Can Casiola or its affiliates be designated as the exclusive supplier for the Casiola System?
Casiola Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
tricted Purchases and Leases – Generally**
We require that you purchase or lease certain source restricted goods and services for the development and operation of your Casiola Business. Source restricted goods and services are goods and services that must meet our specifications and/or must be purchased from an approved or designated supplier. We may designate a supplier (which may include us or our affiliates) as the exclusive supplier for the System. Our specifications and list of approved and designated suppliers is contained in our Manuals. We will notify you of any changes to our specifications or list of approved or designated suppliers. If we have previously approved a supplier, and their standards fall below our designated standards, we will revoke our approval. We will notify you in writing of us
revoking our approval. We may notify you of these changes in various ways, including written or electronic correspondence, amendments and updates to our Manuals, verbal and other forms of communication. We formulate and modify our standards and specifications for products and services based on our industry experience and our management decisions as to the overall operation and expansion of the System or as we may otherwise designate and approve in writing. If we have previously approved a supplier, and their standards fall below our designated standards, we will revoke our approval. We will notify you in writing of us revoking our approval.
Suppliers and Supplier Criteria
We may designate ourselves and our affiliates as exclusive suppliers of source restricted goods and services. We may designate ourselves or a third party as exclusive supplier irrespective of the existence of competing suppliers. If, in the Manuals, we do not designate a supplier for a particular item, you will purchase all such products, supplies and services from suppliers who meet our specifications and standards.
We are the designated supplier of all booking services, the Property Management System, and contact center services that you are required to use. Except as disclosed in the preceding sentence, we are not and our affiliates are not approved suppliers of the source restricted goods and services identified below.
If we have previously approved a supplier, and their standards fall below our designated standards, we will revoke our approval. We will notify you in writing of us revoking our approval.
If you want to purchase or lease a source restricted item from a supplier that has not been previously approved or designated by us in writing, you must send us a written request for approval and submit additional information that we may request. We may charge you a supplier review and testing fee and we may request that you send us samples from the supplier for testing and documentation from the supplier for evaluation. We may also require, subject to our discretion, that we be allowed to inspect the supplier's facilities. We will notify you of our approval or disapproval within a reasonable time, not to exceed 60 days, after we receive your written request for approval and all additional information and samples that we may request. We may, in our discretion, withhold our approval. When evaluating the approval of a particular supplier, among other things, we consider: whether the supplier can demonstrate to our reasonable satisfaction the ability to meet our standards, specifications and production requirements, the supplier's quality control, whether or not we are the exclusive supplier of the particular item, whether or not our affiliate or affiliates are the exclusive supplier of the particular item, and whether or not the supplier's approval, in our sole determination, will allow us to advance the overall interests of the System.
We estimate that your purchase of goods and services from suppliers according to our specifications, including your purchase of goods or services from our designated exclusive suppliers to represent approximately 90% of your total purchases and leases in establishing the Franchised Business and approximately 20% of the on-going operating expenses of the Franchised Business. We currently require that you purchase or lease the following source restricted goods and services from either us or our designated supplier:
-
- System Supplies You must maintain an initial and ongoing inventory of System Supplies. You must purchase the System Supplies, as designated by us, from us, our affiliates, and/or our designated suppliers.
-
- Property Management System You are required to license, purchase and utilize the Casiola Property Management System from us, our affiliates, or our parent company. At all times we will have direct access to all information entered by you and/or maintained in our Casiola operations software application. We will earn revenue from your licensing and use of our application.
-
- Bookings Platforms and Payment Processing You must utilize our services or the services of our designated affiliate for all rental bookings, customer contacts, and payment, and credit card processing. We will also exclusively designate all online travel agencies that you may use.
-
- Branded Items and Marketing Materials All materials bearing the Licensed Marks including, but not limited
to, stationary, business cards, brochures, apparel, signs and displays, must meet our standards and specifications and must be purchased from us directly or our designated suppliers. All of your marketing materials must comply with our standards and specifications and must be approved by us before you use them.
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 20–24)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Casiola's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, Casiola or its affiliates can be designated as the exclusive supplier for the Casiola System. Casiola may designate a supplier, including themselves or their affiliates, as the exclusive supplier. This means franchisees may be required to purchase certain goods and services only from Casiola or its chosen affiliates.
The FDD specifies that franchisees must purchase or lease certain source-restricted goods and services, which are goods and services that must meet Casiola's specifications and/or be purchased from an approved or designated supplier. Casiola's specifications and list of approved and designated suppliers are detailed in their manuals, and franchisees will be notified of any changes. Casiola also requires franchisees to use their services or their designated affiliate for all rental bookings, customer contacts, and payment and credit card processing. Casiola will exclusively designate all online travel agencies that franchisees may use.
Casiola is the designated supplier of all booking services, the Property Management System, and contact center services that franchisees are required to use. The FDD estimates that purchases from designated exclusive suppliers will represent approximately 90% of the total purchases and leases in establishing the Franchised Business and approximately 20% of the ongoing operating expenses. This includes the Wheelhouse revenue management system, Travelnet Solutions property management system (PMS), and channel manager system.
If a franchisee wants to use a supplier not already approved, they must submit a written request for approval, which may include a supplier review and testing fee, samples for testing, and potentially an inspection of the supplier's facilities. Casiola will then notify the franchisee of their decision within 60 days. Casiola considers various factors when evaluating a supplier, including their ability to meet Casiola's standards, quality control, and whether the approval will advance the overall interests of the Casiola System.