FranchiseVerdict
WaterWalk Extended Stay by Wyndham logo
FV-02932·CAUTIONExcellent81

WaterWalk Extended Stay by Wyndham

Formerly known as Wyndham Hotels Group

Lodging - Hotels & MotelsFranchising since 2024Website
Investment
$1.2M – $27.1M
38th pct Hotels & Mote…
Avg revenue
7th pct Hotels & Mote…
Royalty
6.0%
74th pct Hotels & Mote…
Units
11
36th pct Hotels & Mote…
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $1.2M – $27.1M including a $75K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 75/100.
  • 13 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
WHG Franchisor, LLC
Parent company
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
22 Sylvan Way, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054
Auditor
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.4B
vs $1.4B 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 WaterWalk Extended Stay by Wyndham 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: $1.2M–$27.1M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $125K–$656K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

1%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$83K
EBITDA margin
11.0%
Total invested
$14.5M
Payback
2115 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

WaterWalk Extended Stay franchisees operate hotel properties targeting long-term guests (weekly/monthly stays), managing daily housekeeping, maintenance, front-desk operations, and guest services. Franchisees handle local marketing, staffing, and compliance while paying 6% royalty to Wyndham and operating under brand standards within a 20-year term.

CEO
Geoff Ballotti
Founded
2016
FDD year
2026
States available
8

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$1.2M – $27.1M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$125K – $656K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$75K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
3.0%
typical 3–5%
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
11
Opened
0
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)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
Outlier (see FDD)
Likely small-sample artifact
2024
11±0
Franchised units
2025
11
Franchised units
2026
2
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 13 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 · 13 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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

75
Risk · 0-100
CAUTION75 / 100

WaterWalk is a micro-brand with financial opacity, reputational litigation, and a parent company in legal jeopardy—unsuitable for risk-averse investors.

Score breakdown · what drove the 75 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINOROnly 11 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory indicates minimal scale and market validation
  2. 02MEDNo disclosed average revenue or net income data prevents ROI analysis and suggests potential underperformance
  3. 03MINORMultiple class action lawsuits against parent/affiliate entities for price-fixing, misleading fees, and data security breaches damage brand reputation and create operational/legal liability
  4. 04MINORFTC enforcement action on data security practices creates compliance risk and potential future remediation costs
  5. 05HIGHGoing concern status is FALSE, which may indicate financial instability at corporate level
  6. 06MINORMassive investment range ($1.2M–$27M) with no clarity on unit economics suggests unpredictable capital requirements
  7. 07MINORNo territorial protection exposes franchisees to cannibalization and direct competition from other franchisees
  8. 08MED6% royalty on undisclosed revenue makes it impossible to forecast profitability or payback period
  9. 09HIGHExtended-stay model is operationally complex but corporate litigation track record raises questions about management competency

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
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
13
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
New Jersey

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
34 hrs
On-the-job training
30 hrs
POS system
OPERA 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

15 numbers

Locked
(608) 261-••••
WI
(212) 416-••••
NY
(804) 371-••••
VA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

WaterWalk Extended Stay by Wyndham · FDD (2026) PDF

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