What is the required action if an Embassy Suites hotel is damaged by fire or other casualty?
Embassy_Suites Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
11.2 Casualty.
- 11.2.1 You must immediately inform us if the Hotel is damaged by fire or other casualty or event of Force Majeure. If the damage or repair requires closing the Hotel, you may choose to repair or rebuild the Hotel according to the Standards, provided you: begin reconstruction within six (6) months after closing and reopen the Hotel for continuous business operations as soon as practicable (but in any event no later than eighteen (18) months after the closing of the Hotel) and give us at least thirty (30) days' notice of the projected date of reopening. Once the Hotel is closed, you will not promote the Hotel as a System Hotel or otherwise identify the Hotel using any of the Marks without our prior written consent.
- 11.2.2 You and we each have the right to terminate this Agreement if you elect not to repair or rebuild the Hotel as set forth above in Subsection 11.2.1, provided the terminating Party gives the other Party sixty (60) days written notice. You are not required to pay Liquidated Damages [SELECT FOR CI, OL or a Termination Fee**]** unless you or one of your Affiliates own and/or operate a hotel at the Hotel Site within three (3) years of the termination date under a lease, license or franchise from a Competitor.
- 11.3 No Extensions of Term. Nothing in this Section 11 will extend the Term.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 97)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Embassy Suites's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, if the hotel incurs damage from fire, another casualty, or a Force Majeure event, the franchisee must immediately inform Embassy Suites. If the damage necessitates closing the hotel, the franchisee has the option to repair or rebuild the hotel to meet Embassy Suites's standards.
To proceed with reconstruction, the franchisee must begin within six months of the closure and reopen the hotel for continuous business operations as soon as possible, but no later than eighteen months after closing. The franchisee must also provide Embassy Suites with at least thirty days' notice of the anticipated reopening date. During the closure, the franchisee is prohibited from promoting the hotel as an Embassy Suites or using any of the brand's trademarks without prior written consent from Embassy Suites.
Both Embassy Suites and the franchisee have the right to terminate the agreement if the franchisee chooses not to repair or rebuild the hotel. The terminating party must give the other party sixty days' written notice. The franchisee is not required to pay liquidated damages or a termination fee unless they or an affiliate owns or operates a hotel at the same site within three years of termination under a lease, license, or franchise from a competitor. This section of the agreement does not extend the term of the original agreement.