FranchiseVerdict
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FV-02993·MODERATEExcellent91

WoodSpring Suites

Formerly known as Choice Hotels International

Lodging - Hotels & MotelsFranchising since 1968Website
Investment
$8.8M – $14.6M
62nd pct Hotels & Mote…
Avg revenue
$2.1M
7th pct Hotels & Mote…
Royalty
6.0%
74th pct Hotels & Mote…
Units
284
83rd pct Hotels & Mote…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $8.8M – $14.6M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $2.1M/year (median $2.1M). Estimated payback in 10.1 years.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 56/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 172 loans (below the industry average).
  • 138 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
Choice Hotels International, Inc.
Parent company
Choice Hotels International, Inc.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
915 Meeting Street, Suite 600, North Bethesda, Maryland 20852
Auditor
Ernst & Young LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.5B
vs $1.6B 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 WoodSpring Suites unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $2,144,155
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: $8.8M–$14.6M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $30K–$200K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

2%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$247K
EBITDA margin
11.5%
Total invested
$11.8M
Payback
575 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 WoodSpring Suites units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$1.9M

on $9.6M purchase

Total debt

$7.7M

SBA $4.8M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

WoodSpring Suites franchisees operate extended-stay hotel properties targeting budget-conscious travelers. Day-to-day operations include housekeeping, front desk management, maintenance, marketing, and revenue optimization of typically 120-150 room units, with responsibility for all local P&L management while paying 6% of gross room revenues in royalties.

CEO
Patrick S. Pacious
Founded
1939
FDD year
2026
States available
40

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$8.8M – $14.6M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$30K – $200K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Room Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.5%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
14.6%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
10.1 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$2.1M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$2.1M
Item 19 type
Averages and Medians for Stabilized Franchised Properties
Sample size
176 units
vs category median 100
Range (low → high)
$901K$3.7M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
10 / 5
vs category median 0 / 5 · above
Revenue rank7th
vs Lodging - Hotels & Motels peers
Investment cost rank62th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank74th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank83th
vs Lodging - Hotels & Motels peers
Risk score rank16th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
284
Opened
28
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)
+10.9%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+20.9%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
284+28
Franchised units
2025
256
Franchised units
2026
235
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 19 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 · 19 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
172
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

56
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE56 / 100

WoodSpring Suites presents high-risk profile due to extensive franchisor-franchisee litigation, unprotected territory, marginal returns on massive capital requirement, and evidence of systemic franchisee financial distress.

Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHAggressive litigation portfolio including class actions, breach of contract suits, and 124 royalty collection actions in one year indicating systemic franchisor-franchisee conflict
  2. 02MINORUnprotected territory with no exclusivity despite $8.8M-$14.6M investment, creating direct competition risk from same-brand properties
  3. 03MINORHigh capital requirement ($8.8M-$14.6M) against modest average net income ($1.16M) yields marginal ROI of ~13% before debt service, taxes, and contingencies
  4. 04HIGHLitigation disclosure reveals pattern of discriminatory practice allegations and destination marketing fee disputes suggesting franchisor governance issues
  5. 05MINOR124 collection actions by franchisor in single fiscal year signals widespread franchisee financial distress and payment default problems
  6. 06HIGH10.9% YoY unit growth masks potential underlying profitability issues given litigation severity and collection action volume

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
site-specific
Protected territory
No
Initial term
20 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
138
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Maryland

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
51 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
choiceADVANTAGE
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

32 numbers

Locked
(317) 514-••••
IN
(913) 908-••••
KS
(972) 979-••••
TX

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

WoodSpring Suites · FDD (2026) PDF

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