FranchiseVerdict
BW Premier Collection and BW Signature Collection logo
FV-00431·CAUTIONStandard71

BW Premier Collection and BW Signature Collection

Formerly known as Best Western

Lodging - Hotels & MotelsFranchising since 2020Website
Investment
$443K – $6.9M
32nd pct Hotels & Mote…
Avg revenue
7th pct Hotels & Mote…
Royalty
5.0%
7th pct Hotels & Mote…
Units
67
56th pct Hotels & Mote…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $443K – $6.9M including a $29K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 69/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
  • 25 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Best Western International, Inc.
Parent company
None
Incorporated in
Arizona
HQ
6201 N. 24th Parkway, Phoenix, AZ 85016
Auditor
Ernst & Young LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$520.9M
vs $547.5M prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one BW Premier Collection and BW Signature Collection unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: hospitality
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $443K–$6.9M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $357K–$545K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

2%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$90K
EBITDA margin
12.0%
Total invested
$4.1M
Payback
549 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Franchisees own and operate upscale hotel properties under the Best Western Premier or Signature Collection brands, managing daily guest services, housekeeping, front-desk operations, and revenue optimization. They pay a 5% royalty on gross room revenue and are responsible for all property maintenance, staffing, and local marketing while adhering to brand standards and reservation system requirements.

CEO
Lawrence M. Cuculic
Founded
1957
FDD year
2026
States available
28

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$443K – $6.9M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$357K – $545K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$29K
Royalty
5.0%
gross rooms revenue · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
n/d
Total fee load
5.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
67
Opened
12
Last reporting year
Closed
9
Turnover rate
13.4%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+4.7%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+17.5%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
67+3
Franchised units
2025
64
Franchised units
2026
57
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 31 states with active franchisees

The Territory Map

Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 31 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
2
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

69
Risk · 0-100
CAUTION69 / 100

This hotel franchise exhibits high risk due to going concern status, active litigation over contract breaches and fee disputes, regulatory compliance violations, minimal growth, and absent financial performance disclosures—indicating potential franchisor instability and franchisee financial vulnerability.

Score breakdown · what drove the 69 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates franchisor financial distress or viability questions
  2. 02HIGHActive litigation involving breach of contract, unpaid fees, and wrongful termination suggests systemic franchisor-franchisee relationship problems
  3. 03MINORState regulatory actions related to franchise registration and disclosure laws indicate compliance violations and potential enforcement risk
  4. 04MEDSlow unit growth of 4.7% YoY combined with 67 units suggests mature/stagnating system with limited expansion momentum
  5. 05MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents validation of ROI claims and profitability benchmarks
  6. 06MINORZero territory protection exposes franchisees to direct brand competition and cannibalization risk from other locations
  7. 07MINOR5% royalty on gross rooms revenue (not net) creates fixed burden regardless of profitability
  8. 08MINORWide investment range ($442K-$6.9M) signals inconsistent unit economics and unclear capital requirements

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
15 years
Renewal term
15 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
25
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
No
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Arizona

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
0 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
AutoClerk
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

75 numbers

Locked
(910) 327-••••
NC
(252) 764-••••
NC
(541) 283-••••
OR

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

BW Premier Collection and BW Signature Collection · FDD (2026) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above