FranchiseVerdict
Embassy Suites by Hilton logo
FV-00856·MODERATEStandard67

Embassy Suites by Hilton

Lodging - Hotels & MotelsFranchising since 2015Website
Investment
93rd pct Hotels & Mote…
Avg revenue
7th pct Hotels & Mote…
Royalty
3.5%
2nd pct Hotels & Mote…
Units
239
79th pct Hotels & Mote…
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment — including a $100K franchise fee, 3.5% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100.
  • 15 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
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
$1.4B
vs $1.5B 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 Embassy Suites 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 $600K–$1.0M

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

9%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$94K
EBITDA margin
12.5%
Total invested
$1.1M
Payback
134 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 all-suite hotel properties under the Embassy Suites brand, managing daily operations including front desk, housekeeping, food and beverage service, and guest amenities. Franchisees must maintain Hilton's brand standards, pricing compliance requirements, and technology integrations while paying 3.5-5.5% royalties on gross rooms revenue. Hotel operations are capital-intensive, requiring significant upfront investment in property acquisition/renovation, staffing, and ongoing maintenance.

CEO
Christopher J. Nassetta
Founded
2007
FDD year
2026
States available
43

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$600K – $1.0M
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$100K
Royalty
3.5%
Gross Rooms Revenue · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
4.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.5%
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
239
Opened
3
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
0.4%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+0.8%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+1.3%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
239+2
Franchised units
2025
237
Franchised units
2026
236
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 17 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 · 17 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

65
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE65 / 100

Embassy Suites presents elevated risk due to litigation exposure, absent financial transparency, negligible growth despite brand strength, and unprotected territories creating cannibalization risk.

Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORStagnant unit growth (0.8% YoY) suggests franchisee recruitment and retention challenges despite major brand recognition
  2. 02MINORMultiple active antitrust lawsuits and recent AG settlements indicate systemic compliance issues with pricing transparency and guest fee disclosures
  3. 03MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosure (Avg Revenue and Net Income not disclosed) prevents prospective franchisees from validating unit economics or ROI claims
  4. 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk; franchisees may face cannibalization from nearby Embassy Suites locations
  5. 05HIGHLitigation pattern shows breach of contract and termination disputes with franchisees, suggesting contentious franchisor-franchisee relationships
  6. 06HIGH23-year term is lengthy given declining unit trajectory and litigation exposure; exit options may be limited

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
Renewal term
0 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
15
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
119 hrs
On-the-job training
1 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

22 numbers

Locked
(713) 273-••••
Moody National Broadway Nashville
TX
(804) 318-••••
KM HOTELS, LLC, Blacksburg, VA,
VA
(608) 266-••••
WI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Embassy Suites by Hilton · FDD (2026) PDF

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