<PAGE>   1
                                                                 Exhibit 10.2(a)

RFS HOTEL INVESTORS, INC.
TERMS OF PERCENTAGE LEASES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1996

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Part Year      CPI    Base      1st Tier
Name                    City                  ST            Inception   Termination     Factor      Factor  Rent       Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                     <C>                    <C>          <C>          <C>               <C>        <C>      <C>        <C>
Holiday Inn Express     Tupelo                 MS           08/13/93     08/13/2008        1.0000     1.0000   245,836    1,014,503
Holiday Inn Express     Franklin               TN           08/13/93     08/13/2008        1.0000     1.0000   237,642    1,000,000
Holiday Inn             Louisville             KY           08/13/93     08/13/2008        1.0000     1.0000   409,727    1,537,499
Executive Inn           Tupelo                 MS           08/13/93     08/13/2008        1.0000     1.0000   278,614    1,007,909
Holiday Inn             Clayton                MO           08/13/93     08/13/2008        1.0000     1.0000   557,228    2,505,320
Holiday Inn             Columbia               SC           08/13/93     08/13/2008        1.0000     1.0000   368,754    1,475,513
Ramada Inn              Lexington              KY           08/13/93       03/05/96        0.1776     1.0000    53,847      231,869
Comfort Inn             Conyers                GA           09/23/93     09/23/2008        1.0000     1.0000   234,500    1,000,000
Holiday Inn             Lafayette              LA           10/26/93     10/26/2008        1.0000     1.0000   700,000    2,750,000
Comfort Inn             Marietta               GA           12/17/93     12/17/2008        1.0000     1.0000   472,500    1,400,000
Residence Inn           Kansas City            MO           02/02/94     02/02/2009        1.0000     1.0000   406,000    1,400,000
Comfort Inn             Clemson                SC           04/19/94     04/19/2009        1.0000     1.0587   360,500    1,058,704
Comfort Inn             Ft. Mill               SC           04/29/94     04/29/2009        1.0000     1.0587   518,000    1,323,381
Hampton Inn             Ft. Lauderdale         FL           04/19/94     04/19/2009        1.0000     1.0587   364,500    1,535,121
Holiday Inn Express     Arlington Heights      IL           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0087   289,961    1,164,575
Holiday Inn Express     Bloomington            MN           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   515,793    1,588,057
Hampton Inn             Bloomington            MN           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   613,288    1,852,733
Hampton Inn             Denver                 CO           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   568,981    1,508,654
Holiday Inn Express     Downers Grove          IL           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   409,850    1,164,575
Comfort Inn             Farmington Hills       MI           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   303,594    1,111,640
Comfort Inn             Grand Rapids           MI           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   227,080    1,005,769
Hampton Inn             Indianapolis           IN           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   556,693    1,482,186
Hampton Inn             Lansing                MI           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   263,325      620,496
Hampton Inn             Lincoln                NE           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   342,202    1,005,769
Hampton Inn             Minnetonka             MN           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   348,052    1,164,575
Hampton Inn             Oklahoma City          OK           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   489,631    1,482,186
Hampton Inn             Omaha                  NE           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   463,545    1,323,381
Hampton Inn             Tulsa                  OK           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   423,390    1,429,251
Hampton Inn             Warren                 MI           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   203,688    1,032,237
Holiday Inn Express     Wauwatosa              WI           06/07/94     06/07/2009        1.0000     1.0587   373,516    1,270,445
Residence Inn           Tyler                  TX           08/12/94     08/12/2009        1.0000     1.0587   512,750    1,799,798
Residence Inn           Fishkill               NY           07/29/94     07/29/2009        1.0000     1.0587   888,822    2,329,150
Residence Inn           Providence             RI           07/29/94     07/29/2009        1.0000     1.0587   651,994    1,985,071
Hampton Inn             Memphis                TN           09/30/94     09/30/2009        1.0000     1.0587   516,250    1,323,381
Residence Inn           Ft. Worth              TX           10/01/94     10/01/2009        1.0000     1.0587   812,000    2,435,020
Residence Inn           Torrance               CA           10/15/94     10/15/2009        1.0000     1.0587 1,365,000    4,234,818
Residence Inn           Wilmington             DE           10/15/94     10/15/2009        1.0000     1.0587   703,500    2,117,409
Residence Inn           Ann Arbor              MI           10/15/94     10/15/2009        1.0000     1.0587   308,000    1,217,510
Holiday Inn             Flint                  MI           10/29/94     10/29/2009        1.0000     1.0587   933,100    2,911,437
Residence Inn           Charlotte              NC           11/15/94     11/15/2009        1.0000     1.0587   315,000    1,217,510
Hawthorn Suites Hotel   Atlanta                GA           12/21/94     12/21/2009        1.0000     1.0587 1,194,200    3,387,854
Holiday Inn Express     Austin                 TX           01/03/95     01/03/2010        1.0000     1.0295   367,500    1,338,386
Hampton Inn             Lakewood               CO           03/16/95     03/16/2010        1.0000     1.0295   553,000    1,647,244
Hampton Inn             Hattiesburg            MS           04/20/95     04/20/2010        1.0000     1.0295   385,000    1,183,957
Hampton Inn             Laredo                 TX           07/05/95     07/05/2010        1.0000     1.0295   409,255      514,764
Residence Inn           Atlanta                GA           10/02/95     10/02/2010        1.0000     1.0295   815,500    1,544,291
Holiday Inn             Crystal Lake           IL           10/05/95     10/05/2010        1.0000     1.0295 1,016,000    3,387,854
Residence Inn           Orlando                FL           10/19/95     10/19/2010        1.0000     1.0295   707,000    2,419,390
Residence Inn           Sacramento             CA           01/12/96     01/12/2011        0.0328     1.0295    33,049       97,541
Hampton Inn             Plano                  TX           07/15/96     07/15/2011        0.5383     1.0000   263,743      592,077
Hampton Inn             Houston                TX           11/12/96     11/12/2011        0.8681     1.0000   363,816    1,156,270
Homewood Suites         Salt Lake City         UT           11/08/96     11/08/2011        0.8552     1.0000   472,996    1,265,683
Courtyard by Marriott   Flint                  MI           12/14/96     12/14/2011        0.9536     1.0000   407,167    1,468,470
Doubletree Hotel        San Diego              CA           05/30/96     05/30/2011        0.4126     1.0000   479,404    1,155,191


<CAPTION>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1st Tier  2nd Tier     2nd Tier  3rd Tier   Food     Beverage   Phone     Other
 Percent     Amount      Percent   Percent   Percent   Percent   Percent   Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>         <C>          <C>        <C>      <C>       <C>       <C>       <C>
27.5%       0            50.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
20.0%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
23.0%   1,787,499        45.0%     60.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
34.0%       0            60.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
17.0%   2,755,320        30.0%     50.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
17.5%   1,725,513        30.0%     50.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
14.0%     276,268        30.0%     40.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
32.0%       0            75.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
24.0%   3,000,000        35.0%     70.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
27.5%       0            60.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
24.0%   1,650,000        45.0%     60.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
27.0%       0            75.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
32.0%       0            65.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
27.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
38.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
27.5%       0            72.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
41.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
27.5%       0            76.5%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
34.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
36.0%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
29.5%       0            72.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
40.5%       0            72.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
30.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
30.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
38.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
32.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
38.0%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
33.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
33.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
40.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
26.0%       0            67.5%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
27.5%       0            72.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
31.0%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
33.0%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
41.0%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
35.0%       0            69.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
36.0%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
24.0%       0            69.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
40.0%   3,176,113        65.0%     70.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
24.0%       0            69.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
36.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
36.5%       0            65.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
33.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
36.0%       0            65.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
21.0%   1,338,385        37.0%     70.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
30.0%   2,059,055        50.0%     70.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
30.0%   2,985,630        50.0%     70.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
25.0%   2,934,154        50.0%     70.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
40.0%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
33.0%     753,552        50.0%     60.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
35.0%       0            65.0%      0.0%     0.0%       0.0%     0.0%      0.0%
33.7%       0            70.0%      0.0%     0.0%       0.0%     0.0%      0.0%
41.5%       0            70.0%      0.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%
26.0%   1,367,664        45.0%     70.0%     5.0%      20.0%     0.0%      0.0%

</TABLE>