From which affiliate of Surestay Hotel By Best Western is the PMS currently licensed?
Surestay_Hotel_By_Best_Western Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You are currently required to license the System's PMS (currently AutoClerk Cloud PMS) from our affiliate, AutoClerk. When you obtain the required PMS, you will also receive the GMS. The GMS provides a full-suite guest management system for System Hotels. The GMS includes preregistration, dynamic upsells, guest messaging, digital compendium and mobile check-out. The GMS enables hoteliers to increase revenue, boost staff efficiency and maximize guest satisfaction. If the Property has a waiver from the requirement to use the System's required PMS, you must still obtain the GMS and pay all associated fees.
In order to license the PMS from AutoClerk, you will be required to enter into a Software as a Service Agreement in the form attached as Exhibit K. You are also currently required to purchase Lodging Link, a product offered by Comtrol Corporation that provides connectivity and integration of the PMS into other guest and hotel service systems (e.g. Call Accounting, PBX, in-room entertainment, Key Card, etc.). We, AutoClerk and Comtrol Corporation are the only approved suppliers of certain PMS-related installation, maintenance and licensing, and you will be required to make payments to us/AutoClerk for those services. We are also the only approved supplier of distribution system photographs that must be taken of your Hotel and certain other distribution services disclosed in Item 6.
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 48–51)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Surestay Hotel By Best Western's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are required to license the System's Property Management System (PMS), which is currently the AutoClerk Cloud PMS, from AutoClerk, an affiliate of Surestay Hotel By Best Western. Along with the PMS, franchisees also receive the Guest Management System (GMS), which offers a suite of features including preregistration, dynamic upsells, guest messaging, digital compendium, and mobile check-out, designed to enhance revenue, staff efficiency, and guest satisfaction. Even if a property has a waiver from using the required PMS, they must still obtain the GMS and pay the associated fees.
To license the PMS from AutoClerk, franchisees must enter into a Software as a Service Agreement, the form of which is attached as Exhibit K in the FDD. Additionally, franchisees are required to purchase Lodging Link from Comtrol Corporation, which integrates the PMS with other guest and hotel service systems. Surestay Hotel By Best Western, AutoClerk, and Comtrol Corporation are the only approved suppliers for PMS-related installation, maintenance, and licensing services, and franchisees are required to make payments to Surestay Hotel By Best Western or AutoClerk for these services.
Surestay Hotel By Best Western also mandates that franchisees purchase distribution system photographs of their hotel and certain other distribution services exclusively from them. This requirement ensures that the brand maintains consistent quality and uniformity across all its locations. These restrictions on suppliers are part of Surestay Hotel By Best Western's broader strategy to maintain the integrity, image, and public reputation of the Surestay Hotel By Best Western system, as outlined in their confidential operations manual.