Where do I go for this?
Often confused with OFSComfortLetterRequests@marriott.com, this is the appropriate place to send any request for a comfort letter.
Law-ComfortLetterRequests@marriott.com
The Law – Comfort Letter Requests mailbox is the appropriate mailbox to send any requests from a franchisee or FMC concerning a comfort letter.
Note: the OFS – Comfort Letter mailbox and the Law-Franchise Operations mailbox are supposed to forward or redirect comfort letter requests that come there incorrectly.
If I have a question about a franchise regulatory matter or something concerning the FDDs, this is the lawyer I reach out to.
Janaki Parmar
If an Account is overdue on their Accounts Receivable, Marriott can take this action (short of terminating the Franchise Agreement), but only if we have issued a formal Notice of Default and the franchisee has failed to cure within the cure period provided.
Shut Off/Suspend the Hotel’s access to the Reservation System
In 2025, we stopped requiring this tri-party agreement between Marriott, the franchisee, and the FMC, paving the way for our new process of issuing Consent Letters to document our approval of an FMC (and any Guardrails).
Management Company Acknowledgment
Marriott got its start in Franchising almost 99 years ago when J. Willard and Alice Marriott opened this franchise in Washington, DC.
A&W Root Beer Stand
The 9-stool root beer stand that started this all in 1927 was an A&W franchise. It eventually grew into the Hot Shoppes Restaurant chain, which ultimately evolved into today’s Marriott International hotel company.
This is the mailbox I should contact to initiate a relicensing or a renewal transaction, as they will send an application, issue the FDD, and contact Legal to assign outside counsel
Franchise.Transactions@marriott.com
The Franchise Transactions mailbox is monitored by Rich Lind + Naomi’s team, and they get the process started for Relicensings and Renewals.
I used to go to Jana or Yasmin for a lot of my legal questions, but I noticed post-Unlocking I am dealing with other attorneys and people in the Law Department. That is because they both now solely support this discipline.
Development
Jana now leads the US/Canada Development and M&A legal team, with Yasmin reporting to her and leading the US/Canada Development Transactions team responsible for both managed and franchised development.
A Franchisee is not paying its Lender, so the Lender starts the foreclosure procedure. Based on our Comfort Letter, if the Lender wants to keep our flag, before entering into a new Lender Relicensing Agreement with us, the Lender must also do this.
Cure all of Franchisee’s unpaid A/R
Under the Heightened GSS Guardrail, Marriott can withdraw its consent for the FMC and require an approved third-party operator once the hotel hits this level of the Red Zone under the QA Program.
Red – 1
Under the Heightened GSS Guardrail, if the hotel is placed in the Red Zone for any single tracking period, the FMC has technically failed the Guardrail.
In the US/Canada, there are over 1,200 FMCs operating our hotels. We often organize these FMCs by Portfolio Size:
* FMCs that operate 1-3 hotels,
* FMCs that operate 4-9 hotels,
* FMCs that operate 10-19 hotels,
* FMCs that operate 20+ hotels.
Of these 4 breakdowns, this group has by far the largest number of FMCs
FMCs with 1-3 hotels
There are over 900 FMCs with just 1-3 hotels, and Small Accounts (FMCs with less than 10 hotels) represent over 90% of the total operator population and 45% of the open franchise units in the US & Canada.
If an Account has an issue with Marriott’s outside counsel bill on a transaction, this is who you should go to to help navigate the situation.
The In-House Attorney Assigned to the Transaction
The in-house attorney can help you navigate this situation. If you don’t know who that is and only know the Outside Counsel working on the transaction, you can email the Law – Franchise Operations mailbox and someone will direct you.
These are the 2 Managing Vice Presidents responsible for leading the transactional attorneys and paralegals on the US/Canada Asset Management and Owner & Franchisee Relations legal team.
Priscilla Saba
&
Michael Spiegeland
Under our Comfort Letter, if a Lender forecloses on the Franchisee, it has the right – but not the obligation – to keep our flag on the hotel. If Lender chooses to terminate the franchise agreement, we have no claim against them, but we do have a right to claim damages (including LDs) from this entity.
Franchisee (and Guarantor)
The Franchisee remains liable for full damages under their FA – though if they are not paying their Lender, chances are they don’t have much money to satisfy LDs (but we can look to the Guarantor, if there is one)
In an effort to help our Development partners debunk misconceptions, in 2025, we changed the name – and how we refer to – our MSB Operator Screens to this less intimidating name.
Pathways to Success
Marriott’s first franchise agreement was signed in 1968 with Bob Harpenue for this hotel.
The Cincinnati Marriott
If you are contacted about a guest complaint at a hotel, this mailbox should be contacted to ensure it is aware and involved.
OCA@marriott.com
OCA typically handles guest complaints and issues at both managed and franchised hotels. While you may need to contact above-property leadership at the FMC, you should make sure OCA is aware of the incident before doing anything else.
These 2 Paralegals are the “Wizards behind the curtain,” responsible for all intake, research, and responses coming from the Law – Franchise Operations mailbox.
Dani Cousineau
&
Cricket Beach
Before issuing a formal Notice of Default for unpaid A/R (which also goes to the Lender), the Finance team will issue 1 or more of these through an automated process with AHS that Legal and Finance implemented in 2025.
Breach Notice
An employee of an FMC reports a workplace allegation to Marriott’s Business Ethics mailbox, copying several Marriott leaders, which gets forwarded to you. You know to send all complaints from franchisee employees here as a first step.
Associate Relations (Julia Grygo’s team)
As a general rule, Marriott does not investigate or substantively respond to workplace allegations brought by employees of a franchised property, as those are appropriately handled by the individual’s employer (FMC). Associate Relations will prepare a short response to the complainant explaining they are not employed by Marriott and notifying them how to redirect their complaint to their employer, and they will provide a copy of the complaint to the above-property leader of the FMC.
We are always mindful to ensure Marriott, as Franchisor, is not exercising control over the terms and conditions of, or day-to-day responsibilities of, the FMC’s employees so that we can avoid this type of liability.
Joint-Employer Liability
If Marriott is determined to be a joint employer, that means it is jointly responsible for legal compliance and treatment of the FMC’s employees, and Marriott could be held liable for wage and hour violations, unfair labor practices, or forced to the bargaining table at a franchise hotel.
You just received notice of a lawsuit, a demand letter, or a preservation notice in connection with one of your hotels. This is the mailbox you should forward it to.
Litigation.Disputeresolution.Paralegals@marriott.com
The Law – Litigation/Dispute Resolution Paralegals mailbox is the proper place to send anything litigation related in connection with a franchised hotel. Someone will log the matter, and a paralegal will tender the notice to the franchisee.
The name of 1 of the 3 attorneys on the US/Canada & Global Operations team, who I may see from time to time on operational matters involving franchise hotels and FMCs
Andy Wright,
David Manderscheid,
&
Veronique Lanthier
A Franchisee is trying to close on a loan, and noticed the draft Comfort Letter references that the Hotel is Red-4 under our QA Program. Marriott must include that reference to qualify this rep in the Comfort Letter.
The “No Defaults” Rep
Comfort Letters include a representation from Marriott to the Lender that no defaults have been issued under the Franchise Agreement, which is referred to as the “No Defaults” rep. Any Red 3 or above notice under our QA Program is a formal default, so if the hotel is in Red 3 or above, we must qualify our “No Defaults” rep to the Lender by informing them of the QA default in the Comfort Letter.
The Global Quality (GQ) Program Guide includes a policy prohibiting GSS manipulation; however, the team only has 2 mechanisms to capture cheating within the guestVoice program: Filling out multiple surveys in a pre-set period on the same computer or browser, and this behavior.
Filling out a survey for a property on the same computer that is used to access guestVoice reporting.
According to the FTC Franchise Rule, this is the number of days that must elapse after disclosing a prospective franchisee with the FDD before Marriott can enter into any binding agreement or accept payment of any fees from that prospect.
14 Calendar Days
14 calendar days must elapse after disclosure before execution of the franchise agreement or payment of any consideration (which includes PIP fees or application fees). When counting days you use the “sandwich rule” and don’t count action days (when the franchisee receives the FDD or signs or pays).