will be required to enter into a merchant processing application and agreement with Fiserv, the SCH-approved merchant service provider, and a participation agreement with SCH (see Exhibit G-4 to this
From the filings
Ruby Hotels
LodgingSoftware purchasing at Ruby Hotels flows through InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) executives, not individual franchisees. The 2026 FDD mandates IHG Concerto, IHG Merlin, and a Revenue Management System (RMS) across the system. While total unit counts and financials are not disclosed in the filing, the lodging brand operates under a centralized tech governance model, making HQ the primary target for vendor pitches.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Ongoing fee load
What the operator pays every month
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
5.5%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
2 of these are mandated in the franchise agreement. Each is named in Item 11 of the filing, the incumbents a challenger must displace or integrate with.
5 RUBY HOTELS 2026 FDD (11) enter into a merchant processing application and agreement with Fiserv, the SCH-approved merchant service provider, and a participation agreement with FreedomPay and SCH (s
from time to time. As a participant in ICS, you are automatically enrolled in the GDS, which provides reservation linkage with the three current major GDS – Travelport, Sabre, and Amadeus. You must pa
tel size, charged in Annually (Payable to Platform and 2Way 500 MB units: $370 per Note 9 Holiday) Interface unit/per year (minimum of 4 units). Interface Subscription: $2,200 for Delphi One time cost
plication and Agreement for New Properties (“Addendum”) is entered into between FDS Holdings, Inc. (“First Data” or “Processor”), Bank of America, N.A. (“Bank”) (collectively with First Data, “Service
agement System (“PMS”) Hotels must use a Cloud PMS. As of the date of this disclosure, OPERA Cloud Standard is the recommended Cloud PMS solution for Brand System Hotels; however, HotelKey may also be
ed through the IHG Business Edge Program Groups & Meetings 4% of consumed or Monthly (Paid to SCH) Note 5 (“G&M”) Fee presumed/agreed room revenue for leads sent to hotels via IHG MeetingBroker Groups
orm is also designed to support effective management of Hotel Content and quick response to guest relations issues. SCH administers a computerized payment card processing program, NextGen Payments (“N
places the secure payment solution previously in use by IHG and Hotel and is supported by key third party providers including FreedomPay, Inc. (“FreedomPay”), Oracle Corporation (“Oracle”), Hewlett-Pa
6.25 - $9.00 per room; per month depending on room OPERA Cloud PMS Monthly (Payable to count Note 9 Solutions Fee Service Provider) Monthly (Payable to $.36 per room/per month for OPERA Cloud PMS Serv
compromise of personal information due to a data security breach affecting Kimpton Hotels during the period August 10, 2016 – March 9, 2017. This suit relates to the breach of the Sabre SynXis reserva
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
21 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 4 explicit no's; 9 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
Holiday and SCH have independent access to the information and data collected by the PMS and Reservation System.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesItem 17
Upon request, you will provide us and our Affiliates, quarterly financial statements within 45 days after the end of each fiscal quarter and annual audited financial statements within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
Holiday or its affiliate currently own an interest in Groups360 LLC (“Groups360”), which provides lead generation services, meeting advisory services, and marketing services to participating Hotels in our System and other hospitality companies.
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 20
The IHG Owners Association was created by Holiday’s predecessor in interest in 1956.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
The IHG Procurement Program collects a fee from suppliers based on a percentage of the actual sales between the supplier and licensees to fund the operation of the Program.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you wish to use suppliers other than established SRD Program–approved suppliers, the non-approved suppliers must provide samples and documentation pursuant to the Design Review process to demonstrate that their products meet Holiday’s quality specifications, and you must obtain Holiday’s prior written approval.
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 17
As part of your obligation to comply with Card Organization Rules, you are required to comply with PCI DSS.
Franchise management
Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
YesItem 6
Completion of the TOV survey is mandatory when assigned.
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 6
Holiday representatives may inspect the Hotel at any time with or without notice to you, to determine whether your Hotel is compliant with the Standards.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
The Standards and any modifications to them can be delivered by IHG to Licensee in hard paper copy or, at IHG’s option, be made available to Licensee in digital, electronic or other computerized form.
Marketing
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesFranchise agreement
Licensee will conduct an opening advertising and marketing campaign that complies with the Standards.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 6
Hotels are required to allocate a minimum percentage of their rooms inventory, as specified by the Loyalty Program, for reward night redemption by IHG One Rewards members.
Operations
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
If Holiday requires you to purchase equipment, furnishings, supplies, or other products or services from a designated or approved supplier or service provider to comply with the Standards, you must do so unless you obtain prior written approval to use a non-approved supplier or service provider.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
In addition, Licensee will be required to enter into a merchant processing application and agreement with the IHG-approved merchant service provider.
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
IHG requires Licensee to pay all outstanding fees by electronic funds transfer, direct account debit, ACH or other similar technology designed to accomplish the same purpose as may be designated by IHG.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
Holiday may include conditions in your License requiring you to hire a duly qualified and experienced (i) management company acceptable to Holiday or (ii) General Manager, Director of Sales, and/or Food & Beverage (“F&B”) Director with at least two years’ prior experience in such position at a hotel operated under…
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
All employees must wear the Brand System defined uniform from the Cintas Uniform Collection or such other mandated supplier.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
All Ruby Hotels must use an approved F&B POS System that meets the Standards which includes full integration with the PMS.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesFranchise agreement
7.1 Licensee understands that IHG and its Affiliates will have access to certain reports and information relating to the Hotel and generated through the use of the Curated Solutions, including information relating to revenues, room occupancy, and availability, as well as Personal Data.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
For in-person classes, you must pay for trainees’ travel expenses or any training expenses incurred from any optional or supplemental courses that your trainees attend (see Items 5 and 7).
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 6
The Licensee (or, if Licensee is not an individual, a representative of Licensee) and the General Manager must attend the IHG Premium Investors and Leadership Conference, or any successor name, and must pay the registration fee of up to $2,500 per attendee regardless of attendance plus travel and expenses.
The filing answers no to 4 questions
- Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?Franchise agreement
- Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?Item 6
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 6
- Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?Item 8
The vendor opportunity at Ruby Hotels
Ruby Hotels operates in the US lodging segment under the IHG umbrella, with corporate leadership listed in the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document. For software vendors, the opportunity hinges on a centralized purchasing structure: the FDD names Elie W. Maalouf (CEO, IHG), Jolyon Bulley (CEO, Americas), Mark Sergot (Chief Development Officer, Americas), Heather Balsley (Chief Customer & Marketing Officer), and Colin Macdonald (SVP, US and Canada Franchise Operations) as the executives responsible for the system. This is a headquarters-controlled environment, not a multi-unit operator free-for-all. The total number of franchised and company-owned units is not disclosed in the 2026 FDD, so vendors must size the addressable market through direct discovery rather than public filings.
Who controls software purchasing
Purchasing authority sits with IHG’s corporate team. Colin Macdonald, as SVP of US and Canada Franchise Operations, is the most operationally proximate executive for software decisions affecting franchised properties. Jolyon Bulley, as CEO of the Americas, holds broader strategic approval authority. Vendors should note that no independent franchisee operators are mapped in our corpus, reinforcing the HQ-centric buying model. The absence of a disclosed parent company beyond IHG suggests that Ruby Hotels functions as a brand within the IHG portfolio, with technology standards set at the corporate level.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2026 FDD mandates three systems: IHG Concerto, IHG Merlin, and a Revenue Management System (RMS). Concerto serves as the property management and guest-experience platform, while Merlin handles operational and back-office functions. The RMS mandate indicates centralized revenue strategy, likely tied to IHG’s proprietary or preferred pricing tools. No other POS, CRM, or ERP vendors are named in the filing, leaving adjacent categories open for vendors who can integrate with the mandated core. Any pitch must demonstrate compatibility with Concerto and Merlin as non-negotiable infrastructure.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The FDD provides no Item 8 procurement extract, so the formal supplier designation process—whether designated, approved, or open—is not publicly documented. Similarly, Item 17 renewal terms and initial franchise agreement durations are absent from the filing. This opacity means vendors cannot infer contract-cycle windows from the FDD alone. The practical implication: outreach should be continuous and relationship-based, targeting the named HQ executives rather than waiting for a public RFP cycle that may never materialize.
How to read the Ruby Hotels FDD
The 2026 FDD is embedded below for full-text review. It was filed with state franchise regulators and contains the legal and operational disclosures required under the FTC Franchise Rule. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (the executives listed above), Item 11 (the mandated tech systems), and the financial performance representations if any are included—though AUV and royalty figures are not disclosed in this filing. Use the document to validate integration requirements and identify the exact corporate titles to include in your outreach.
For a ranked target list of franchise systems that match your software category, FranCloud can map the full landscape of mandated tech, HQ buyers, and unit counts across brands.
Questions vendors ask
Ruby Hotels, answered from the filing
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Ruby Hotels files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
1 operators run 1 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Ownership
The portfolio behind Ruby Hotels
strategic_multibrand of IHG.
Sibling brands
Related Lodging brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.