The James
Formerly known as Sonesta RL Hotels
Bottom line
- Total investment $3.2M including a $125K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated AVOID with a risk score of 82/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 13 loans (below the industry average).
- 22 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
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 The James unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
2%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
The James operates as a boutique hotel franchise, with franchisees managing day-to-day operations including guest services, housekeeping, front desk management, and revenue optimization. Franchisees are responsible for property maintenance, staff hiring/training, marketing, and brand compliance while paying 5% royalties on gross room revenue to corporate.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
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
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).
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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
The James presents extreme investment risk due to going concern status, zero operating units, extensive litigation, undisclosed financials, and documented collection actions against former franchisees—avoid investment.
Score breakdown · what drove the 82 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status FALSE indicates franchisor financial instability and potential business failure risk
- 02MINORZero operating franchise units with unknown growth trajectory suggests failed or non-existent franchise system
- 03HIGHExtensive litigation including stockholder suits, trademark disputes, breach of contract, and collection actions against former franchisees indicates systemic operational and legal problems
- 04MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure prevents ROI validation and suggests poor or unreliable performance data
- 05MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees with no geographic exclusivity
- 06MEDHigh $3.165M investment requirement with no disclosed returns, unit growth, or financial performance metrics
- 07MINORCollection actions against former franchisees indicates payment difficulties and potential franchise failure pattern
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
24 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
The James · FDD (2026) PDF