Bottom line
- Total investment $8.5M – $11.6M including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated AVOID with a risk score of 85/100.
- 18 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
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 Postcard Cabins unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
1%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Postcard Cabins franchisees operate vacation cabin rental properties (likely boutique/upscale accommodations) generating revenue through nightly room sales. Franchisees manage booking systems, guest services, facility maintenance, and marketing while paying 5% of gross room revenue to the franchisor. The model depends on tourism demand, property management efficiency, and digital reservation platform performance.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
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
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 5 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 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
Postcard Cabins presents extreme risk: zero operating units, going concern status, ongoing major litigation, undisclosed financials, and massive capital requirements create a combination suggesting a failed or failing franchise system with significant legal liabilities.
Score breakdown · what drove the 85 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing concern status indicates franchisor financial distress and potential inability to support franchisees
- 02MINORZero operating units with unknown growth trajectory suggests failed or non-existent franchise system
- 03HIGHMajor data security litigation (Starwood breach) and government investigations create ongoing liability exposure for franchisees
- 04MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure prevents ROI validation on $8.5M-$11.6M investment
- 05MINORUnprotected territory combined with no unit growth indicates competitive vulnerability and market saturation risk
- 06MEDHigh initial investment ($8.5M+) with 5% royalty on undisclosed revenues creates cash flow uncertainty
- 07MINORMultiple putative class actions and antitrust disputes involving affiliates suggest systemic operational/legal problems
- 08MINOR20-year term locks franchisees into relationship with financially unstable franchisor
- 09MINORResort/destination fee display investigations indicate pricing transparency issues affecting customer trust and revenue
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
37 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Postcard Cabins · FDD (2024) PDF