What charges are associated with the Gateway/Firewall/Security Device for Even Hotels?
Even_Hotels Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
any action, suit or proceeding brought by it or against it by the other Party.
11.11 Electronic Signatures. The Parties agree that: (i) this Agreement may be executed by electronic signature initiated through any mutually agreed commercial electronic signature provider to a Party's authorized signatory's passwordprotected access email address identified to the other Party ("Electronic Document"); and (ii) an electronic signature appearing on an Electronic Document shall have the same force and effect and be considered for all purposes as an original ink signature.
11.12 Entire Agreement. This Agreement, and any other documents referenced in this Agreement, constitutes the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all other communications, including but not limited to all prior agreements, between the Parties with respect to such subject matter.
11.13 Third Party Beneficiary. Except for the indemnified parties, the Parties do not intend to create rights for any person as a third party beneficiary of this Agreement. All actions, claims, demands and other disputes between such third party beneficiary and IHG related to this Agreement, shall be brought through Hotel acting in its individual capacity and/or as agent of the aggrieved third party beneficiaries.
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Attachment 1 – Third Party Terms FreedomPay
Hotel acknowledges that FreedomPay is the provider of the payment gateway services provided to Hotel through the Next-Gen Payments Solution. Hotel agrees to the following Third Party Terms required by FreedomPay:
1. WARRANTIES.
- 1.1. Relationship of Hotel, IHG, and FreedomPay. Hotel acknowledges that, although IHG will process the on-boarding of Hotel, administer payments related to the Next-Gen Payments Solution, and facilitate support for Hotel, FreedomPay is the provider of the payment gateway services. Hotel will be accessing a single hosted environment configured for IHG, and Hotel does not have the right or ability to customize the hosted environment for its individual needs. The payment of fees and requests for service, and other interaction with FreedomPay will be routed through IHG, acting as a facilitator. Hotel will direct requests for service to IHG.
- 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. Further, a failure to comply with the PIM or the requirements of Section 3 below will result in the disallowance of the benefits to Hotel described in the PIM.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 99–438)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Even Hotels' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are responsible for the costs associated with the FreedomPay payment gateway. While IHG facilitates the onboarding, payments, and support for the Next-Gen Payments Solution, FreedomPay is the actual service provider. The franchisee, or Hotel, does not have customization rights within the hosted environment and must route all service requests through IHG.
The franchisee is responsible for procuring and maintaining all necessary hardware, software, data communication, and connectivity required for the FreedomPay Solution. Compliance with FreedomPay's P2PE Instruction Manual (PIM) is mandatory for secure switching, and failure to comply may result in IHG performing the obligations and charging the franchisee reasonable fees, potentially at the current list price for IHG services. Non-compliance with the PIM can also lead to a disallowance of benefits described within the PIM.
If the FreedomPay gateway is offline, the hotel will not be able to accept credit card transactions at all. The franchisee is responsible for increased interchange charges and merchant services charges resulting from CVV disablement. FreedomPay is not liable for any fraud or chargebacks to the hotel if a PIN key is not available for the hotel's implementation.