With whom will a Crowne Plaza licensee be required to enter into a merchant processing application and agreement?
Crowne_Plaza Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Next-Gen Solutions: Upon activation of the NGP program at your Hotel, you will enter into a Next-Gen Payment Agreement with SCH (See Exhibit G-4). SCH will immediately bill you monthly and administer support for the hardware and software. All Hotels are required to use NGP or such successor payments program as may be implemented by SCH. Pursuant to the terms of the Next-Gen Payment Agreement, licensee will be liable for payment to IHG of an early termination fee for any reason equal to (x) 50% of the NGP monthly fee, multiplied by (y) the remaining monthly payments in the term.
Each licensee will be required to enter into a merchant processing application and agreement with Fiserv, the SCH-approved merchant service provider, and a participation agreement with SCH (see Exhibit G-4). Your monthly NGP fee may increase according to the terms of the NGP agreement signed at install (no more than a 5% increase from your original quoted rate), based on increases in costs incurred by SCH to provide the service. The exact amount of the fee will be defined on the quote received prior to installation.
Source: Item 6 — OTHER FEES (FDD pages 31–51)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Crowne Plaza Franchise Disclosure Document, as part of the Next-Gen Solutions (NGP) program, each licensee is required to enter into a merchant processing application and agreement with Fiserv, who is the SCH-approved merchant service provider. Additionally, a participation agreement with SCH (presumably Six Continents Hotels, Inc.) is also required. This means that franchisees do not have a choice in selecting their merchant service provider and must use Fiserv for processing payments.
The NGP program also requires franchisees to enter into a Next-Gen Payment Agreement with SCH upon activation of the program at their hotel. SCH will bill the franchisee monthly and administer support for the hardware and software. All Crowne Plaza Hotels are required to use NGP or any successor payments program implemented by SCH.
Furthermore, the franchisee is liable for an early termination fee if they terminate the Next-Gen Payment Agreement for any reason. This fee is equal to 50% of the NGP monthly fee, multiplied by the remaining monthly payments in the term. The monthly NGP fee may also increase, but no more than 5% from the original quoted rate, based on increases in costs incurred by SCH to provide the service. The exact amount of the fee will be defined on the quote received prior to installation.