Is a Sonesta Simply Suites franchisee required to purchase supplies only from Approved Suppliers when required?
Sonesta_Simply_Suites Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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.
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 42–46)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Sonesta Simply Suites's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are required to purchase certain supplies from approved suppliers when mandated by the franchisor. Sonesta Simply Suites reserves the right to approve or designate all vendors and suppliers of supplies and services used in developing, operating, and promoting the hotel. These approved suppliers may include Sonesta Simply Suites or its affiliates. Franchisees may also be required to sign agreements from these approved suppliers for the purchase of such supplies or services.
Sonesta Simply Suites will provide a list of approved suppliers to the franchisee and may also share the franchisee's contact information with these suppliers. While Sonesta Simply Suites has the right to require a 2% to 3% procurement fee through a third-party online procurement platform, which would be remitted to them, they currently do not require such a fee.
If a franchisee wishes to use a supplier that is not on the approved list, they can submit a written request to Sonesta Simply Suites for approval. The franchisee must provide all necessary information, specifications, and samples requested by Sonesta Simply Suites, ensuring that the goods or services meet the brand standards. While there is no guaranteed response time, the review process typically takes 30 days. Sonesta Simply Suites may also inspect the supplier's facilities and require the supplier to attend brand conferences and enter into a supplier agreement. Sonesta Simply Suites may approve suppliers temporarily and can revoke approval if they no longer meet the criteria, providing reasonable written notice to the franchisee.