To whom should a Crowne Plaza hotel direct requests for service related to the FreedomPay services?

According to the 2025 Crowne Plaza Franchise Disclosure Document, Crowne Plaza hotels should direct their requests for service related to FreedomPay to IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group). While FreedomPay is the direct provider of the payment gateway services, IHG acts as a facilitator between the hotel and FreedomPay. This means that although FreedomPay provides the technology, the hotel's primary point of contact for support and service-related issues is IHG. IHG will then handle the routing of these requests to FreedomPay.

This arrangement centralizes the communication and support process through IHG. By channeling all requests through IHG, Crowne Plaza aims to streamline issue resolution and maintain a consistent level of service across its franchised hotels. This approach ensures that IHG can monitor and manage the performance of FreedomPay's services and address any systemic issues that may arise.

For a prospective franchisee, this means they do not directly contact FreedomPay for support. Instead, they must engage with IHG for any issues related to the FreedomPay system. This indirect communication line could potentially add a layer of complexity to the support process, as the hotel's concerns must be relayed through IHG before reaching FreedomPay. Franchisees should confirm with IHG how quickly they can expect a response and resolution to FreedomPay-related issues.