What rights does IHG have to use Licensee Personal Data transferred to them by a Crowne Plaza franchisee?
Crowne_Plaza Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
propriate steps to help ensure that any Personal Data that is licensed by either party to the other is used in a manner that is consistent with each party's respective obligations under the Data Privacy Laws and, upon written notice, may take reasonable and appropriate steps to stop and remediate unauthorized use of such licensed data. "Data Privacy Laws" means, to the extent applicable, the privacy and data protection laws and regulations applicable to the Personal Data about data subjects in the United States.
- (2) Use of Licensee Personal Data. To the extent Licensee transfers Licensee Personal Data or Guest Data to IHG or its Affiliates, such data forms part of the IHG Personal Data and IHG may use such data as permitted by applicable law. Licensee hereby grants to IHG and its Affiliates a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual and royalty-free license to use (including the right to sublicense) the Licensee
Personal Data (except for the Excluded Personal Data) free of charge, for the purposes of IHG's performance of its obligations under this License, including, without limitation, the right to transfer Licensee Personal Data across national borders and to transfer Licensee Personal Data to third parties. IHG may retain a copy of Licensee Personal Data upon the termination or expiration of this License. Licensee represents, warrants, and covenants that any Licensee Personal Data transferred to IHG or its Affiliates for the purposes of this License has been collected, retained, used, and transmitted in compliance with applicable Data Privacy Laws.
- (3) Use of IHG Personal Data. Subject to the provisions of any applicable Data Privacy Laws, as between Licensee and IHG, all IHG Personal Data is the property of IHG, and IHG shall have the right to use and transfer such data on a worldwide basis during and after the License Term.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 100–424)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Crowne Plaza Franchise Disclosure Document, IHG has specific rights regarding the use of Licensee Personal Data. If a Crowne Plaza franchisee transfers Licensee Personal Data or Guest Data to IHG or its Affiliates, that data becomes part of the IHG Personal Data. IHG then has the right to use this data as permitted by applicable law. Furthermore, the franchisee grants IHG and its Affiliates a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, and royalty-free license to use the Licensee Personal Data, including the right to sublicense it. This means IHG can use, share, and allow others to use the data without needing to pay the franchisee any royalties.
Licensee Personal Data includes data held and processed locally at the hotel for which the franchisee is an independent controller, franchisee employee Personal Data for which the franchisee is the sole controller, and Excluded Personal Data (sensitive personal data, government-assigned identifiers, health/medical data, and vehicle/parking data) for which the Licensee is the sole controller. It explicitly excludes IHG Marketing Data. IHG can retrieve Licensee Personal Data directly through the reservations system, via electronic transmission, or automatic capture.
The franchisee must ensure that any Licensee Personal Data transferred to IHG complies with applicable Data Privacy Laws. This includes how the data is collected, retained, used, and transmitted. IHG may also retain a copy of Licensee Personal Data even after the franchise agreement terminates or expires. This broad license and data usage right gives IHG significant control over the data generated by the Crowne Plaza franchise operations, which the franchisee should consider carefully.