Must a Crowne Plaza franchisee comply with all of Holiday's website requirements in connection with any websites they develop?
Crowne_Plaza Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
If you choose to operate an independent website (which operation shall be at your own expense), you or your agent, must follow the guidelines contained in the Standards for independent websites (e.g. the Standards for Search Engine Marketing and the Standards for Email). Further, if Holiday is already marketing your Hotel via its global Performance Marketing programs, if you choose to do additional online marketing for your independent website you may be driving up your performance marketing costs and lowering your ROI because there may be two competing websites. You may not register any of the Marks (defined in Item 13), as part of any domain name or Uniform Resource Locator ("URL"), and/or display or use any of the marks or other intellectual property rights related to the Brand System or to any of the other brands licensed by Holiday in connection with any web site, without Holiday's advance written approval. You must comply with all of Holiday's web site requirements in connection with any web sites you develop and maintain relating to your Hotel.
Source: Item 12 — Territory (FDD pages 81–82)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Crowne Plaza Franchise Disclosure Document, if a franchisee chooses to operate an independent website for their hotel, they must adhere to the guidelines outlined in Holiday's standards for independent websites, which include standards for search engine marketing and email practices. Furthermore, franchisees must comply with all of Holiday's website requirements in connection with any websites they develop and maintain relating to their Crowne Plaza hotel.
Crowne Plaza franchisees are prohibited from registering any of Holiday's marks as part of a domain name or URL. They also cannot display or use any of the marks or other intellectual property rights related to the Brand System or to any of the other brands licensed by Holiday without obtaining Holiday's advance written approval.
It is important to note that Holiday may already be marketing the franchisee's hotel through its global Performance Marketing programs. If a franchisee chooses to engage in additional online marketing for their independent website, it could potentially increase their performance marketing costs and lower their return on investment due to the presence of two competing websites. Therefore, Crowne Plaza franchisees should carefully consider the potential impact on marketing costs and ROI before investing in independent website marketing efforts.