In the Embassy Suites franchise, if the customer requires the implementation of any interface Proprietary Software for connectivity to third party systems, who is responsible for the fees assessed by the third party vendors?
Embassy_Suites Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
If Customer requires the implementation of any interface Proprietary Software for connectivity to third party systems, Customer will be responsible for any fees assessed by the third party vendors to test and implement the necessary connectivity. In addition, Customer will be required to make arrangements with any such third party vendor to provide the necessary assistance required to test and to implement the interface connectivity. This assistance requires the vendor to be on-site at the time of testing and implementation, unless the third party vendor can perform all necessary tasks (as defined by HSS) through a remote connection to the Customer's third party system. The cost incurred by any third party vendors for testing and implementing connectivity to third party systems will be billed to Customer by HSS, or such vendors for the license of each copy of the Proprietary Software and the Certified Third Party Software licensed to Customer by HSS
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 97–305)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Embassy Suites's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, if a franchisee (referred to as 'Customer' in the document) requires the implementation of interface Proprietary Software for connectivity to third-party systems, the franchisee is responsible for any fees assessed by the third-party vendors for testing and implementing the necessary connectivity.
In addition, the Embassy Suites franchisee is required to make arrangements with any such third-party vendor to provide the necessary assistance required to test and implement the interface connectivity. This assistance requires the vendor to be on-site at the time of testing and implementation, unless the third-party vendor can perform all necessary tasks (as defined by HSS) through a remote connection to the franchisee's third-party system.
The costs incurred by any third-party vendors for testing and implementing connectivity to third-party systems will be billed to the franchisee by HSS, or such vendors for the license of each copy of the Proprietary Software and the Certified Third Party Software licensed to the franchisee by HSS. This means that the franchisee will ultimately bear the financial responsibility for these third-party vendor fees, either directly through HSS or directly from the vendors themselves.