When does a Cinnabon franchisee have to pay the Management Training Program fee for Required Trainees?
Cinnabon Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The Required Trainees must attend and successfully complete the initial management training program for Businesses (the "Management Training Program"). All trainees must be over the age of 18 years and must meet any minimum experience requirements that we specify. In addition, we may, in our sole discretion, require your Primary Contact, if they will not be involved in the day-to-day operation of the Franchised Business, to complete a limited version of the Management Training Program to our satisfaction. If any of your Required Trainees have previously attended and successfully completed our Management Training Program and you or they have not defaulted under any other franchise agreement with us, we may, in our sole discretion, determine that such Required Trainee is not required to attend the Management Training Program again or will be required to attend a modified Management Training Program.
- B. Training Fees. Except as otherwise provided in this Section 11.1.B., we will provide the Management Training Program to your Required Trainees at no additional charge to the Required Trainees for the first two Franchised Businesses that you or your affiliates operate. For the third and subsequent Franchised Businesses that you or your affiliates operate, if we require you or you elect to receive the Management Training Program from us or our designee, you must pay us our then-current Management Training Program fee for all of your Required Trainees to attend in a single training session. You must pay us our-then current training fee for each trainee, which is currently $250 per trainee per day and may be increased in any calendar year by no more than the Allowed Adjustment, if (i) you elect to bring additional trainees, other than the Required Trainees, to the Management Training Program, (ii) your Required Trainees are trained in separate sessions, (iii) any of your Required Trainees fail to successfully complete the Management Training Program and re-enroll in the program or are replaced with new trainees that enroll in the program, or (iv) we provide the Management Training Program to your Subsequent Trainees (as defined in Section 11.F. (Subsequent Trainees)).
- C. Attending Training. We will provide, or designate other parties to provide on our behalf, the Management Training Program periodically and permit you to register for an available program. Training programs are subject to space and time availability. All or certain portions of the Management Training Program may, in our discretion, be conducted online or in person at (i)
our corporate headquarters, (ii) a Franchised Business that we designate that has been certified by us as an authorized training facility (a "Certified Training Location"), and/or (iii) other locations authorized by us. Your trainees may not attend the Management Training Program until (a) you have provided us with your fully signed Lease (if required) in a form that we have approved, (b) your Franchised Business is under construction, (c) you have provided us with evidence of the insurance that is required under your Franchise Agreement, and (d) you are within the eligible training period specified on Schedule A.
- D. Completion of Training. All of your Required Trainees must successfully complete our Management Training Program at least one week prior to the scheduled opening date of the Franchised Business. If your opening date changes and your required Trainees completed our Management Training Program more than 120 days before the revised opening date, we may require them to attend up to an additional week of training and may require you to pay our thencurrent daily training fee for each Required Trainee, which is currently $250 per trainee per day and may be increased in any year by no more than the Allowed Adjustment. We have the right in our reasonable discretion to determine whether a trainee has successfully completed the Management Training Program. If we conclude that a Required Trainee has failed to successfully complete the Management Training Program, that Required Trainee must re-enroll in our next scheduled applicable Management Training Program at no additional charge.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 114–399)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Cinnabon's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees typically do not pay a Management Training Program fee for their required trainees for their first two franchised businesses. However, for the third and subsequent Cinnabon locations, a franchisee must pay the then-current Management Training Program fee if they elect to receive the training from Cinnabon or its designee.
Even for the first two locations, fees become applicable under specific circumstances. A Cinnabon franchisee will have to pay a training fee, currently $250 per trainee per day (subject to an annual increase), if they bring additional, non-required trainees to the program, train required trainees in separate sessions, if a required trainee fails the program and re-enrolls or is replaced, or if Cinnabon provides training to subsequent trainees (employees hired after the store opening). These fees cover the costs associated with the additional training or resources required.
Furthermore, Cinnabon requires that all required trainees successfully complete the Management Training Program at least one week before the scheduled opening date of the franchised business. If the opening date changes and the trainees completed the program more than 120 days before the revised opening, Cinnabon may require additional training, and the franchisee may have to pay the daily training fee for each trainee. This ensures that all trainees have current knowledge when the store opens. The franchisee is also responsible for all expenses incurred for any training programs, including travel, food, lodging, compensation, and uniforms.