Are gratuities to employees excluded from Gross Rooms Revenue for a Sonesta Simply Suites?

According to Sonesta Simply Suites's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, gratuities to employees are excluded from the calculation of Gross Rooms Revenue. Gross Rooms Revenue is a key figure because it is used to calculate fees payable to Sonesta Simply Suites.

The document defines Gross Rooms Revenue as all revenue attributable to the rental of guest rooms at the hotel, including revenue from cash, credit cards, and other credit transactions, as well as guaranteed no-show revenue and proceeds from business interruption insurance related to the non-availability of guest rooms. It also includes any miscellaneous fees charged to all guests, regardless of accounting treatment, net of chargebacks from credit card issuers.

However, the definition explicitly excludes certain charges from Gross Rooms Revenue, including separate charges for food and beverage, vending machine receipts, telephone charges, key forfeitures, entertainment (including Internet fees and commissions), allowances for Guest Room rebates and overcharges, gratuities to employees or service charges levied in lieu of such gratuities which are payable to employees, and applicable taxes collected from guests. This exclusion benefits the franchisee by reducing the base amount on which royalties and other fees are calculated, potentially lowering the overall cost of the franchise.