HERE Announces Leading Franchisee Lawyers Criticize Hilton's Hampton Inn Franchise Contract on website for Hilton Franchisees

Business Wire,  Sept 17, 2002  

Tags: Hilton Hotels Corp., Web site

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Business Editors and Legal Writers

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 2002

Zarco, Einhorn & Salkowski, one of the leading pro-franchisee law firms in the country, based in Miami, Fl, has written a fifteen page report on Hilton Hotels Corporation's (HLT: NYSE) standard franchise license agreement for its Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn and Suites brands. The report -- which highlights eight major problem areas in the Hampton licensing agreement -- appears on the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) website for Hilton franchisees, www.youownhilton.com, and is also available, free of charge, from www.youownhilton.com or Zarco, Einhorn & Salkowski.

In the report, co-authors Robert Zarco and Robert M. Einhorn (founding partner and managing partner, respectively, of the firm) label the Hampton agreement a "moving target" which enables Hilton to unilaterally make changes which the franchisee is then responsible for implementing, at sole cost to itself.

In a comparison with other franchise contracts, Zarco and Einhorn -- whose firm has represented franchisees at over 300 franchising companies, observe that, "Your (the Hampton franchisee's) ability to transfer or sell your franchise is much more restricted than is typical for a franchise relationship."

Robert M. Einhorn commented that, "I've read hundreds of franchise agreements and I must say that the Hampton agreement is one of the most onerous in the franchise world -- on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst, I'd give it a nine. A large and prominent corporation like Hilton ought to be ashamed to foist this kind of agreement upon its franchisees."

Richard Yeselson, project manager at HERE for the www.youownhilton.com site, said that Hilton franchisees can expect further helpful information about their franchise investments to be posted to the site in the near future.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Business Wire
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning