Hotel IndigoFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Hotel Indigo franchise requires a total initial investment of $9.8M – $44.9M, including a $75K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2024 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $9.8M – $44.9M
- 38th pct Lodging
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 2nd pct Lodging
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 4th pct Lodging
- Units
- 68
- 31st pct Lodging
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Lodging · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Lodging avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
63 legal cases disclosed in the FDD. Read Item 3 before signing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $9.8M – $44.9M including a $75K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Item 19 discloses "Historical" rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 100/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Holiday Hospitality Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Six Continents Hotels, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- Three Ravinia Drive, Suite 100, Atlanta, Georgia 30346
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $26.1M
- vs $27.2M prior year
Affiliated brands
- Six Continents Limited
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Hotel Indigo franchisees own and operate upscale boutique hotels in the midscale-to-upper-midscale segment, typically managing 100-300 rooms. Day-to-day operations include front desk/housekeeping management, guest services, revenue management, vendor relationships, and compliance with brand standards while paying 5% of gross room revenue to corporate.
- CEO
- Elie W. Maalouf
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 1989
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 25
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $75K | $75K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $200K | $1.0M |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $9.5M | $43.8M |
| Total initial investment | $9.8M | $44.9M |
Source: Hotel Indigo 2024 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $9.8M – $44.9M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $200K – $1.0M
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $75K – $75K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Rooms Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 25.6%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $17 |
| Transfer fee | $75K |
| Inventory (initial) | $480K – $819K |
| Total fee load | 25.6% of rev |
Financial Performance
This brand's FDD disclosed "Historical" in Item 19 rather than annual gross sales. This metric cannot be directly compared across brands, so we omit it from rankings.
vs Lodging averages
How Hotel Indigo Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 68
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Turnover rate
- 5.9%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -4.2%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +6.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 6
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 28 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New York
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- $6.9M
- Median loan
- $3.5M
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Hotel Indigo presents moderate-to-caution risk: a contracting system with active litigation, no earnings transparency, unprotected territories, and substantial capital requirements that lack corresponding profitability disclosure.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 2 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Bankruptcy Code; (b) obtained a discharge of its debts under the bankruptcy code; or (c) was a principal officer of a company or a general partner in a partnership that either filed as a debtor (or had filed against it) a petition to start an action under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or that obtained a
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 100 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-4.2% YoY) indicates system contraction and potential franchisee struggles
- 02MINORNo average net income disclosure prevents assessment of actual profitability despite $124.05k avg revenue
- 03HIGHMultiple active litigation cases including class action cyber security breach raise operational and legal risks
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other Hotel Indigo franchisees in same market
- 05MEDHigh capital investment range ($9.8M-$44.9M) combined with undisclosed net income creates opacity on ROI
- 06MINOR5% royalty on gross rooms revenue (not net) means fees charged regardless of profitability
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 0 |
| Territory type | Specific site |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 5 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 63 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 2 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 11 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 492 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Oracle Opera or Opera Xpress
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Oracle Opera or Opera Xpress
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
72 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Hotel Indigo · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Hotel Indigo franchise?
The total investment to open a Hotel Indigo franchise ranges from $9.8M – $44.9M, with an initial franchise fee of $75K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Hotel Indigo franchise owners earn?
Hotel Indigo does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Hotel Indigo's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Hotel Indigo (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Hotel Indigo franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Hotel Indigo has 68 total units in the United States, including 65 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Hotel Indigo a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Hotel Indigo as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 100 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.