Radisson Blu Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Radisson Blu is an upscale hotel franchise offering full-service, design-forward properties. Franchisees own and operate the hotels, managing guest services, food and beverage, and revenue under brand standards.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Radisson Blu franchise does not disclose total investment in its current FDD, including a $100K – $150K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $25.3M
- 64th pct Lodging
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Incl. company outlets
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 52nd pct Lodging
- Units
- 3
- 14th pct Lodging
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Lodging · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Lodging avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $25.3M including a $100K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports Average performance of franchised and managed hotels rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 41/100 (higher is better).
- LEGAL141 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
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Choice Hotels International, Inc.
- Predecessor
- Radisson Hotels International, Inc. (franchised RADISSON BLU brand 2015-2023); Radisson Hospitality, LLC (acquired by Choice August 11, 2022)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
- Patrick S. Pacious
- 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
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Patrick S. Pacious
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 1939
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 3
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affiliation Feenot refundable | $100K | $100K | |
| Construction-Related Extension Fee per 3 month extensionnot refundable | $0 | $5K | |
| Opening Date Rescheduling Fee per each reschedulingnot refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Real Estate | — | — | |
| Property Improvementsnot refundable | $19.5M | $140.8M | |
| Permits, Licenses and Government Feesnot refundable | — | — | |
| Professional Design Servicesnot refundable | $1.1M | $3.0M | |
| Mandatory On-Premises Signs (including freight and installation, plus maintenance and insurance)not refundable | $60K | $240K | |
| Miscellaneous Pre-Opening Costsnot refundable | $1.3M | $2.7M | |
| Opening Inventory of Suppliesnot refundable | $865K | $5.9M | |
| ORACLE Opera Cloud PMS Initial Investmentnot refundable | $14K | $40K | |
| Onboarding, Sales and Hospitality Leadership Certification Feesnot refundable | $8K | $8K | |
| Food and Beverage Opening Support Fee and Restaurant Concept Creationnot refundable | $36K | $58K | |
| Food and Beverage Sales Systemnot refundable | $6K | $25K | |
| Pre-Opening Photographynot refundable | $4K | $10K | |
| IDeaS Feesnot refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $125K | $350K | |
| Styling & Accessorizingnot refundable | $20K | $40K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $2.2M | $3.3M | |
| Total initial investment | $25.3M | $156.6M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $25.3M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $2.2M – $3.3M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $100K – $150K
- Middle of category vs category
- 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
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Training fee | $8K |
| Transfer fee | $100K |
| Renewal fee | $100K |
| Inventory (initial) | $800K – $5.5M |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Radisson Blu did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Radisson Blu unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
0%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Includes company-owned outlets
- Item 19 type
- Average performance of franchised and managed hotels
- Sample size
- 3
- vs category median 99 · small
- Transparency tier
- none
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 0 / 10
- vs category median 0 / 10 · typical
Compared against 174 Lodging brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% (near the Lodging average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports Average performance of franchised and managed hotels rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
Net unit growth roughly flat at 0.0%.
Multi-unit rate
27% of franchisees own multiple units, a moderate multi-unit rate.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Lodging averages
How Radisson Blu Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 3
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 33%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 26.7%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 3 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
3
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
6 pending matters listed against parent Choice (Canadian class action on destination fees, RICO/antitrust suit by ~90 owners), but these are parent/system-level suits routine for a large hotel franchisor with strong financials (net worth $181,229,000, net income $369,946,000). This specific brand is only 3 units. Litigation is parent-level and modest relative to system scale.
Litigation (Item 3)
Three pending cases: (1) Norma Knuth v. Radisson Hotels International, Inc. et al. - Class action in Saskatchewan alleging wrongful collection of undisclosed destination marketing fees (DMF) from hotel guests; class not yet certified; plaintiff demanded $403M in restitution; parties anticipate dismissal imminently. (2) Jai Sai Baba, LLC et al. v. Choice Hotels International, Inc. et al. - Approximately 90 current and former franchise owners alleging discriminatory, anti-competitive practices and violations of RICO, Sherman Act, Civil Rights Act, and franchise laws; case stayed pending arbitration as of March 2021; monthly status updates provided. (3) T&T Management, Inc. v. Choice Hotels International, Inc. and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Inc. - Licensee alleging breach of License Agreement, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing regarding hotel construction and guest data disclosure, and misappropriation of guest data under Defend Trade Secrets Act; Motion to Dismiss filed November 6, 2023.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 41 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOR6 parent-level (Choice) suits - routine for large hotel system
- 02MINORVery strong parent financials: net worth $181M, net income $370M
- 03MEDNo bankruptcy, no going-concern, audited, Item 19 disclosed
- 04MINORTiny brand footprint (3 units)
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 0 |
| Territory type | site |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 90 days |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 141 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Three pending cases: (1) Norma Knuth v. Radisson Hotels International, Inc. et al. - Class action in Saskatchewan alleging wrongful collection of undisclosed destination marketing fees (DMF) from hotel guests; class not yet certified; plaintiff demanded $403M in restitution; parties anticipate dismissal imminently. (2) Jai Sai Baba, LLC et al. v. Choice Hotels International, Inc. et al. - Approximately 90 current and former franchise owners alleging discriminatory, anti-competitive practices and violations of RICO, Sherman Act, Civil Rights Act, and franchise laws; case stayed pending arbitration as of March 2021; monthly status updates provided. (3) T&T Management, Inc. v. Choice Hotels International, Inc. and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Inc. - Licensee alleging breach of License Agreement, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing regarding hotel construction and guest data disclosure, and misappropriation of guest data under Defend Trade Secrets Act; Motion to Dismiss filed November 6, 2023.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 51 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Choice Headquarters, Pike & Rose
- Field support
- 0 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 21 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- joint
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Radisson Blu · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What do Radisson Blu franchise owners earn?
Radisson Blu 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 Item 19 in the Radisson Blu FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Radisson Blu FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Radisson Blu's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Radisson Blu (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 Radisson Blu franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Radisson Blu has 3 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 2 company-owned units.
Is Radisson Blu a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Radisson Blu as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 41 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
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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.