Thompson Hotels® Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Thompson Hotels® franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Thompson Hotels® discloses little or no owner-earnings data (Item 19) — the franchisor won't put real profit in writing.
What their own earnings claim actually says
No financial performance representations disclosed. Franchisor explicitly states it makes no representations about franchisee future or past outlet performance.
What a Thompson Hotels® franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $100,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 3.5% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 8.5% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $70,600,993 – $125,569,001 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty 5% rooms/2% F&B; Ad fee 3.5% commercial services; Multiple pre-opening fees; Liquidated damages up to 150% for competitor transfers.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Thompson Hotels® system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 14 |
| Ceased operations | 1 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 1 |
| Transferred to new owners | 0 |
| Closure rate | 7.1% of outlets |
1 termination, 1 ceased operations in 2025; 2-hotel net decline from 2024.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2025. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Thompson Hotels® worth it? — how it compares to 436 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 8.5% of sales | about average |
| Startup cost | from $70,600,993 | pricier than 100% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade F | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 7.1% of outlets | worse than 82% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every other franchises franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Thompson Hotels®
The franchisor's framing: No financial performance representations disclosed. Franchisor explicitly states it makes … We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Thompson Hotels® franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Thompson Hotels® franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $70,600,993–$125,569,001, including a $100,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Thompson Hotels® franchise owners make?
- Thompson Hotels® discloses little or no earnings data (Item 19) — meaning the franchisor won't put real owner profit in writing. That's a red flag worth questioning.
- What are the Thompson Hotels® franchise fees?
- Thompson Hotels®'s FDD discloses a $100,000 initial franchise fee, a 5% royalty on gross sales, a 3.5% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 8.5% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty 5% rooms/2% F&B; Ad fee 3.5% commercial services; Multiple pre-opening fees; Liquidated damages up to 150% for competitor transfers.
- What is the Thompson Hotels® franchise profit margin?
- Thompson Hotels® discloses no Item 19 earnings representation, so no profit margin can be derived from the FDD at all. Any margin figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
- What is the Thompson Hotels® franchise failure rate?
- 1 termination, 1 ceased operations in 2025; 2-hotel net decline from 2024.
- How many Thompson Hotels® locations are there?
- Thompson Hotels®'s FDD reports 14 total outlets, with 1 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 0 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Thompson Hotels® have complaints or lawsuits?
- Thompson Hotels® discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a Thompson Hotels® franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Thompson Hotels® scores F on disclosure honesty, carries about 8.5% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
Own a Thompson Hotels®? Add your real numbers (anonymous)
We publish only aggregated benchmarks — never your name. Contribute and we'll show you how your numbers compare.
Compare Thompson Hotels® to similar franchises
See all franchises ranked by disclosure honesty →
Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Thompson Hotels® or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.