Suburban Studios Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Suburban Studios is a Choice Hotels economy extended-stay franchise with in-room kitchens for weekly and monthly guests. Franchisees own and operate individual properties, running rooms, housekeeping, and revenue management.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Suburban Studios franchise requires a total initial investment of $8.5M – $11.1M, including a $5K – $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2024 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 29 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $8.5M – $11.1M
- 38th pct Lodging
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 1st pct Lodging
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 40th pct Lodging
- Units
- 104
- 38th pct Lodging
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
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
- Total investment $8.5M – $11.1M including a $5K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Item 19 discloses "Actual" rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 73/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 29 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- System growing at 46.5% CAGR over 3 years with 104 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Choice Hotels International, Inc.
- Parent company
- None
- Ultimate parent
- Choice Hotels International, Inc.
- Predecessor
- Suburban Franchise Holding Company, Inc.
- 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
- $1.4B
- vs $1.5B prior year
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
- 1963
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 30
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost is about average for a lodging franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affiliation Fee | $40K | — | |
| Architectural Plans & Inspections | $60K | $150K | |
| Legal Fees | $10K | $45K | |
| Environmental Impact Study (if necessary) | $0 | $16K | |
| Market Study | $3K | $15K | |
| Construction (excluding soft costs) | $7.2M | $8.8M | |
| Insurance | $45K | $185K | |
| Pre-Opening Advertising | $5K | $50K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment | $609K | $744K | |
| Hardware to operate the choiceADVANTAGE property management systemnot refundable | $4K | $11K | |
| choiceADVANTAGE Software License and Systems Onboarding Feesnot refundable | $5K | $7K | |
| Opening Inventory of Supplies | $202K | $339K | |
| Orientation and Hospitality Training Feesnot refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| High Speed Internet Access for in-room, in-lobby, public areas and meeting rooms | $14K | $25K | |
| Mandatory On-Premise Signs | $20K | $80K | |
| Design and engineering costs and inspections | $100K | $180K | |
| Working Capital Required Before Operations Begin | $145K | $350K | |
| Additional Funds for 3-Month Initial Period | $50K | $75K | |
| Total initial investment | $8.5M | $11.1M |
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
- $8.5M – $11.1M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $145K – $350K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $5K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Room Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.5% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $40K |
| Renewal fee | $40K |
| Inventory (initial) | $202K – $339K |
| Total fee load | 8.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
Financial Performance
This brand's FDD disclosed "Actual" in Item 19 rather than annual gross sales. This metric cannot be directly compared across brands, so we omit it from rankings.
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 8.5% — below the Lodging average of 10.3%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports "Actual" rather than annual gross sales. Not directly comparable across brands.
Operator retention
System expanding at 46.5% CAGR over 3 years across 104 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Suburban Studios Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 104
- Opened
- 31
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.9%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +46.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +46.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 31
- Closed (3yr)
- 2
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 4
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 1.5%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 9.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 35 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 29
- Loan volume
- $83.7M
- Median loan
- $2.9M
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 13
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 7.1%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- Jobs supported
- N/A
- Lender concentration
- 39%
- top lender's share
Vintage analysis
Suburban Studios charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Suburban Studios franchisees
Showing 3 of 13 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Suburban Studios's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 13 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 29 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Financials are parent-level (Choice Hotels) with strong $35.6M net worth and $258.5M net income on $1.54B revenue. The 33 litigation matters (3 pending, including a $403M Canadian class action and RICO claims) are against the large parent hotel group, normal relative to a multi-thousand-unit system. Franchisor-specific risk is low.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
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
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 73 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORParent-level financials, strong ($258.5M net income)
- 02HIGH33 litigation count but against large parent system
- 03MINORPositive growth +46.5%, low turnover 1.9%
- 04MEDAudited, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · 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 | Radius or geographically defined area |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 4 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 6 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 7 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 50 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 105 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- choiceADVANTAGE
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: choiceADVANTAGE
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
90 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Suburban Studios · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Suburban Studios franchise?
The total investment to open a Suburban Studios franchise ranges from $8.5M – $11.1M, with an initial franchise fee of $5K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Suburban Studios franchise owners earn?
Suburban Studios 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 Suburban Studios's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Suburban Studios has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 29 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Suburban Studios franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Suburban Studios has 104 total units in the United States, including 104 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 31 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Suburban Studios a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Suburban Studios as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 73 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.
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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.