FacebookMeta
, you must furnish us with a quarterly report and documentation of local advertising expenditures during the previous calendar quarter. Your use of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, I
From the filings
+283.333% units YoYHQ-led decisions
The Hot Spot
Personal servicesSoftware purchasing decisions at The Hot Spot are centralized at the corporate level, with Chief Executive Officer Olivia Parsons Franks as the likely ultimate decision-maker. The brand mandates Facebook for franchisees and recommends Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, but does not disclose operational systems like POS in its FDD. With 26 total locations (23 franchised, 3 company-owned) and a 283% year-over-year unit growth rate, the addressable market is small but expanding rapidly.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
26
23 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+283.333%
vs prior filing
AUV
$656K
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$40K
per unit
Investment range
$83K–$156K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
Claims
from the filing
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.
7%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
Systems named in Item 11 of this filing. None is recorded as mandated here, which is not the same as the filing mandating nothing. Read Item 11 before treating the category as open.
InstagramMeta
us with a quarterly report and documentation of local advertising expenditures during the previous calendar quarter. Your use of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn,
LinkedInLinkedIn
uarterly report and documentation of local advertising expenditures during the previous calendar quarter. Your use of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, blogs and
TwitterX
furnish us with a quarterly report and documentation of local advertising expenditures during the previous calendar quarter. Your use of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, L
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
25 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 6 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee agrees to keep and maintain complete and accurate books and records of its transactions and business operations using the accounting procedures specified by Franchisor.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
The Square POS System allows us to independently and remotely access all of your sales data, including your Gross Revenue, through the Internet.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Within fifteen ninety (90) days after the close of each fiscal year, Franchisee will furnish Franchisor a full and complete written statement of income and expense and a profit and loss statement for the operation of the Franchised Business during said period, together with a balance sheet for the Franchised…
How the franchisor buys
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor reserves the right, at its option, to re-inspect from time to time the facilities and products of any such approved supplier and to revoke its approval upon the supplier’s failure to continue to meet any of Franchisor’s then-current criteria.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
During our last fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, neither we nor our affiliates received revenue from vendors on account of required purchases by franchisees.
Item 8 gives this proportion in one of two shapes: separate percentages for establishing the business and for operating it, or one figure covering "establishing and operating" together. Where they are separate, answer with the operating percentage; where the passage gives only the combined figure, answer with that. What percentage of the franchisee's purchases must come from designated or approved suppliers?
80Item 8
We estimate that your purchase or lease of products, supplies and services from approved suppliers (or those which meet our specifications) will represent approximately 90% of your costs to establish your Franchised Business and approximately 80% of your costs for ongoing operation.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
If you request that we approve a proposed supplier, you will be required to pay us a fee of
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you would like us to consider another supplier, you must make such a request in writing to use and have the supplier give us samples of its product or service and such other information that we may require.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 17
Page 30 The Hot Spot FDD 2026 A Section in Provision Franchise Summary Agreement cancel any assumed name registration that contains any Mark; pay us and our affiliates all sums owing; pay us any damages, costs or expenses we incur in obtaining any remedy for any violation of the Franchise Agreement by you, including…
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall abide by Franchisor’s data privacy policies.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
conduct inspections of your Franchised Business, at the frequency and duration that we deem advisable.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement and this Section 12 in particular, Franchisee acknowledges and agrees that because complete and detailed uniformity under many varying conditions may not be possible or practical, Franchisor specifically reserves the right and privilege, at its sole…
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
No site may be used for the location of the Franchised Business unless it is consented to in writing by Franchisor.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesFranchise agreement
Notwithstanding the foregoing, Franchisee may not maintain any business profile on Facebook, Instagram, X, Bluesky, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Tik Tok, blogs, or any other social media and/or networking site without Franchisor’s prior written approval, and use of any social media accounts shall be in strict…
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 11
We require you to spend at least $2,500 on opening advertising and promotional activities in the 30 days prior to and within the first 30 days following the opening of your Franchised Business in your Territory.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 11
Thereafter, you are required to spend at least $500 per month on advertising for the Franchised Business in your territory.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesFranchise agreement
Participate in, accept and honor all loyalty program cards or memberships, promotional coupons, gift cards, or other System-wide offers, on a uniform basis, as accepted by other franchisees in the System.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 6
You are required to join an advertising cooperative if one is formed.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase all items outlined in the Operations Manual, and any equipment or materials bearing the Marks in accordance with our specifications.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesFranchise agreement
Use only those furnishings, fixtures, décor, equipment, designs, art projects, supplies and signage that conform with Franchisor’s specifications and/or which shall be purchased from only those vendors designated and approved by Franchisor.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
At Franchisor’s request, Franchisee must execute documents, including but not limited to, the Authorization attached as Attachment 3, that allow Franchisor to automatically take the Royalty Fee and Brand Fund Contribution due as well as other sums due Franchisor, from business bank accounts or via electronic funds…
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesFranchise agreement
Participate in, accept and honor all loyalty program cards or memberships, promotional coupons, gift cards, or other System-wide offers, on a uniform basis, as accepted by other franchisees in the System.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must purchase and use the point-of-sale system (“POS System”) we specify, and have the latest versions of hardware, software and computer platforms to operate the POS System.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
The Square POS System allows us to independently and remotely access all of your sales data, including your Gross Revenue, through the Internet.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We reserve the right to impose a reasonable fee for tuition and/or attendance for all additional training programs, including the annual business meeting or conference.
The filing answers no to 3 questions
- Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?Item 8
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
- Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?Item 8
Who buys here
The buyer at this brand
The decision-maker a vendor sells to at this scale, and the gaps they’re paid to close, derived from our data by segment and unit count, not a guess.
The franchisor's owner/CEO decides; an ops or franchise-development lead may evaluate.
VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
- With 298 active personal services brands, I can't see which ones are growing or have the tech gaps my product fills, so I waste weeks chasing the wrong targets.A rep burning 10 hours/week on manual research at $50/hr loses $26,000/year. FranCloud's fit_scoring and corpus_search surface high-fit brands in seconds, reclaiming that time for selling.
- 63.5% of personal services brands mandate no POS system, but I can't identify the 108 that do without digging through hundreds of FDDs.Manually reviewing one FDD takes 3+ hours. At 108 targets, that's 324 hours. FranCloud's tech_landscape reveals POS mandates instantly, turning a $16,200 research slog into a single query.
- 91.6% of brands don't mandate a CRM, but the 25 that do are hidden in static reports, delaying my outreach to high-intent prospects.Landing one CRM-displacing deal in this segment can yield $30k+ ARR. FranCloud's find_lookalikes pinpoints those 25 brands and their peers, accelerating pipeline by months.
The vendor opportunity at The Hot Spot
The Hot Spot is a personal services franchise headquartered in Nevada. According to its 2026 FDD, the system comprises 26 total units: 23 franchised and 3 company-owned. The average unit volume (AUV) is $655,865.87, and the royalty rate is 5% of gross sales. While the absolute unit count is small, the brand’s year-over-year unit growth rate is 283%, indicating a rapid expansion trajectory. For software vendors, this presents a compact but fast-growing target—early adoption by the franchisor could lock in a system-wide standard as new locations open.
Who controls software purchasing
Software purchasing decisions at The Hot Spot are centralized at the corporate level. The FDD lists four executives: Olivia Parsons Franks (Chief Executive Officer), Lorraine Kitsos (Director of Training and Onboarding), Jennifer Eberts (Director of Franchise Development), and Emma Wood (Vice President of Franchise Development). No chief information officer or technology-specific role is disclosed, so the CEO is the most probable buyer for enterprise software. The Director of Training and Onboarding may influence platforms related to franchisee education and operational compliance. The brand’s operator footprint shows no multi-unit operators in our corpus, meaning franchisees likely have little to no independent purchasing authority for mandated systems. All sales conversations should start with Ms. Franks’ office.
Mandated and current tech stack
The Hot Spot’s technology mandates are narrowly focused on social media. The FDD requires franchisees to use Facebook and recommends Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. No point-of-sale, scheduling, payroll, or other operational software is mentioned in the FDD. This suggests that the brand either does not mandate such tools or considers them outside the scope of the franchise agreement. For vendors of social media management, compliance, or marketing automation platforms, there is a clear, documented need. For operational software, the stack is effectively open, but you will need to build a business case for the CEO and training director.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the brand’s supplier model—whether designated, approved, or open—is unknown. Vendors should inquire directly with HQ about any preferred-vendor programs or purchasing requirements. The franchise agreement has a 5-year initial term. Franchisees in good standing (defined as full compliance, no more than three events of default during the current term, and execution of a general release) may renew for up to five additional 5-year terms. Renewal requires six months’ written notice and a $3,500 successor agreement fee, which is waived for the first renewal. The successor agreement may contain materially different terms, potentially including new technology mandates. These renewal cycles, combined with the brand’s rapid unit growth, create recurring opportunities to introduce software: at new franchise onboarding and at each 5-year renewal window.
How to read the The Hot Spot FDD
The complete 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is available below. It includes all legal and financial disclosures required by state franchise regulators. Key sections for software vendors include Item 11 (franchisor’s obligations), which may hint at operational support systems, and Item 17 (renewal and transfer), which outlines the conditions under which a franchisee can continue and what changes might be imposed. Because the FDD is a public regulatory filing, you can also compare it with prior years to spot evolving technology requirements. We’ve embedded the document for your convenience.
For a ranked list of franchise brands that match your software’s ideal customer profile, including fast-growing systems like The Hot Spot, talk to FranCloud.
Questions vendors ask
The Hot Spot, answered from the filing
The CEO, Olivia Parsons Franks, is the top executive. No CIO or IT role is listed in the FDD, so purchasing likely runs through her office. The Director of Training and Onboarding, Lorraine Kitsos, may influence operational tools.
The FDD mandates only Facebook for franchisees; Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter are recommended. No point-of-sale, scheduling, or other operational systems are disclosed. This suggests an open tech stack for non-marketing tools.
As of the 2026 FDD, The Hot Spot has 26 total units: 23 franchised and 3 company-owned. The brand is in the personal services segment and is experiencing rapid growth (283% year-over-year unit increase).
The FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the model is unknown. It could be open, designated, or approved supplier. Vendors should inquire directly with HQ about any preferred-vendor programs.
Franchise agreements have a 5-year initial term, with renewal options for five additional 5-year terms. Renewal requires six months' notice, so windows may open around renewal cycles. The rapid unit growth also creates new-location opportunities.
The 2026 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can view the embedded PDF below for full details on fees, obligations, and restrictions. Note: we do not name the specific depository or registry.
Source
Read the filing itself
Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.
FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment The Hot Spot files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
The Hot Spot’s FDD on file does not disclose a franchisee directory.
Related Personal services brands
Primary franchise filings · updated August 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.