What is Crowne Plaza responsible for procuring and maintaining to connect to the FreedomPay system?
Crowne_Plaza Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- 1.2.
PIM Compliance: Hotel shall be responsible for procuring and maintaining, at its sole cost, all hardware, software and data communication and connectivity required to connect to the FreedomPay system and services (the "FreedomPay Solution").
Delivery of PCI-Validated Point-to-Point Encryption Secure Switching is subject to Hotel's compliance with the FreedomPay P2PE Instruction Manual (the "PIM") and Hotel's acknowledgement of such compliance in the form set forth on Exhibit 1 to Attachment 1 (PIM Acknowledgement) to this Attachment.
In the event Hotel does not comply with any obligation under the PIM, IHG may, but shall not be obligated, to perform any such obligation or otherwise mitigate such non-compliance, in which event IHG may charge Hotel reasonable fees to compensate IHG for such mitigation, including, without limitation, charging the then current list price for the applicable IHG services.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 100–424)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Crowne Plaza FDD, the hotel franchisee is responsible for procuring and maintaining all the necessary components to connect to the FreedomPay system. This includes hardware, software, data communication, and connectivity. These items are required for the FreedomPay Solution to function properly. The franchisee bears the sole cost of these procurements and maintenance activities.
This requirement means that a prospective Crowne Plaza franchisee needs to budget not only for the initial purchase of these items but also for their ongoing maintenance and potential upgrades. Failing to maintain these components could disrupt the connection to the FreedomPay system, impacting the hotel's ability to process payments.
Furthermore, the FDD states that the delivery of PCI-Validated Point-to-Point Encryption Secure Switching is contingent upon the franchisee's compliance with the FreedomPay P2PE Instruction Manual (PIM). Non-compliance with the PIM may lead to IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) stepping in to mitigate the non-compliance, with the franchisee bearing the costs for such mitigation, potentially at IHG's current list price for the applicable services. Therefore, franchisees must adhere to the PIM to avoid additional expenses and ensure the security of payment processing.