What is the Sonesta Simply Suites Franchisee liable for to the Service Providers and ISP after the assignment?
Sonesta_Simply_Suites Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Upon termination or expiration of the Franchise Agreement (without extension), Franchisor shall have the right and is hereby empowered to effectuate the assignment of the Online Presences. In such event, Franchisee shall have no further right, title, or interest in the Online Presences, and shall remain liable to the Service Providers and the ISP for all past due fees owing to the Service Providers and the ISP on or before the effective date of the assignment hereunder.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 79–80)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Sonesta Simply Suites Franchise Disclosure Document, upon termination or expiration of the Franchise Agreement, the franchisee remains liable to the Service Providers and the ISP (Internet Service Provider). This liability extends to all past due fees owed to these providers on or before the effective date of the assignment of the Online Presences to Sonesta Simply Suites.
In practical terms, this means that if a Sonesta Simply Suites franchisee has any outstanding bills with their website managers or internet provider at the time their franchise agreement ends, they are personally responsible for paying those debts. This obligation exists even though the rights to the online presence (websites, domain names, etc.) transfer back to the franchisor, Sonesta Simply Suites.
This clause protects Sonesta Simply Suites from inheriting any financial liabilities related to the franchisee's operation of the online presence. It also incentivizes franchisees to maintain good financial standing with their service providers throughout the term of their agreement. A prospective franchisee should ensure they understand this obligation and budget accordingly to avoid any outstanding fees upon termination or expiration of their franchise agreement.