Big-brand travel franchises: reported costs and fine print

Google "MakeMyTrip franchise cost" and the first page is franchise-broker sites: Franchise India, Franchise Bazar, Daalchini, half a dozen others. Every one of them earns a referral fee if you sign up through their form. None of them show you the break-even math for operators actually putting ₹10-25 lakh on the table.

This post does that math. It pulls the fee figures these brokers publish for MakeMyTrip, Thomas Cook and Yatra franchises, treats every number as reported (not verified), and works out how many bookings a month you would need to recover the outlay before comparing it to building your own agency with the same money.

If you are weighing a big-brand franchise against your own brand, read this before you talk to a franchise sales team, not after.

What the franchise-broker sites actually publish

Broker sites disagree with each other on exact figures, which is itself a signal. Treat every number below as "reported by this broker," not as a confirmed MMT, Thomas Cook or Yatra fee schedule. Confirm current terms directly with the brand before signing anything.

Brand	Reported cost	Source
MakeMyTrip	₹10-25 lakh total (fee + fitment + annual charges)	Franchise India, Franchise Bazar
Thomas Cook India	₹5-15 lakh depending on city	Franchise India
Yatra	₹2-5 lakh	Top Franchise

Even at a glance, these are three very different bets. MakeMyTrip asks for roughly the price of a small flat's down payment. Yatra asks for what many agents already spend fitting out a single shop.

MakeMyTrip franchise cost: two broker sites, two different numbers

Here is the honest answer to "MakeMyTrip franchise cost": broker sites do not agree on the structure, only on the rough total. Franchise India reports a non-refundable franchise fee of ₹10 lakh for Tier-1 cities, ₹7.5 lakh for Tier-2, and ₹5 lakh for Tier-3, on top of fitment costs of ₹1.5-4 lakh for a 300-500 sq ft commercial space. It also reports that the franchise cannot be resold on exit, and that sales targets apply, though it flags that these figures should be verified directly with MakeMyTrip's franchise page rather than taken as final.

Franchise Bazar, on the other hand, reports a flat ₹10 lakh non-refundable franchise fee for every city, with a separate annual fee that scales by tier: ₹8 lakh (Tier 1), ₹6 lakh (Tier 2), ₹4 lakh (Tier 3), ₹2 lakh (small towns), inside a 3-year agreement. That site puts total outlay at ₹10-25 lakh.

Careful: two brokers, two different fee structures, for the same brand. That is not a typo on one site. It means the actual current terms MakeMyTrip offers are not reliably public. Do not budget against either table until you have MMT's own franchise onboarding document in hand, dated, in writing.

Is a MakeMyTrip franchise profitable? The 7% ROI claim, examined

Broker marketing around the MakeMyTrip franchise circulates a claimed return of roughly 7% in year one, but payback-period figures conflict across the same sites making the claim, according to Daalchini's writeup. Treat any ROI percentage on a broker page as a sales pitch, not a projection you can bank on.

A 7% year-one return on a ₹10-25 lakh outlay is, on its own terms, a modest number: it works out to roughly ₹70,000-1,75,000 back in the first year, against an outlay that size. Brokers rarely spell that arithmetic out next to the headline "7% ROI," because the headline sounds better than the rupee figure.

That does not make a MakeMyTrip franchise unprofitable. It means the honest answer to "is MakeMyTrip franchise profitable" is: nobody outside MMT and its existing franchisees has the real numbers, and every broker-published percentage should be treated as marketing until MMT's own franchise documents confirm it in writing.

Thomas Cook and Yatra: how the smaller-ticket franchises compare

Thomas Cook India's business-associate or franchise arrangement runs a reported ₹5-15 lakh total depending on the city, per Franchise India. That is roughly half of MakeMyTrip's reported ceiling, with a brand that skews toward forex, corporate travel and a more traditional storefront model rather than an OTA-style outlet.

Yatra sits lowest, with a reported initial investment of ₹2-5 lakh across 20-50 operating units. That is closer to what many independent agents already spend on office fitout and a first year of marketing, without any franchise fee at all.

Example: if you have ₹10 lakh to deploy, that single amount could cover a Yatra franchise twice over with cash to spare, sit at the low end of Thomas Cook's range, or barely clear MakeMyTrip's non-refundable fee before you have paid for fitment, stock, staff or a single month's rent. The brand names sound comparable. The cheques are not.

The break-even math brokers never publish

No broker page runs the numbers on how many bookings you actually need to recover a franchise fee. Here is a working method, using clearly hypothetical assumptions, not published brand figures.

Example: say your MMT-branded outlet books ₹10 lakh a month in flights, hotels and packages combined, and the franchise pays you a blended margin share of roughly 6-8% across all of that (this is a hypothetical for illustration, not a published MakeMyTrip number, ask for the real revenue-share schedule before signing). That is ₹60,000-80,000 a month before rent, staff salaries, electricity and the franchise's own annual fee. Against a reported total outlay of ₹10-25 lakh, recovering the upfront fee alone, ignoring every running cost, would take roughly 12-35 months of stacking that margin.

Run the same exercise for Thomas Cook (₹5-15 lakh outlay) and the payback window shrinks proportionally, assuming similar monthly throughput. For Yatra (₹2-5 lakh), a much smaller monthly booking volume clears the outlay.

The variable that actually decides this for you is not the brand, it is your own footfall and average booking value in that specific location. Before you sign anything, ask the franchise's sales team for their existing franchisees' average monthly gross booking value in a comparable city and tier, in writing, not a verbal "our top performers do X."

The fine print: sales targets, no resale, and the 3-year lock-in

Three clauses show up consistently in broker reporting on the MakeMyTrip franchise, and they change the real cost of walking away, not just the cost of walking in.

• No resale on exit. Franchise India reports that an MMT franchise cannot be resold if you want out. Compare that to your own brand, which you can sell, merge, or simply rename and keep operating.
• Sales targets. The same source reports sales targets apply, though the specific numbers are not public. A missed target's consequences (warning, reduced territory, non-renewal) should be in the franchise agreement you sign, not something you find out later.
• A 3-year agreement. Franchise Bazar's reporting frames the MakeMyTrip term at three years, with the annual fee (₹8L/6L/4L/2L by tier) recurring each of those years, not just once.

Careful: an annual fee that recurs for three years changes the total cost picture substantially. If Franchise Bazar's figures are close to what a given franchisee actually pays, the "₹10-25 lakh" headline number may understate what you commit to across a full 3-year term, once annual fees repeat. Get the full 3-year cash-flow schedule in writing before comparing it to any one-time cost of starting independently.

What ₹10-25 lakh builds if you skip the franchise

This is the comparison franchise-broker sites have no reason to run, since they earn nothing if you build independently. For roughly the same ₹10-25 lakh a MakeMyTrip franchise reportedly costs, an operator building their own brand could fund, across a first year or two: a proper GST registration and compliant invoicing setup, deposits on two or three B2B supplier portals, a real website, a sustained Google Ads and SEO budget, an office fitout comparable to the franchise's own 300-500 sq ft requirement, and a full year or two of staff salaries, with money left over.

What you do not get with an independent brand is MakeMyTrip's name recognition on your signboard from day one, or its existing customer-referral flow. What you keep is the ability to resell your business, set your own margins and discounting, choose your own suppliers instead of a franchise's preferred panel, and walk away without a 3-year agreement hanging over you.

The honest verdict, for most readers weighing this: if your real asset is capital and you are buying a brand because you have no time or appetite to build one, MakeMyTrip's reported ₹10-25 lakh or Thomas Cook's reported ₹5-15 lakh can make sense in a high-footfall Tier-1 commercial location, provided you get the actual current terms in writing and run your own break-even math against your specific city, not a broker's average. If your real asset is time, a supplier network, or an existing client base, the same money builds an independent brand you fully own, with a business plan and a business loan doing more for you than a franchise fee would.

One more option worth knowing before you commit to either path: MakeMyTrip's myPartner programme is a referral and booking arrangement, not a branded-outlet franchise, and it costs far less to start. If what you actually want is access to MMT's inventory and rates rather than an MMT signboard, myPartner is worth checking before you sign a franchise agreement at all.

Common questions

Is a MakeMyTrip franchise profitable?

Broker sites cite a roughly 7% year-one ROI, but payback-period claims conflict across the same sites, so treat this as marketing until MMT's own franchise documents confirm it. Profitability depends on your city's footfall, your average booking value and the actual revenue-share MMT offers you in writing, not a published percentage.

What does a Thomas Cook franchise cost in India?

Reported total cost is ₹5-15 lakh depending on city, according to broker reporting. That is roughly half of MakeMyTrip's reported ₹10-25 lakh ceiling, for a brand built more around forex and corporate travel than an OTA-style storefront.

How much investment does a Yatra franchise need?

Reported initial investment is ₹2-5 lakh, with brokers citing 20-50 operating units currently running. That is the smallest ticket of the three brands covered here, closer to what many independent agents already spend on their first office fitout.

Can you resell or exit an MMT franchise if it does not work out?

Broker reporting says no, an MakeMyTrip franchise cannot be resold on exit. That is a meaningful difference from an independent agency, which you can sell, merge or rename freely. Confirm this clause directly in MMT's current franchise agreement, since broker reporting on this point is not verified.

The short version

• Every fee figure in this post comes from franchise-broker sites, not MMT, Thomas Cook or Yatra directly. Confirm current terms in writing before you sign.
• Reported totals: MakeMyTrip ₹10-25 lakh, Thomas Cook ₹5-15 lakh, Yatra ₹2-5 lakh, and two brokers do not even agree on MMT's fee structure.
• The broker-cited 7% year-one ROI claim for MakeMyTrip works out to roughly ₹70,000-1,75,000 on a ₹10-25 lakh outlay. Small headline, smaller rupee number.
• Ask any franchise's sales team for existing franchisees' actual monthly booking value in a comparable city, in writing, before you calculate your own break-even.
• Watch for a 3-year agreement, no-resale clauses and unspecified sales targets. These change the real cost of exiting, not just entering.
• The same ₹10-25 lakh can fund GST registration, B2B portal deposits, a website, ads spend and staff for an independent brand you fully own and can resell.
• If you want MMT's inventory without a branded outlet, its myPartner programme is a cheaper, different arrangement worth checking first.