City Express by Marriott
Bottom line
- Total investment $2.8M – $4.9M including a $75K 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 75/100.
- 20 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
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 City Express by Marriott unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
2%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Franchisees operate limited-service hotel properties under the City Express by Marriott brand, managing day-to-day operations including front desk, housekeeping, maintenance, and guest services while paying Marriott 5% royalties on all room revenue. Daily responsibilities include revenue management, staffing oversight, compliance with brand standards, and handling guest relations within the economy/midscale segment.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
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
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 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).
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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
High-risk franchise with zero unit transparency, active multi-front litigation, unprotected territory, no financial disclosure, and unclear going concern status—unsuitable for most investors.
Score breakdown · what drove the 75 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing concern status is FALSE, indicating potential financial viability questions at corporate level
- 02MEDZero disclosed franchise units with unknown growth trajectory suggests brand either new, failing, or data transparency issues
- 03HIGHExtensive litigation portfolio including data security class action, state AG investigations, antitrust claims, and contractual disputes indicates systemic corporate governance problems
- 04MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (no Item 19) prevents ROI validation on $2.75M-$4.85M investment
- 05MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk and revenue cannibalization among franchisees
- 06MINOR5% royalty on gross room sales (not net) combined with high capex requirements creates margin squeeze risk
- 07HIGHMarriott brand association provides some credibility, but litigation suggests parent company distance or weak oversight
- 08MINOR20-year term locks franchisees into relationship with litigious corporate entity
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
19 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
City Express by Marriott · FDD (2024) PDF