What is the lowest possible monthly Certification Fee that Best Western will charge, regardless of the number of installations of each PMS product?
Best_Western Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
d-issues;
- coordinating with Members and vendors for software updates, fixes, and problem resolution;
- and proactively monitoring Member Property performance using the Two-Way interface.
The technical support fee will not exceed $65 per month.
As of December 1, 2015:
The Two-Way Monthly Support Fee shall include a Hotel Support Fee and a Certification Fee.
- Hotel Support Fee. Effective December 1, 2015, the monthly Hotel Support Fee shall be thirty-eight dollars ($38) regardless of the Property Management System ("PMS") product used by the Property. The Board of Directors
shall have the authority to increase the Hotel Support Fee once each fiscal year, with no such annual increase exceeding
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 108–413)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Best Western's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the lowest possible monthly Certification Fee is $1. This fee is part of the Two-Way Monthly Support Fee, which also includes a Hotel Support Fee. The Certification Fee is calculated based on the annual total cost for ongoing certification, divided by the number of endorsed PMS products, and then distributed among the properties using each PMS product. This calculation is done twice a year, using data from April 1 and October 1 to determine the fee for the following six months. The Board of Directors must approve the Certification Fee.
For a prospective Best Western franchisee, this means that regardless of how many other Best Western properties are using the same Property Management System (PMS), the Certification Fee will not go below $1 per month. The annual total cost for ongoing certification per PMS product is $53,000. The Certification Fee is recalculated every six months and billed in June and December.
This cost-recovery approach to the Certification Fee means that franchisees benefit from economies of scale as more properties adopt the same PMS product. The fee can fluctuate depending on the number of installations, but it will not fall below the stated minimum of $1. This provides some predictability in budgeting for technology-related expenses. The Hotel Support Fee is $38 per month, in addition to the Certification Fee.