FranchiseVerdict
Radisson Blu logo
FV-02091·AVOIDStandard71

Radisson Blu

OtherFranchising since 1968Website
Investment
$25.3M
99th pct Other
Avg revenue
50th pct Other
Royalty
6.0%
17th pct Other
Units
3
20th pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $25.3M including a $100K franchise fee, 6.0% 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. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 7 loans (below the industry average).
  • 141 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

Legal entity
Choice Hotels International, Inc.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
915 Meeting Street, Suite 600, North Bethesda, Maryland 20852
Auditor
Ernst & Young LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.5B
vs $1.6B 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 Radisson Blu 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: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
Working capital
$
FDD reports $2.2M–$3.3M

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

0%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$105K
EBITDA margin
14.0%
Total invested
$28.1M
Payback
3210 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

Radisson Blu franchisees operate upscale hotel properties (4-5 star segment), managing day-to-day operations including front desk, housekeeping, food & beverage, maintenance, and revenue management while paying 6% royalties on gross room revenues to corporate and adhering to brand standards across a portfolio typically spanning 100-300+ rooms.

CEO
Patrick S. Pacious
Founded
1939
FDD year
2026
States available
3

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$25.3M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$2.2M – $3.3M
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$100K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Room Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
3.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
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
3
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
2
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
33%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
26.7%
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+0.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
1±0
Franchised units
2025
1
Franchised units
2026
1
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 6 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 · 6 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
7
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

85
Risk · 0-100
AVOID85 / 100

This is a systemically distressed franchise with extreme financial opacity, near-total unit collapse, pervasive litigation, and allegations of deceptive fee practices—representing acute insolvency and franchisee protection risks.

Score breakdown · what drove the 85 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDExtreme financial opacity: no average revenue or net income disclosed despite 20-year, $25M+ commitment
  2. 02MINORCatastrophic unit collapse: only 3 units operating with unknown growth trajectory suggests system failure or severe contraction
  3. 03HIGHSystemic litigation pattern: 120+ franchisor royalty recovery actions indicate widespread franchisee defaults and financial distress
  4. 04HIGHMultiple fraud allegations: class actions for undisclosed destination marketing fees and RICO claims suggest deceptive practices
  5. 05HIGHGoing concern status false: red flag indicating potential insolvency or structural viability concerns at corporate level
  6. 06MINORZero territory protection: franchisees face cannibalization risk with no geographic exclusivity despite massive capex
  7. 07MINOR6% royalty on non-transparent revenues: no Item 19 means franchisees cannot verify actual earnings or ROI benchmarks
  8. 08MINORDisproportionate risk-reward: $25M+ investment with minimal financial disclosure and collapsing unit base

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
site
Protected territory
No
Initial term
20 years
Renewal term
0 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
141
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Maryland

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
51 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
Toast
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

9 numbers

Locked
(213) 576-••••
Los Angeles
CA
(619) 525-••••
San Diego
CA
(415) 972-••••
San Francisco One Sansome Street, Suite
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Radisson Blu · FDD (2026) PDF

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