Does Holiday have any requirements concerning the confidentiality of information for Crowne Plaza franchisees?
Crowne_Plaza Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Holiday does not impose restrictions, nor does it require you to impose restrictions, on any of your employees. However, Holiday and you agree to comply with each other's reasonable requirements
concerning confidentiality of information. In particular, you may not disclose, without Holiday's written permission, information pertaining to Holiday's marketing and reservation programs that have not been disclosed to the public.
Even though any management company must be acceptable to Holiday, you remain solely responsible for the selection, conduct and performance of any required management company, General Manager and all staff members and employees and Holiday has no responsibilities or liability in connection with your selection and its, his or her conduct or performance.
Holiday requires that any management agreement between you and a management company be in writing, and that the agreement contain certain provisions, including without limitation the following: the management company agrees to abide by all rules, regulations, inspections and requirements of Holiday; you and the management company must cease operating the Hotel as a Brand System brand Hotel if the License terminates; you and the management company must agree that the License prevails over the terms of the management agreement if there is any conflict in terms; you and the management company agree that Holiday's consent to the management agreement or approval of the management company does not relieve you or any guarantor of any obligations under the License; and, you and the management company will keep the confidentiality of trade secrets described in Item 14, and follow the in-term covenant not to compete described in Item 17. Holiday may request at any time a copy of your management agreement for review to determine compliance with requirements of the License.
Source: Item 14 — Patents, Copyrights, and Proprietary Information (FDD page 85)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Crowne Plaza FDD, Holiday Hospitality Franchising, LLC does have requirements regarding the confidentiality of information. While Crowne Plaza franchisees are not required to impose confidentiality restrictions on their employees, the franchisee and Holiday mutually agree to comply with each other's reasonable requirements concerning the confidentiality of information. Specifically, franchisees are prohibited from disclosing information pertaining to Holiday's marketing and reservation programs that have not been disclosed to the public without Holiday's written permission.
This means that as a Crowne Plaza franchisee, you must protect certain proprietary information related to Holiday's marketing and reservation systems. This obligation extends to not disclosing such information to third parties without prior written consent from Holiday. This is a fairly standard practice in franchising, as franchisors need to protect their competitive advantage and proprietary systems.
Furthermore, if a Crowne Plaza franchisee utilizes a management company, the management agreement must include a provision that the management company will keep the confidentiality of trade secrets described in Item 14 and follow the in-term covenant not to compete described in Item 17. Holiday may request a copy of the management agreement to determine compliance with the requirements of the license. This ensures that confidentiality obligations extend to any third-party management companies involved in operating the Crowne Plaza hotel.