SureStay Hotel operates as a locally controlled hotel using a centrally governed brand, reservation, loyalty, technology, supplier and quality-assurance system. The 2026 U.S. offer covers SureStay by Best Western and SureStay Studio by Best Western; the franchisee runs the Hotel, while SureStay, Inc. controls the System standards and distribution framework.
The franchisee sells guest-room stays to the consuming traveling public, fulfills those stays with its own management and hotel staff, and records the transaction through mandated systems. SureStay, Inc. supplies the Brand, Standards, Reservation Service, marketing and quality-assurance framework; approved distributors, AutoClerk and Green Key Global provide critical operating dependencies.
What does a SureStay franchisee sell, and who buys it?
The Hotel sells lodging, related amenities and permitted ancillary hotel services to leisure and business travelers. SureStay targets upper-economy transient demand; SureStay Studio targets value-oriented extended-stay demand. The Franchise Agreement restricts the property to lodging for the consuming traveling public unless SureStay, Inc. gives written consent for another use.
Transient upper-economy lodging
The FDD describes a typical 60-room System Hotel serving leisure and business travelers. The core customer promise includes clean, comfortable rooms, free high-speed Internet access and continental breakfast; the consumer brand page also presents Best Western Rewards participation as part of the guest proposition.
Extended-stay lodging
The FDD describes a typical 100-room System Hotel for leisure and business travelers seeking longer stays, with dedicated sleeping, dining, work and relaxation spaces. The current consumer page identifies in-room kitchenettes, free Wi-Fi and a 24-hour front desk, while breakfast is presented as optional by location.
Sources: SureStay, Inc. 2026 FDD, Item 1, pp. 1-4, and Item 16, p. 55; official SureStay development overview; official SureStay guest experience; official SureStay Studio guest experience.
How does a guest stay move through the Hotel?
A stay begins in the approved distribution network, moves into AutoClerk Atlas PMS and Canary Guest Management System, is fulfilled by the Hotel’s on-premises team, and ends in payment, loyalty, guest-feedback and monthly reporting processes. The sequence below reflects the contractual Reservation Service, operating roles and recordkeeping requirements.
Actor: SureStay/BWH marketing, distribution partners and the Hotel’s local sales effort.
Action: Present inventory through the Reservation Service, Best Western Rewards, required travel-agent, GDS, OTA and promotional programs.
Output: A confirmed reservation tied to approved rates and inventory.
Actor: General Manager and front-desk personnel.
System: AutoClerk Atlas PMS, Two-Way Interface, IoT connections and Canary GMS.
Action: Maintain availability, restrictions and guarantees; use pre-registration, messaging and arrival information.
Output: An arrival-ready guest record and room assignment dependency.
Actor: Housekeeping, maintenance and supervising management.
Action: Clean and release rooms, maintain facilities, execute preventive-maintenance and deep-clean programs, and supply required amenities.
Output: A standards-compliant room and operating environment ready for occupancy.
Actor: Front desk, housekeeping, maintenance and other Hotel personnel.
Action: Provide lodging, required amenities and breakfast service where applicable; monitor messages, reviews, surveys and complaint data; use First Contact Resolution procedures.
Output: The completed guest promise or documented corrective action.
Actor: Front desk, PMS and distribution/loyalty programs.
Action: Post room and ancillary charges, accept required payment methods, complete mobile or desk checkout, and process Best Western Rewards points, awards, commissions or central-bill credits.
Output: A closed folio and recorded room revenue.
Actor: Franchisee management and SureStay, Inc.
Action: Submit Financial and Operational Information by the third of each month, retain records, support audits, respond to feedback and correct quality-assurance deficiencies.
Output: Monthly system reporting and continued compliance with the Standards.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Items 6, 11 and 16, pp. 18-28, 43-50 and 55; Franchise Agreement §§4.2-4.5, 5.1.1-5.1.35 and 10.1-10.4; Exhibit F Manual table of contents; official Best Western booking channel; official Best Western Rewards program.
Who runs the Hotel day to day?
The franchisee retains direct management control and exclusive day-to-day control. On-premises supervision may be supplied by a full-time, dedicated General Manager or by qualified, experienced management through an approved Management Company. The FDD does not disclose required headcount, shift staffing or labor ratios.
Franchisee and Hotel team
- Hire, schedule and supervise General Manager, front desk, housekeeping, maintenance and any sales personnel.
- Operate the Hotel 24 hours a day and control local safety, security, guest service and employment practices.
- Maintain rooms, facilities, breakfast operations where required, supplies, permits, insurance and local records.
- Monitor guest feedback, resolve complaints and implement corrective action.
SureStay, Inc.
- License the Brand and System and issue the Manual and Standards.
- Furnish the Reservation Service and include the Hotel in general System marketing and loyalty programs.
- Approve or reject local advertising, management arrangements, suppliers and material property changes.
- Inspect, audit, access data and require corrections, upgrades or revised operating standards.
Named third parties
- AutoClerk supplies AutoClerk Atlas PMS, IoT hardware and service support.
- Canary GMS supplies guest pre-registration, messaging, upsell, compendium and mobile-checkout functions through the PMS package.
- OTAs, GDS, travel agents and corporate/tour programs deliver reservations and settlement obligations.
- Green Key Global assesses the Hotel’s required sustainability certification.
The owner need not personally supervise the property on premises, but this is not an absentee-ownership grant. The franchisee must retain direct management control, keep SureStay, Inc. informed about the Management Company or General Manager, and remains responsible even when a third-party manager operates the Hotel.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Item 15, pp. 54-55, and Item 11, pp. 43-50; Franchise Agreement §7.0; Exhibit F Manual table of contents. Parent and brand architecture: official BWH Hotels organization overview.
Which systems, suppliers and inputs are mandatory?
The operating stack is not vendor-neutral. AutoClerk is the sole approved PMS supplier; the Hotel must use the approved reservation connection, security and guest-management tools, specified purchasing categories, approved rate-shopping and optimization software, and Green Key Global certification. SureStay, Inc. may add exclusive or approved-source requirements later.
AutoClerk Atlas PMS manages availability, rates, restrictions, guarantees, reservation delivery, folios and ancillary revenue centers. Canary GMS is included and remains required even if the Hotel receives a PMS waiver. The Hotel also needs the Best Western Two-Way Interface, AutoClerk IoT integration and Hotel Managed Security Service.
The franchisee maintains designated revenue-management, in-room entertainment, telecommunications, high-speed Internet, payment and back-office equipment. SureStay, Inc. can require changes, updates or replacements without a contractual limit on frequency, and it has independent access to PMS information without a contractual access limitation.
Required categories include approved shower heads and key cards, guest-room amenities, linen, terry and pillows, a designated chemical supplier, approved sign manufacturers, professional distribution photographs, approved rate-shopping service and rate-optimization software. Other products may come from any source only when they meet the Standards.
The franchisee may submit a written request for a new supplier. SureStay, Inc. may inspect facilities, test samples and condition approval on quality, reliability, price, service or program participation; it must decide within no more than 120 days but has no obligation to approve the source.
The Hotel must obtain Green Key Global certification within six months after opening and maintain active certification, including required reporting, assessments and recertifications. Green Key Global describes its Eco-Rating as an assessment-and-audit program for hotel environmental and social practices.
Exhibit K divides control: AutoClerk controls operation, maintenance, modification and updates of the Service; the Hotel controls its local systems, credentials, connectivity, content accuracy and authorized use. The agreement targets 99% availability and 24/7 telephone support, but it also requires the Hotel to maintain its own backups and operational safeguards.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Item 8, pp. 38-41, and Item 11, pp. 47-48; Franchise Agreement §§4.7, 5.1.4 and 5.1.10; AutoClerk Atlas SaaS Agreement, Exhibit K §§2.1-2.10; AutoClerk’s official Best Western PMS page; AutoClerk support information; Green Key Global Eco-Rating process.
How are reservations, marketing and territory controlled?
SureStay, Inc. controls the reservation channel and Brand-facing marketing rules; the franchisee performs local sales and promotion within those controls. The Restricted Area limits certain same-Brand physical competition near the Hotel, but it does not create an exclusive customer, digital or lodging market.
Franchisor controls
- The Reservation Service is the sole approved means of offering reservations to the public and third parties.
- The Hotel may not use an independent booking engine, extranet, channel manager or unapproved hotel website.
- All Hotel inventory must be supplied at the best available rate with last-room availability.
- Unapproved local advertising, cross-marketing and cross-promotion may be prohibited or withdrawn.
- Confirmed reservations, required loyalty programs, promotions and quoted rates must be honored.
Franchisee operating decisions
- Select and manage local personnel, vendors outside restricted categories and daily service procedures consistent with the Standards.
- Conduct local and regional sales to associations, corporations, tour groups and community sources using approved materials.
- Solicit reservations outside the Restricted Area, provided the advertising is approved and bookings flow through the Reservation Service.
- Set day-to-day operating responses, guest recovery and local safety measures; the franchisor states it does not exercise day-to-day control.
- Propose alternative suppliers and request optional revenue-management, sales or reservation-transfer support.
The Restricted Area is at least a 0.25-mile radius in which SureStay, Inc. and its affiliates generally will not open another hotel under the same Brand. Exceptions include pre-existing or approved projects and certain acquisitions of four or more properties. Other BWH brands, digital reservations and customers inside the area are not protected, and the Hotel may not relocate.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Item 11, pp. 45-46, and Item 12, pp. 51-52; Franchise Agreement §§4.2-4.4, 5.1.7-5.1.8, 5.1.11 and 5.1.14-5.1.24.
What does Item 20 show about the operating network?
Item 20 reports an entirely franchised U.S. system under this FDD: 218 franchised outlets and no company-owned outlets at November 30, 2025. The year-end outlet count declined from 238 in 2023 to 222 in 2024 and 218 in 2025.
U.S. outlets at November 30 of each year; franchised outlets shown, company-owned outlets were zero in all three years.
The 2025 reconciliation is 222 opening outlets + 23 openings - 12 terminations - 13 non-renewals -2 other cessations = 218 year-end outlets.
Source: SureStay, Inc. 2026 FDD, Item 20, Tables 1, 3 and 4, pp. 66-77. The tables include certain legacy SureStay Collection franchise agreements made under this FDD, but exclude SureStay Collection licensees operating under the separate disclosure document.
Which operating questions remain property-specific or undisclosed?
The FDD defines the control framework but does not provide a complete property-level labor plan, brand-by-brand Item 20 population or a full public copy of the 133-page Manual. A buyer should resolve the following points against the proposed Hotel, Addendum, current Standards and supplier list.
- Confirm whether the property will be SureStay or SureStay Studio and obtain the exact room, breakfast, kitchenette, business-center and amenity Standards for that format.
- Document the proposed Management Company or General Manager arrangement, on-premises coverage, approval conditions and responsibility for front desk, housekeeping, maintenance, sales and breakfast functions.
- Obtain the current required-supplier list, PMS waiver status, AutoClerk implementation scope, Canary GMS configuration, HMSS design, IoT interfaces and required technology-upgrade schedule.
- Map the precise Restricted Area and identify existing, approved or acquired properties excluded from the same-Brand restriction, plus nearby BWH brands that may compete.
- Verify how local room-rate decisions interact with best-available-rate, last-room-availability, rate-parity, promotion, loyalty and approved revenue-management requirements.
- Request the Item 20 population split among SureStay, SureStay Studio and legacy SureStay Collection franchise agreements; the disclosed 218-outlet total does not provide that format breakdown.
What is the central SureStay operating model?
The central customer mechanism is the sale of transient or extended-stay room nights through the exclusive Reservation Service and its approved loyalty and distribution channels. The franchisee’s primary operating responsibility is to staff, maintain and control a 24/7 Hotel that fulfills the Standards and resolves guest issues. The strongest dependency is the combined Reservation Service, AutoClerk Atlas PMS/Canary GMS and franchisor data-and-quality-control framework.
The decisive format distinction is transient upper-economy SureStay versus extended-stay SureStay Studio. Territory protection is narrow, supplier and technology discretion is constrained, and day-to-day execution remains local. The largest unresolved system question is the exact current outlet mix by offered format because Item 20 combines current System Hotels with certain legacy SureStay Collection franchise agreements.