What warranties, if any, is an Atwell Suites licensee relying on when agreeing to the Supplemental Terms or Participation Agreement for Curated Solutions?
Atwell_Suites Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Disclaimer. IHG is not the licensor or provider of any of the Curated Solutions made available to Licensee hereunder and offers no warranties on any Services. In agreeing to the Supplemental Terms or Participation Agreement (as applicable), Licensee is relying solely on the Service Provider's warranties, if any, expressly passed through to Licensee under such Supplemental Terms or Participation Agreement. IHG HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, FOR THE SERVICES, NETWORK CONNECTIVITY, AVAILABILITY, SOFTWARE, HARDWARE, OR SYSTEMS OR FOR MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. EXCEPT FOR ANY PASS-THROUGH WARRANTY MADE BY A SERVICE PROVIDER OF SERVICES, ALL SERVICES, AND ALL SUPPORT MATERIALS AND OTHER DATA, SOFTWARE OR OTHER ITEMS MADE AVAILABLE BY A SERVICE PROVIDER OF SERVICES, ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "WHERE IS".
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 99–486)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 FDD, when an Atwell Suites licensee agrees to the Supplemental Terms or Participation Agreement for Curated Solutions, they primarily rely on the warranties provided by the Service Provider, if any are expressly passed through to the licensee under those agreements. IHG itself does not offer warranties on any of the Curated Solutions made available to the licensee. This means Atwell Suites franchisees need to carefully review the terms and conditions of the Supplemental Terms or Participation Agreement to understand the extent and nature of any warranties provided by the Service Provider.
IHG expressly disclaims all warranties, whether expressed or implied, related to the services, network connectivity, availability, software, hardware, or systems, including warranties of merchantability, satisfactory quality, and fitness for a particular purpose. Essentially, Atwell Suites is not responsible for ensuring that these Curated Solutions function as expected or meet specific needs. The only exception is any pass-through warranty made by a service provider of services.
This disclaimer extends to all support materials, data, software, and other items made available by a service provider, which are provided "AS IS" and "WHERE IS". This means that Atwell Suites franchisees accept these solutions with all their existing faults and without any guarantee of their condition or suitability. Therefore, it is crucial for potential franchisees to conduct thorough due diligence on the Service Providers and the specific terms of their warranties before entering into any agreements for Curated Solutions.
This arrangement is not uncommon in franchising, where franchisors often facilitate access to third-party services but do not directly warrant those services. However, it places the onus on the franchisee to assess the reliability and suitability of the Curated Solutions and to understand the recourse available to them if those solutions fail to perform as expected. Prospective Atwell Suites franchisees should seek clarification from IHG and the Service Providers regarding the scope and enforceability of any warranties and consider obtaining independent legal advice to fully understand their rights and obligations.