FranchiseVerdict
Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham logo
FV-01169·MODERATEExcellent81

Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham

Lodging - Hotels & MotelsFranchising since 1996Website
Investment
$317K – $14.2M
27th pct Hotels & Mote…
Avg revenue
7th pct Hotels & Mote…
Royalty
5.5%
59th pct Hotels & Mote…
Units
68
59th pct Hotels & Mote…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $317K – $14.2M including a $40K 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 56/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 27 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -5.6% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Hawthorn Suites Franchising, Inc.
Parent company
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
Incorporated in
Georgia
HQ
22 Sylvan Way, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054
Auditor
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.6B
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 Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham 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: $317K–$14.2M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $131K–$196K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

1%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$90K
EBITDA margin
12.0%
Total invested
$7.4M
Payback
987 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 develop and operate extended-stay hotel properties under the Hawthorn Suites brand, managing day-to-day operations including guest services, housekeeping, maintenance, and revenue management. They pay 5.5% royalties on gross room revenues and participate in the Wyndham loyalty ecosystem while managing properties typically in mid-market segments.

CEO
Geoff Ballotti
Founded
1996
FDD year
2024
States available
23

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$317K – $14.2M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$131K – $196K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$40K
Royalty
5.5%
Gross Room Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.5%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
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
68
Opened
6
Last reporting year
Closed
5
Turnover rate
7.4%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+1.5%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-5.6%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
68+1
Franchised units
2023
67
Franchised units
2024
72
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 27 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 · 27 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
27
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

56
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE56 / 100

Hawthorn Suites presents moderate-to-high risk: anemic growth trajectory, opaque financials, substantial litigation exposure, and demonstrated disputes with current franchisees raise concerns about system viability and franchisor support.

Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORStagnant unit growth (1.5% YoY) indicates declining brand momentum and potential market saturation
  2. 02HIGHExtensive litigation portfolio spanning destination marketing fees, resort fees, privacy breaches, FTC settlement, and current franchisee contract disputes suggests systemic legal/operational vulnerabilities
  3. 03MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosure (Avg Revenue and Net Income not disclosed) prevents ROI validation and obscures true profitability
  4. 04MINORWide investment range ($316K–$14.1M) with unclear unit economics creates uncertainty around capital requirements and break-even timelines
  5. 05HIGHParent company (Wyndham) litigation history indicates potential for corporate decisions that negatively impact franchise operations (fee structures, brand reputation)
  6. 06MED5.5% royalty rate coupled with undisclosed revenue baseline makes margin analysis impossible for prospective franchisees

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Negotiated boundary (radius or irregular area)
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
20 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
9
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
New Jersey

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
45 hrs
On-the-job training
30 hrs
POS system
OPERA® system from Oracle Hospitality
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

89 numbers

Locked
(405) 737-••••
OK
(732) 762-••••
NJ
(920) 435-••••
WI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham · FDD (2024) PDF

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