Under what conditions might Holiday require a Crowne Plaza franchisee to hire a management company?
Crowne_Plaza Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ral Manager and all other staff members and/or employees of your own choice without Holiday's advance approval; provided, however, that your License may require a specified level of experience for such individuals. The General Manager and certain other department heads must attend Holiday's training program (see Item 11 of this disclosure document).
If Holiday requires that you hire a management company, General Manager, Director of Sales and/or F&B Director to operate your Hotel, it may require that you hire this company or person within a specific period of time either after signing your License or before the date your Hotel opens in the Brand System. You must notify Holiday in the designated timeframe before hiring or changing any of these positions for any reason. These conditions would be determined by Holiday and contained in your License. Holiday may reject a proposed management company if Holiday determines that it is inexperienced in the hospitality business, generally unqualified to operate the Hotel or unwilling or unable to: (1) comply with all requirements of Holiday under the License and the Standards, (2) cease operating the Hotel as a Holiday licensed Hotel once the License terminates or (3) treat the terms of the License as superior over any conflicting terms in the agreement between you and your management company.
Holiday may determine that you are not qualified to operate the Hotel, and if so, Holiday will require you to retain a management company to operate the Hotel. Normally, Holiday does not require that you engage it or one of its affiliates as the management company in order to obtain a License. Occasionally, because of the distribution of company managed hotels in a particular geographic area, or other factors, Holiday may determine that the development or conversion of a Hotel is appropriate only if one of its affiliates manages the Hotel. In that case, Holiday may condition the granting of a License on one of its affiliates managing the Hotel.
Source: Item 15 — Obligation to Participate in the Actual Operation of the Franchise Business (FDD pages 85–87)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Crowne Plaza's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Holiday, the franchisor, may require a franchisee to hire a management company under specific conditions. One such condition is if Holiday determines that the franchisee is not qualified to operate the hotel. In this case, Holiday will mandate the retention of a management company to oversee operations.
Additionally, Holiday may require the hiring of a management company, General Manager, Director of Sales, or F&B Director within a specific timeframe after the License agreement is signed or before the hotel opens. The specific timing and requirements are determined by Holiday and outlined in the License agreement. Holiday retains the right to reject a proposed management company if it deems the company inexperienced in the hospitality business, unqualified to operate the hotel, or unwilling to comply with Holiday's requirements under the License and Standards.
Furthermore, in certain situations, such as the distribution of company-managed hotels in a particular geographic area, Holiday may condition the granting of a License on one of its affiliates managing the hotel. This means that a franchisee might be required to have the hotel managed by one of Holiday's affiliates as a prerequisite for obtaining the franchise. Regardless of whether Holiday requires the franchisee to hire these positions, the franchisee remains liable to Holiday under the terms of the License.