Are a Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential franchisee's online presences subject to the Brand Standards?
Sonesta_Select_Sonesta_Essential Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
stablish any Online Presence that we may require and may establish any other Online Presence that we authorize.
Your use of all Online Presence shall be subject to the Brand Standards as we may implement during the term of your Franchise Agreement. You must adhere to our Online Presence guidelines and procedures, which include but are not limited to: appropriate content, relevance, behavior related to communications, frequency and responsiveness to communications, etiquette, naming conventions and use of the Network Marks and posting messages or commentary on third party websites. We must approve your social media pages and they shall be linked to any Network Brand social media pages we designate. We have the right to require you to remove your social media page(s) if you fail to comply with our guidelines and procedures.
We will own the rights to each Online Presence. At our request, you must grant us access to each Online Presence and take whatever action we request to prove that we own each Online Presence or help us obtain exclusive administrative rights in such Online Presence.
Upon the expiration or termination of the Franchise Agreement, you must irrevocably assign and transfer to us (or to our designee) all of your right, title and interest in any domain name listings and registrations and other Online Presence which contain any references to the Network Marks or any of the Network Brands, and must notify the applicable domain name registrar(s) or other third party of the termination of your right to use any domain name or Online Presence associated with the Network Marks or any of the Network Brands, and will authorize and instruct the cancellation or transfer of the Online Presence to us (or our designee), as directed by us. You also must delete all references to the Network Marks and any of the Network Brands from any other Online Presence you own, maintain, or operate beyond the expiration or termination of the Franchise Agreement.
Source: Item 11 — **FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 52–64)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee's online presence is subject to the brand standards implemented during the Franchise Agreement term. The franchisee must adhere to Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential's online presence guidelines and procedures, which include appropriate content, relevance, behavior related to communications, frequency and responsiveness to communications, etiquette, naming conventions, use of the Network Marks, and posting messages or commentary on third-party websites.
Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential must approve the franchisee's social media pages, and these pages must be linked to any Network Brand social media pages that Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential designates. Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential has the right to require the franchisee to remove their social media pages if they fail to comply with the franchisor's guidelines and procedures.
Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential owns the rights to each Online Presence. At Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential's request, the franchisee must grant them access to each Online Presence and take action to prove that Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential owns each Online Presence or help them obtain exclusive administrative rights. The franchisee may not register, own, maintain, or use any Online Presence relating to Network Hotels or their Hotel or that includes the Network Marks, except as approved in advance by Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential. As a general rule, Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential does not permit franchisees of Brand Hotels to maintain vanity or other independent Online Presences. The franchisee may not list the details or contact information of their Hotel on any vanity or other independent websites or other Online Presence, including any OTAs, without Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential's prior approval. The franchisee must establish any Online Presence that Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential may require and only establish any other Online Presence that they authorize.