FranchiseVerdict
Clarion / Clarion Pointe logo
FV-00552·MODERATEStandard76

Clarion / Clarion Pointe

OtherFranchising since 1987Website
Investment
$298K – $2.6M
75th pct Other
Avg revenue
50th pct Other
Royalty
5.5%
16th pct Other
Units
178
83rd pct Other
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $298K – $2.6M including a $45K franchise fee, 5.5% 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.
  • 62 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
Choice Hotels International, Inc.
Parent company
None
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
915 Meeting Street, Suite 600, North Bethesda, Maryland 20852
Auditor
Ernst & Young LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.5B
vs $1.4B 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 Clarion / Clarion Pointe 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: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $298K–$2.6M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $15K–$60K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

7%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$107K
EBITDA margin
14.2%
Total invested
$1.5M
Payback
167 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 select-service or extended-stay hotel properties under the Clarion or Clarion Pointe brand, managing daily front-desk operations, housekeeping, maintenance, guest services, and revenue optimization. They pay 5.5% royalties on gross room revenue and generate returns through room bookings, ancillary services (parking, F&B), and property appreciation. Success depends on occupancy rates, average daily rate (ADR) management, and local market demand within the upper-midscale hotel segment.

CEO
Patrick S. Pacious
Founded
1963
FDD year
2024
States available
40

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$298K – $2.6M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$15K – $60K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$45K
Royalty
5.5%
Gross Room Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
3.3%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.8%
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
178
Opened
14
Last reporting year
Closed
15
Turnover rate
8.4%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-0.6%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-5.8%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
178-1
Franchised units
2023
179
Franchised units
2024
189
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 38 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 · 38 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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

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

Risk & Legal

64
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE64 / 100

Clarion faces systemic unit decline, extensive royalty litigation, missing financial disclosures, and unprotected territories—presenting material operational and financial risks that warrant deep due diligence before investment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORDeclining unit count (-0.6% YoY) suggests system contraction and potential franchisee exits
  2. 02MINOR54 active royalty recovery lawsuits by franchisor indicate widespread payment disputes and cash flow problems among franchisees
  3. 03MINORNo Item 19 financial performance disclosure prevents assessment of actual franchisee profitability and ROI
  4. 04MINORWide investment range ($298K–$2.6M) with no average revenue data creates opacity around unit economics
  5. 05MINORUnprotected territory exposes franchisees to direct franchisor competition and internal cannibalization
  6. 06HIGHHigh cumulative litigation count (62+ actions) suggests adversarial franchisor-franchisee relationship
  7. 07MINORMid-to-high royalty rate (5.5%) combined with no profitability disclosure is concerning

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Site-specific
Protected territory
No
Initial term
20 years
Renewal term
0 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
62
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Maryland

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
47 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
choiceADVANTAGE
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

100 numbers

Locked
(727) 871-••••
FL
(337) 287-••••
LA
(856) 297-••••
NJ

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Clarion / Clarion Pointe · FDD (2024) PDF

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