FranchiseVerdict
SureStay Collection by Best Western logo
FV-02514·MODERATEStandard71

SureStay Collection by Best Western

Lodging - Hotels & MotelsFranchising since 2016Website
Investment
$881K – $2.9M
36th pct Hotels & Mote…
Avg revenue
7th pct Hotels & Mote…
Royalty
5.0%
7th pct Hotels & Mote…
Units
16
38th pct Hotels & Mote…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $881K – $2.9M including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 107 loans (below the industry average).
  • 27 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
SureStay, Inc.
Parent company
Best Western International, Inc.
Incorporated in
Arizona
HQ
6201 N. 24th Parkway, Phoenix, AZ 85016
Auditor
Ernst & Young LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$520.9M
vs $547.5M 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 SureStay Collection by Best Western 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: $881K–$2.9M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $750K–$825K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

3%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$90K
EBITDA margin
12.0%
Total invested
$2.7M
Payback
358 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

SureStay Collection franchisees operate limited-service hotel properties under the Best Western brand. Day-to-day operations include managing guest check-ins/check-outs, housekeeping, front-desk staff, maintenance, and local marketing—while remitting 5% of gross room revenue to the franchisor and adhering to brand standards. Franchisees bear full P&L responsibility for operating costs, staffing, and property management.

CEO
Lawrence M. Cuculic
Founded
2016
FDD year
2026
States available
11

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$881K – $2.9M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$750K – $825K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Rooms Revenue · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
n/d
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
16
Opened
12
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
6.3%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
Outlier (see FDD)
Likely small-sample artifact
2024
16+11
Franchised units
2025
5
Franchised units
2026
0
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 14 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 · 14 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
107
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

64
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE64 / 100

A financially distressed franchisor with minimal unit base, aggressive growth, extensive litigation, zero financial transparency, and unresolved regulatory status creates extreme investment risk.

Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHGoing concern status is FALSE — indicates potential insolvency or financial distress at franchisor level
  2. 02HIGHExtensive litigation including trademark infringement and regulatory consent orders across multiple states suggests systemic compliance and legal exposure
  3. 03MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosure (missing Item 19) prevents realistic ROI assessment on $880k–$2.9M investment
  4. 04MINORExplosive unit growth (220% YoY) from only 16 units is unsustainable and suggests aggressive recruitment masking underlying performance issues
  5. 05MINORNo territory protection exposes franchisees to direct competition from other SureStay Collection locations
  6. 06MED5% royalty on gross room revenue with undisclosed average earnings creates severe uncertainty on actual profit margins
  7. 07MINORBest Western franchise status disputes in Maryland, California, and Washington indicate regulatory risk and potential changes to operating model

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
15 years
Renewal term
15 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
27
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Arizona

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
0 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
AutoClerk Atlas PMS
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

19 numbers

Locked
(317) 232-••••
IN
(844) 808-••••
(410) 576-••••
MD

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

SureStay Collection by Best Western · FDD (2026) PDF

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