What are the Brightstar Care franchisee's obligations regarding attendance at Branch Leadership Conferences, and what are the consequences of failing to meet these obligations?
Brightstar_Care Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
a virtual experience, you will be required to attend and must pay the registration fee regardless of your participation in the virtual annual meeting. All attendees at annual franchise meetings must remain at and participate in those meetings for their full duration.
Additionally, if held, you must send at least one person (either director of operations, branch manager, DON, or salesperson) to the annual Branch Leadership Conference. When your Agency is doing between $20,000 and $40,000 in weekly Net Billings in the quarter prior to the Branch Leadership Conference, you must send a minimum of 2 key employees; if your Agency is doing over $40,000 in weekly Net Billings in the quarter prior to the Branch Leadership Conference, you must send a minimum of 3 employees with an employee attending each of the following tracks and all related break-out sessions—operations, sales, clinical, and recruiting. The conference will last no more than three (3) business days. All attendees must remain at and participate in the Branch Leadership Conference for its full duration. We may charge a registration fee, and you must pay all travel expenses (transportation, hotel, meals, etc.) plus any related salary expenses. You must pay—for all of your required attendees—all registration fees charged for the Branch Leadership Conferences and all fees for the scheduled hotel accommodations, whether or not the required attendees actually attend. We reserve the right to hold the Branch Leadership Conference via a virtual experience. Should we hold any Branch Leadership Conference via a virtual experience, the same attendance requirements outlined above will be applicable.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 117–118)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Brightstar Care's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, attendance at the annual Branch Leadership Conference is a requirement for franchisees and their employees. The specific attendance requirements depend on the agency's weekly net billings. If the agency's weekly net billings are between $20,000 and $40,000 in the quarter prior to the conference, a minimum of two key employees must attend. For agencies with weekly net billings exceeding $40,000 in the same period, at least three employees must attend, with representation from operations, sales, clinical, and recruiting tracks. All attendees are expected to participate for the conference's full duration, which is no more than three business days. Brightstar Care reserves the right to hold the Branch Leadership Conference via a virtual experience, and the same attendance requirements will be applicable.
Franchisees are responsible for covering all costs associated with attendance, including registration fees, travel expenses (transportation, hotel, meals), and any related salary expenses for the attendees. These fees must be paid regardless of whether the attendees actually participate in person or virtually.
Failure to comply with the attendance requirements at the Branch Leadership Conference can lead to termination of the franchise agreement. Specifically, the FDD states that failing to attend the Branch Leadership Conference more than once constitutes grounds for termination. This underscores the importance Brightstar Care places on franchisee participation in these conferences for training, networking, and maintaining brand standards.