Project Alpha by Hilton
Formerly known as Spark by Hilton
Bottom line
- Total investment $18.6M including a $100K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 77/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 40 loans (below the industry average).
- No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
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 Project Alpha by Hilton unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
0%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Franchisees would operate Hilton-branded hotel properties, managing daily front-desk operations, housekeeping, guest services, and food/beverage operations. Revenue derives from room bookings (subject to 5% royalty), ancillary guest fees, and F&B sales. The franchisor provides brand licensing, reservation systems, and marketing support.
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 · 13 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
A non-operational franchise system with zero units, going concern issues, active multi-state litigation, no disclosed financials, and a pattern of regulatory violations—this represents extreme risk of total capital loss.
Score breakdown · what drove the 77 / 100 rating
- 01MINORZero operating franchise units with unknown growth trajectory indicates system has not launched or has completely failed
- 02HIGHGoing concern status is FALSE, signaling potential insolvency or inability to continue operations
- 03MINORMultiple active class-action lawsuits (price-fixing, data sharing) plus pending state enforcement actions (Texas mandatory fees) expose franchisees to reputational and legal liability
- 04MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure prevents ROI validation; combined with zero units, no performance data exists
- 05MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk with other franchisees in same market
- 06HIGHFive prior concluded litigation actions (ADA compliance, antitrust consent decrees) demonstrate pattern of regulatory non-compliance
- 07HIGH23-year term locks franchisees into relationship with litigation-prone franchisor with deteriorating financial health
- 08MINORBreach of contract history (Portland Hotel, Destin Platinum LLC) suggests franchisor fails to honor agreements
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
13 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Project Alpha by Hilton · FDD (2024) PDF