When required by Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential, must I purchase certain supplies only from Approved Suppliers?
Sonesta_Select_Sonesta_Essential Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
prior to each insurance policy's renewal date.
Approved Suppliers
To facilitate consistency and quality among Brand Hotels and our ability to leverage volume purchasing power, we reserve the right to approve or designate all vendors and suppliers of Supplies and services you use in developing, operating, and promoting your Hotel. We may designate a sole supplier or approved suppliers (which may be us or our affiliates) (the "Approved Suppliers") from which you will be required to purchase certain Supplies, and you will purchase those Supplies only from the Approved Suppliers when required. You may be required to sign such Approved Suppliers' form agreements for the purchase of such Supplies or services. We will provide the list of Approved Suppliers to you. We may provide your contact information to our Approved Suppliers and you may be contacted by our Approved Suppliers. We provide access to a third-party online procurement platform customized for the Network Brands, and we may require you to make certain purchases through that platform. Although we have the right to require the platform or Approved Suppliers to charge you a 2% to 3% procurement fee, which would be remitted to us, we currently do not require them to charge such fee. We currently do not maintain any other purchasing or distribution cooperatives.
None of our officers or affiliates own a material interest in any Approved Supplier. However, from time to time, our officers may own non-material interests, for investment purposes only, in publicly-held companies that are suppliers to Brand Hotels.
Neither we nor any of our affiliates currently is an Approved Supplier, although we may designate ourselves or an affiliate as an Approved Supplier (including as an exclusive supplier). You periodically may pay us for purchases from designated third parties.
If you want to purchase goods or services from an unapproved supplier, then you may submit a written request for us to approve the supplier. You must submit to us all information, specifications, and samples that we request. Any goods or services from suppliers must be in accordance with Brand Standards. We will review all of the pertinent information. While we have no obligation to respond within a certain time frame, our review typically takes 30 days to complete. We have the right to require as a condition of our initial and continuing approval that our representatives are permitted to inspect and re-inspect the supplier's facilities, and that the supplier attend our brand conference and enter into our then-applicable supplier agreement. We currently do not charge a fee for the supplier approval process, but we may do so. We may change our approval process or supplier criteria at any time. If we approve a supplier as to any goods, services, suppliers, or materials, we must grant our approval in writing. We may condition our initial and continued approval of a supplier on certain requirements, such as delivery frequency, standards of service (including prompt attention to complaints), concentration of purchases, insurance protection, the supplier's willingness to enter into indemnity and confidentiality agreements, payment of reasonable license fees (if Marks are used), and other criteria. Other than this description of our criteria, we do not disclose any further details of our criteria for approving suppliers to franchisees.
We may approve suppliers on a temporary basis and/or revoke approval of Approved Suppliers who no longer satisfy our criteria for suppliers or do not pass reinspection, and if that happens, we will provide reasonable written notice of such disapproval to you.
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 46–50)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are required to purchase certain supplies exclusively from approved suppliers when mandated by the company. Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential reserves the right to approve or designate all vendors and suppliers of supplies and services used in developing, operating, and promoting the hotel. This includes the option to designate a sole supplier or approved suppliers, which may include Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential or its affiliates.
Franchisees may be required to sign agreements with these approved suppliers for the purchase of such supplies or services. Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential will provide a list of approved suppliers to the franchisee and may also share the franchisee's contact information with these suppliers. While Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential has the right to require a 2% to 3% procurement fee, which would be remitted to them, they currently do not require such a fee.
To maintain consistency and quality among Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential hotels, the brand standards require that the hotel and most items used or sold meet specific specifications. Franchisees must use only approved products, supplies, equipment, furnishings, and services that meet the brand's standards for appearance, function, and performance. This includes FF&E, OS&E, décor, signage, advertising materials, uniforms, and various operating supplies. If a franchisee wants to purchase goods or services from an unapproved supplier, they can submit a written request for approval, which typically takes 30 days to review. Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential may revoke approval of suppliers who no longer meet their criteria, providing reasonable written notice.