FranchiseVerdict
HomeTowne Studios logo
FV-01216·MODERATEExcellent81

HomeTowne Studios

Formerly known as Home Therapy Solutions

Lodging - Hotels & MotelsFranchising since 2018Website
Investment
$420K – $14.8M
31st pct Hotels & Mote…
Avg revenue
7th pct Hotels & Mote…
Royalty
5.5%
59th pct Hotels & Mote…
Units
84
65th pct Hotels & Mote…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $420K – $14.8M including a $30K 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 61/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 20 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 150.0% CAGR over 3 years with 84 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
HomeTowne Studios, LLC
Parent company
Red Roof Franchising, LLC
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
7815 Walton Parkway, New Albany, Ohio 43054
Auditor
Plante & Moran, PLLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$94.2M
vs $92.0M 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 HomeTowne Studios 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: $420K–$14.8M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $112K–$154K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

1%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$86K
EBITDA margin
11.5%
Total invested
$7.8M
Payback
1080 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

HomeTowne Studios franchisees operate extended-stay hotels targeting budget-conscious travelers, managing day-to-day operations including housekeeping, front desk, maintenance, and guest services across studio-style rooms. Franchisees handle occupancy management, pricing, local marketing, and staffing while paying 5.5% royalties on all room revenue regardless of profitability.

CEO
Zack Gharib
Founded
2017
FDD year
2025
States available
25

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$420K – $14.8M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$112K – $154K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$30K
Royalty
5.5%
Gross Room Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
3.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.5%
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
84
Opened
20
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
39
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
54%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+80.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+150.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
45+11
Franchised units
2024
25
Franchised units
2025
18
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 22 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 · 22 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
20
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

61
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE61 / 100

Declining franchise system with active litigation, regulatory violations, franchisee collection actions, missing financial disclosures, and alarming unit contraction suggest fundamental business model stress and franchisor-franchisee relationship breakdown.

Score breakdown · what drove the 61 / 100 rating

  1. 01MED20% unit decline YoY (84 units, down from ~105) signals system contraction and potential franchisee distress
  2. 02MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (avg revenue/net income) prevents ROI validation on $420k-$14.8M investment range
  3. 03HIGHMultiple litigation issues: pending breach of franchise agreement, Maryland regulatory consent order, and two 2024 collection actions against franchisees suggest franchisor-franchisee relationship deterioration
  4. 04MINORExtremely wide investment range ($420k to $14.8M) with no average unit volume data creates transparency risk and suggests inconsistent unit economics
  5. 05MINORCollection actions filed by affiliate against franchisees in 2024 indicates cash flow problems among current franchisees
  6. 06MINOR5.5% royalty on gross revenue (not net) provides no relief during downturns and compounds pressure on struggling units

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 geographic area
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
20 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
4
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Ohio

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
37 hrs
On-the-job training
7 hrs
POS system
Reservation Platform / PMS
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

27 numbers

Locked
(410) 576-••••
MD
(212) 416-••••
NY
(517) 335-••••
MI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

HomeTowne Studios · FDD (2025) PDF

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