FranchiseVerdict
Signature Inn logo
FV-02318·CAUTIONStandard71

Signature Inn

Formerly known as Senior Living Home Franchise

Lodging - Hotels & MotelsFranchising since 2017Website
Investment
$245K – $6.4M
18th pct Hotels & Mote…
Avg revenue
7th pct Hotels & Mote…
Royalty
Units
6
31st pct Hotels & Mote…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $245K – $6.4M including a $20K franchise fee.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 72/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
  • 19 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
Sonesta RL Hotels Franchising Inc.
Parent company
Red Lion Hotels Corporation
Incorporated in
Washington
HQ
400 Centre Street, Newton, Massachusetts 02458
Auditor
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$55.6M
vs $54.0M 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 Signature Inn 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: hospitality
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $245K–$6.4M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $30K–$90K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

2%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$83K
EBITDA margin
11.0%
Total invested
$3.4M
Payback
492 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

Franchisees operate limited-service hotel properties under the Signature Inn brand, managing front desk, housekeeping, maintenance, and guest services. Day-to-day work involves occupancy management, revenue optimization, staff scheduling, and brand compliance. Franchisees retain revenue minus operating costs (labor, utilities, supplies), then pay the franchisor a fixed $51/month per guest room in royalties, plus initial $20K franchise fee.

CEO
John Murray
Founded
1986
FDD year
2024
States available
3

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$245K – $6.4M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$30K – $90K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$20K
Royalty
$51 per Guest Room, per month
Ad fund
n/d

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
6
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+50.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+100.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
6+2
Franchised units
2023
4
Franchised units
2024
3
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 15 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 · 15 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
2
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

72
Risk · 0-100
CAUTION72 / 100

Signature Inn presents HIGH RISK due to going concern ambiguity, active multi-party litigation, zero financial disclosure, an extremely small 6-unit system, and a franchisor in post-merger turmoil with questionable long-term viability.

Score breakdown · what drove the 72 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHGoing Concern Warning: False status indicates potential financial instability or uncertainty about franchisor's ability to continue operations
  2. 02HIGHSubstantial Litigation Exposure: Active stockholder litigation (Special Situations Fund III), post-merger disputes with Sonesta, tortious interference claims from Radisson competitor, and multiple breach/non-payment suits against franchisees suggest operational and legal turmoil
  3. 03MINORNo Financial Transparency: Franchisor refuses to disclose average unit revenue or net income—impossible to assess ROI or validate the $20K franchise fee claim
  4. 04MINORPer-Room Royalty Model is Unusual and Risky: $51/month per guest room (not percentage-based) means royalties don't scale with inflation or revenue growth; unclear if this covers all fees or if additional charges exist
  5. 05MINORExtremely Wide Investment Range: $244K–$6.4M spread (26x variance) suggests inconsistent unit economics or hidden costs; franchisees cannot model realistic capex
  6. 06MINORMinimal Unit Growth with Small Base: Only 6 units with 50% YoY growth (3 units added) indicates an extremely small, unproven franchise system still in startup/validation phase
  7. 07MINORNo Territory Protection: Franchisor can place competing units adjacent to franchisee locations, cannibalizing revenue and creating internal conflict
  8. 08MEDMerger Integration Risk: 2021 Sonesta merger appears incomplete with ongoing disputes; unclear if Signature Inn brand will survive consolidation or be folded into Sonesta banners

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
20 years
Renewal term
0 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
19
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Massachusetts

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
0 hrs
On-the-job training
17 hrs
POS system
ASI Cloud by Anand Systems
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

25 numbers

Locked
(415) 972-••••
CA
(410) 576-••••
MD
(410) 576-••••
MD

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Signature Inn · FDD (2024) PDF

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