Franchise Facts Report → brands → Candlewood Suites
Candlewood Suites franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Growing network Item 19 disclosed
Candlewood Suites, a hotel brand in the Travel & Hospitality sector, presents a medium-risk investment profile with disclosed financial performance data.
Everything below is free, read straight off Candlewood Suites's registered filing, with where the numbers land against travel & hospitality peers. Weighing Candlewood Suites against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Candlewood Suites's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 640781 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
Considering Candlewood Suites? See what else fits your budget
Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. Candlewood Suites will be on it if it fits.
How much does a Candlewood Suites franchise make?
Candlewood Suites is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The headline figure did not machine-read cleanly from this filing, so we don't print one; Item 19 of the source FDD has the tables. See every travel & hospitality brand that discloses earnings in the Hotel, travel & hospitality franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Candlewood Suites franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come Candlewood Suites's 5.5% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Candlewood Suites franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Candlewood Suites franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure.
Candlewood Suites lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Candlewood Suites's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) does disclose 9 legal proceedings in Item 3 . Item 3 is the item where a franchisor must put its material legal history on the record. Two things it is not: it covers the franchisor and its predecessors, parents and affiliates, so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Candlewood Suites itself; and a disclosure is a fact, not a finding of wrongdoing — most entries are contract disputes with former franchisees, which every large system accumulates. 9 of those proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor — the split that actually matters, because franchisees suing their franchisor is the signal a buyer is looking for. Item 3 of the source FDD describes each case.
Candlewood Suites closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Candlewood Suites will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Candlewood Suites's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a travel & hospitality of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Candlewood Suites's latest tables show a growing franchised network. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 0.3%, against a travel & hospitality median of 4.1% — at or better than the category. Net franchised outlets moved +23 to 407 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Candlewood Suites?
Candlewood Suites's franchise is offered by HOLIDAY HOSPITALITY FRANCHISING, LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at WI DFI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it. The same franchisor files separate FDDs for other brands, which is worth knowing — sibling brands share a franchise-support organization but disclose their own numbers:
Travel & hospitality franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Candlewood Suites is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Candlewood Suites franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Candlewood Suites — who is the franchisor?
Candlewood Suites's most recently filed FDD (2026) names HOLIDAY HOSPITALITY FRANCHISING, LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. The same franchisor also files FDDs for Atwell Suites, avid hotels, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, EVEN Hotels, Garner, Holiday Inn Express;, Holiday Inn;, Hotel Indigo, Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts, Noted Collection, Ruby Hotels, Staybridge Suites, Vignette Collection, voco. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Candlewood Suites franchise cost?
Candlewood Suites's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $35,000 – $38,000 and a 5.5% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against travel & hospitality peers it sits in the top quartile (median $3,332,700).
How much profit does a Candlewood Suites franchise make?
Candlewood Suites discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (5.5% of gross for Candlewood Suites), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Candlewood Suites franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate.
Does Candlewood Suites disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Candlewood Suites reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure did not machine-read cleanly, so check Item 19 of the source FDD for the numbers.
Are there lawsuits against Candlewood Suites?
Candlewood Suites's most recently filed FDD (2026) discloses 9 legal proceedings in Item 3. Item 3 covers the franchisor, its predecessors, parents and affiliates — so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Candlewood Suites itself, and a disclosure is not a finding of wrongdoing. 9 of the disclosed proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor.
Is Candlewood Suites a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Candlewood Suites's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against travel & hospitality peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is medium risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on Candlewood Suites or travel & hospitality: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same state registries this page is built on.