FranchiseVerdict
Canopy by Hilton logo
FV-00452·MODERATEStandard67

Canopy by Hilton

Lodging - Hotels & MotelsFranchising since 2014Website
Investment
93rd pct Hotels & Mote…
Avg revenue
7th pct Hotels & Mote…
Royalty
5.0%
7th pct Hotels & Mote…
Units
26
45th pct Hotels & Mote…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment — including a $85K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 30.0% CAGR over 3 years with 26 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Hilton Franchise Holding LLC
Parent company
Hilton Domestic Operating Company Inc.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
7930 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 1100, McLean, Virginia 22102
Auditor
Cherry Bekaert LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$883.3M
vs $1.2B 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 Canopy by Hilton 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
$
Working capital
$
FDD reports $900K–$1.3M

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

6%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$83K
EBITDA margin
11.0%
Total invested
$1.4M
Payback
196 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 operate upscale, boutique-style hotel properties under the Canopy by Hilton brand, managing daily guest services, housekeeping, front desk operations, and food/beverage offerings. They are responsible for maintaining brand standards, collecting gross rooms revenue (subject to 5% royalty), and ensuring compliance with Hilton's operating requirements and ADA accessibility standards.

CEO
Christopher J. Nassetta
Founded
2007
FDD year
2023
States available
19

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$900K – $1.3M
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$85K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Rooms Revenue · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
4.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
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
26
Opened
3
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
1.0%
Net growth (yr3)
+13.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+30.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2021
26+3
Franchised units
2022
23
Franchised units
2023
20
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 29 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 · 29 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

64
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE64 / 100

Canopy presents moderate-to-cautionary risk due to litigation history, undisclosed financial performance, small system size with modest growth, unprotected territory, and lack of Item 19 profitability data needed to justify the $85,000 franchise fee and 5% royalty structure.

Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHActive pending litigation regarding guest fees and franchise termination suggests operational/contractual disputes and potential franchisor enforcement issues
  2. 02MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents accurate ROI assessment and profitability validation
  3. 03MEDModest unit growth of 13% YoY with only 26 total units indicates limited scale and market traction for an established Hilton brand
  4. 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other Canopy franchisees in same markets
  5. 05MINORHistory of breach of contract settlements and ADA compliance consent decrees suggests systemic operational or compliance challenges
  6. 06MINOR23-year term is lengthy and limits exit flexibility if brand underperforms or franchisor relationship deteriorates

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
23 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
8
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
New York

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
149 hrs
On-the-job training
9 hrs
POS system
OnQ
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

36 numbers

Locked
(443) 422-••••
Wills Wharf Hotel, LLC, Baltimore Harbor Point, MD,
MD
(614) 223-••••
Indus Hotel
OH
(616) 456-••••
Grand Rapids Hospitality Group, LLC, Grand Rapids, MI,
MI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Canopy by Hilton · FDD (2023) PDF

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