Bottom line
- Total investment $11.7M – $17.2M including a $100K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 48/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 12 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 30.5% CAGR over 3 years with 231 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 Tru by Hilton unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
1%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Franchisees develop and operate limited-service, mid-scale hotels under the Tru by Hilton brand, managing daily operations including guest services, housekeeping, maintenance, and revenue management. They pay a $100,000 franchise fee, 5% of gross rooms revenue in royalties over a 22-year term, and are responsible for all property acquisition, construction, staffing, and working capital. Franchisees must maintain brand standards while competing in a territory with no exclusive protection.
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 · 45 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
Tru by Hilton presents moderate-to-cautionary risk: substantial capital requirements lack transparent financial benchmarks, unprotected territories enable internal competition, and ongoing litigation signals compliance and operational management concerns.
Score breakdown · what drove the 48 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo average unit volume or net income disclosed in FDD Item 19, preventing ROI validation on $11.6M-$17.2M investment
- 02HIGHSignificant litigation portfolio including DOJ ADA consent decree, resort fee class actions, and trade secret misappropriation indicating operational and legal vulnerabilities
- 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk; franchisees can cannibalize each other's RevPAR in same markets
- 04MED5% royalty on gross rooms revenue (not net) means franchisees pay fees even during low-occupancy periods; no performance thresholds disclosed
- 05MINORModest unit growth (9.0% YoY) across 231 locations suggests market saturation or slower-than-expected brand expansion relative to capital requirements
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
90 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Tru by Hilton · FDD (2023) PDF