What is the 'Merchant Program' that Camp Margaritaville franchisees participate in?
Camp_Margaritaville Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
e to procure the required technology from specific providers or from a list of approved providers. In such event, Franchisor and Franchisee shall amend the Technology Agreement to incorporate such new required technology. Franchisee must obtain Franchisor's prior approval for installation of any technology platform or system not included in the System Standards.
Section 4.11 Gift Card Program. Franchisee must participate in the program for the sale and processing of gift cards at participating locations (the "Gift Card Program") that Franchisor has established. Concurrent with signing this Franchise Agreement, Franchisee must enter into a franchisee participation agreement with Givex, the third-party provider of transaction processing and settlement
services for the Gift Card Program (the "Gift Card Participation Agreement"), which is incorporated by reference into the Technology Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit E. Franchisee shall be responsible for the set-up costs associated with the Gift Card Program (currently $3,000-$10,000 based on property system setup and available amenities) and any other costs that may be imposed by any PMS/POS provider. When a gift card is redeemed at the Resort, Franchisee shall incur a charge of 2% of the amount tendered if the gift card was purchased at the Resort or at any other Margaritaville-branded physical location. Franchisee shall incur a charge of 5% of the amount tendered if the gift card was purchased from Franchisor's website (currently Margaritaville.com/gift-cards) or from a non-branded (third party) location, such as a pharmacy, grocery store or travel agent. Such amount is remitted to Franchisor or its Affiliates and used to offset Franchisor's cost of the Gift Card Program. The set-up costs, on-going fees paid directly to the Gift Card Program vendor, if any, and gift card charges by Franchisor described herein are collectively referred to as the "Gift Card Fees". Franchisee must honor all Gift Card Program rules and policies. Franchisor reserves the right to change the Gift Card Program, the costs, the redemption reimbursement amounts, and the calculation factors at any time.
Section 4.12 Margaritaville Metasearch Program. Franchisee must participate in Margaritaville Metasearch, a booking channel that facilitates bookings through third-party websites, such as Trivago, Tripadvisor, Kayak, Wego, and Skyscanner, and search engines with travel capabilities such as Google and Bing. Metasearch is intended to support Franchisor's direct booking channel for the Camp Margaritaville System.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 72–406)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Camp Margaritaville's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchise participates in a gift card program. Franchisees are required to participate in the program for the sale and processing of gift cards at participating locations. Concurrent with signing the Franchise Agreement, the franchisee must enter into a franchisee participation agreement with Givex, the third-party provider of transaction processing and settlement services for the Gift Card Program.
Camp Margaritaville also participates in the Margaritaville Metasearch program, which is a booking channel that facilitates bookings through third-party websites, such as Trivago, Tripadvisor, Kayak, Wego, and Skyscanner, and search engines with travel capabilities such as Google and Bing. The program is funded through a 15% commission collected by Franchisor on booked revenue (the "Margaritaville Metasearch Fees"). The commission amount will be sent monthly as a line item on the Resort's CRS invoice. In the event a reservation booked through Metasearch is canceled, the 15% commission will not be refunded.
Camp Margaritaville also utilizes a day pass booking system provided by RealTime Reservations ("RTR"), which is Franchisor's required vendor. The RTR booking system allows non-Resort guests to book passes to access the amenities at the Resort for the day only. In order to participate in the RTR booking system, Franchisee is required to agree to the Day Pass Program Terms of Use incorporated by reference into the Technology Agreement. Franchisee must pay Franchisor a one-time on-boarding and implementation cost for the RTR booking system, which is currently $300, as well as ongoing fees that consist of a 12% commission on revenue produced by the day pass reservation system. Franchisor will collect payment on the sales made through the system and issue payment to Franchisee for all such revenue produced net of commission. Such fees may be increased from time-to-time based on increases in the underlying charges paid by Franchisor to RTR for the day pass reservation system.