holiday Inn has since moved to the states, transitioned to hotels and become of the most iconic brands in hospitality. In 1991, Holiday Inn spun off its brand into Holiday Inn Express, a lower-priced concept with fewer amenities than its sister chain. Today, the Express flavor is the more popular of the two brands, with more than double the number of hotels in its system. After the success of Holiday Inn Express, the brand spun off a number of additional sister chains, including Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, Holiday Inn Resort, Holiday Inn Club Vacations and Holiday Inn Select, each catering to a slightly more specific traveler than the classic Holiday Inn hotels.
1,306 Units
One of the most recognized names in budget lodging, Motel 6 has become a hallmark of American travel (though the brand has also expanded into Canada). Founded in California in the early 1960s, the first Motel 6’s famously charged just $6 per room per night, and though the rates have climbed in the decades since, the chain is still known as the most affordable motel chains in the industry. The franchise has leveraged its brand recognition to great effect, embarking on a number of high-profile T.V., radio and print ad campaigns, many featuring the tagline, “We’ll leave the light on for you,” first introduced in 1968 and still featured prominently in advertisements for the brand today.
512 Units
Its dark-red, sloping roofs instantly recognizable from highways and interstates, Red Roof Inn is another budget hospitality chain — this one a hotel — that has successfully positioned itself as a staple of intra-U.S. travel. Red Roof Inn began franchising in 1996, 24 years after its founding. The chain now has 512 hotels, all located within the U.S., making it one of the largest domestic hotel chains in the country. In 2012, the brand embarked on a $200 million system-wide renovation, redesigning their rooms and bringing new amenities to ever hotel. In the same year, the franchise also introduced Red Roof Plus+, a sister brand with amenities and services not offered at Red Roof Inns.
2,285 Units
Like Motel 6, Super 8 got its name from its $8.88-per-night room rate when the first motel opened in 1974. Today, Super 8 remains Motel 6’s most direct competition. Purely in terms of unit-count, Super 8 has the clear edge, with 2,285 motels through the U.S., Canada and China, making it the biggest budget hospitality chain in the world. In 1993, Super 8 was purchased by Wyndham Worldwide (then called Cendant Corp.), a hotel group with more than 21 brands, including Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Hawthorn Suites and Ramada Worldwide. Though the majority of Super 8s feature standard amenities for budget motels and hotels, a handful of franchisees have developed larger hotels with full restaurants.
6,850 Units
After more than 30 years in operation, Travel Leaders has become the largest network of travel agencies in North America, boasting nearly 7,000 locations producing annual sales in excess of $17 billion. Travel Leaders franchisees benefit from exclusive contracts with more than 70 domestic and international airlines, a robust national marketing system that includes PR training for local media, comprehensive and ongoing training, and a deep toolbox of management tools and software. That support has made Travel Leaders an industry favorite, earning the top spot among travel brands in Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 list in 2016.
Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts
84 Units
One of the more unique franchising concepts in any segment, Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts is a chain of campgrounds with locations throughout the United States and Canada. The first Jellystone Park was opened in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 1969, and the brand began franchising the same year. 50 years later, there are now 84 franchisee-owned Jellystone Parks, all of them designed for family vacations. In fact, Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park-Camp Resorts claims to be the only campground chain in the U.S. focused exclusively on the family demographic. This year, Franchise Business Review named Jellystone Parks one of the 50 best medium-size franchises to buy.
