Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We have independent access to the information generated and stored in the Computer Systems.
From the filings
+135.714% units YoYMandated tech stackHQ-led decisions
TravelCenters of America
Quick service restaurantSoftware vendors evaluating TravelCenters of America (TA) will find a predominantly company-owned network with a small but growing franchise footprint. Purchasing authority sits at the Westlake, Ohio headquarters, where C-suite executives and the Head of Hospitality oversee technology decisions. The 2026 FDD reveals a tightly mandated proprietary tech environment across 186 total locations, creating a concentrated sales target for vendors who can integrate with or replace existing systems.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
186
33 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+135.714%
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2026
Royalty
4.5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
—
national + local
Initial fee
$140K
per unit
Investment range
$1.46M–$14.11M
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
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. It is a floor, not a total — the filing discloses one of the two headline fees.
4.5%+of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
19 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 4 explicit no's; 11 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
We or our Affiliates may derive revenue from the direct sale or lease of products or services to you.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 11
We may require you to obtain specified Computer Systems, including the rewards computer system, proprietary shop system, and proprietary shower system, and related services from our Affiliates and may modify specifications for any components of the Computer System or related services 4904-9749-1607, v.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
251472Item 8
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, our Affiliate TA Operating’s revenue from required purchases and leases by TA franchisees totaled $251,472
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We and any of our Affiliates have the right to receive payments or other material consideration from Approved Suppliers on account of their actual or prospective dealings with our franchisees and to retain or use all amounts of revenue we or our Affiliates receive without restriction for any purposes we or our…
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?
2Item 8
We estimate that source restricted purchases and leases for the TA Center will equal approximately 2% to 6% of your purchases and leases in establishing the TA Center and 2% to 6% of your purchases and leases in operating the TA Center.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
A charge not to exceed the reasonable cost of the inspection and the actual cost of the test will be paid by you or the unapproved supplier.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you desire to purchase or lease any unapproved product, supplies, service or equipment or purchase or lease any approved product, supplies, service or equipment from an unapproved supplier, you must notify us in writing and request approval.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 17
authorize the transfer of such numbers and directory listings to us or at our direction and/or instruct the telephone company to forward all calls made to your telephone numbers to numbers we specify.
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must be PCI & Data Security Standard (DSS) compliant and remain compliant at all times.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 13
TA Franchise or its agents have the right to enter and inspect your Site at all reasonable times, observe how you are rendering your services and conducting your operations, to confer with your employees and customers and review and oversee services and activities to ensure that they are satisfactory and meet with…
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 14
TA Franchise has the right to amend the Manuals in its sole discretion.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 12
You must operate the TA Center only at the approved site.
Marketing
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 16
You must fully comply with all programs which TA Franchise requires in the Manuals, or are otherwise communicated to you and designated by TA Franchise as Core Programs, including but not limited to the following:
Payments
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 16
You must accept or participate in all required payment systems, including but not limited to credit cards, charge cards, gift cards, gift certificates, and coupons.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
You must also have managers, as specified in the Manuals, who directly supervise and control the TA Center on a day-to-day basis.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
Certain items are proprietary to the TA System or its Affiliates, incorporate our trade secrets, or bear the Marks, including employee clothing, uniforms, stationary, forms, Products, and advertising materials or are otherwise designated as such by us (“Proprietary Supplies”).
Point of sale
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We have independent access to the information generated and stored in the Computer Systems.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We may also provide additional voluntary training that you or other Persons may take at your option, and we may charge our then-current fees for this additional training.
The filing answers no to 4 questions
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
- Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?Item 11
- Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?Item 11
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
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.
HQ leadership: CEO/President + VP Ops/Franchise + a first dedicated IT/systems owner.
VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
- 41.9% of quick service brands mandate no POS system, leaving a massive blind spot in your target list.By instantly identifying the 452 brands with no POS mandate, you replace weeks of manual FDD research and focus your pipeline on high-fit displacement targets, cutting customer acquisition cost by over 60%.
- 82.3% of brands mandate no accounting system, signaling a wide-open market for tech vendors.FranCloud surfaces the 888 brands without an accounting mandate so your team can prioritize outreach before competitors even know they exist, turning a manual research cost center into a predictable revenue engine.
- Only 17 out of 1,079 quick service brands mandate a CRM, yet unit counts and AUVs prove these are high-value accounts.Instead of spending 40+ hours manually combing FDDs to find CRM-needy brands, FranCloud delivers the 17 mandate-holders and their financials in one query, letting your team close deals 10x faster.
The vendor opportunity at TravelCenters of America
TravelCenters of America operates 186 locations across the United States, with a heavy tilt toward company-owned units. Of the total, 153 are company-operated and only 33 are franchised. For software vendors, this structure means the addressable market is concentrated: a single corporate entity controls the majority of locations, and even the franchised units operate under strict system mandates from HQ. The network falls within the quick-service restaurant and travel center segment, where operational technology spans point-of-sale, fuel management, shower and amenities systems, and loyalty platforms. No average unit volume is disclosed in the 2026 FDD, but the royalty rate sits at 4.5% on a standard 10-year initial term. Year-over-year unit growth is not reported in the filing.
Who controls software purchasing
Software purchasing authority at TravelCenters of America is centralized at the Westlake, Ohio headquarters. The 2026 FDD Item 1 lists the executive team: Jason Nordin serves as Chief Executive Officer and Director, Gregory A. Franks as President, Chairman and Director, Paul Carley as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Director, and Michael Joseph Polachek as Vice President, Head of Hospitality and Director. Mayrena Margarita Castillo Cheng also sits on the board as a Director. For a vendor, the most direct entry points are likely the CFO, who controls budget and vendor financial review, and the VP/Head of Hospitality, who oversees the operational systems that touch the customer experience. No separate CIO or CTO is named in the FDD, suggesting technology decisions flow through this tight executive group.
Mandated and current tech stack
The FDD is explicit about technology mandates. Item 11 requires franchisees to use Computer Systems as mandated, along with a proprietary shop system, a proprietary shower system, a rewards computer system, and the overarching TA System. These are not optional; they are conditions of operating under the brand. The proprietary nature of these systems means the franchisor controls the codebase, the vendor relationships, and the upgrade cycle. For a third-party software vendor, the opportunity lies either in becoming a supplier to the corporate entity that builds or integrates these proprietary tools, or in demonstrating a capability that the current stack does not address. The FDD does not name the third-party vendors behind the Computer Systems mandate, so the exact POS or back-office software in use is not publicly disclosed in the filing.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The 2026 FDD does not include an Item 8 extract, so the formal procurement model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open—is not publicly available. However, the renewal terms in Item 17 offer a window into the contractual rhythm. Franchise agreements run for an initial 10-year term. To renew, a franchisee must give written notice at least 180 days before expiration, comply with all provisions of the existing agreement, satisfy all monetary obligations, and sign the then-current Franchise Agreement. Critically, the renewal agreement may include materially different terms, including economic terms, operational requirements, and technology mandates. Renewal terms are 5 years. This creates a recurring trigger point where franchisees must adopt whatever updated tech stack the franchisor requires, making the 180-day pre-expiration window a potential sales cycle entry for vendors whose systems align with corporate mandates.
How to read the TravelCenters of America FDD
The full 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. It contains the legal and operational disclosures that govern the franchise system, including the Item 11 technology mandates, Item 1 executive roster, and Item 17 renewal conditions referenced throughout this page. For software vendors, the FDD is a primary-source research document that reveals who buys, what they already use, and when contracts come up for renewal. Use it to qualify TravelCenters of America as a target before investing in a sales cycle. For a ranked list of franchise systems that match your software category, FranCloud can help you prioritize your outreach.
Questions vendors ask
TravelCenters of America, answered from the filing
The C-suite and VP-level executives named in the FDD control purchasing. Key titles include CEO Jason Nordin, President Gregory Franks, CFO Paul Carley, and VP/Head of Hospitality Michael Polachek.
The FDD mandates a proprietary shop system, proprietary shower system, rewards computer system, and the TA System. Computer Systems are also mandated, though specific vendor names are not disclosed in the filing.
The 2026 FDD reports 186 total units: 153 company-owned and 33 franchised locations. This is a quick-service restaurant and travel center network headquartered in Ohio.
The FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the designated versus approved supplier model is not publicly disclosed in the most recent filing.
Franchisees must notify TA of renewal intent 180 days before the 10-year initial term expires. Renewal terms are 5 years and require signing the then-current agreement, which may include materially different terms.
The 2026 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can review the embedded PDF viewer below for the full disclosure document.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment TravelCenters of America files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
236 operators run 237 mapped locations. 1 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit235
2–9 units1
Top states by locations
| TX | 18 |
|---|---|
| CA | 14 |
| GA | 11 |
| OH | 10 |
| IL | 9 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind TravelCenters of America
unknown of bp corporation north america.
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.