The name Mar-a-Lago tends to conjure certain images: white-columned facades, gold-trimmed rooms, familiar flags flapping gently in Florida breezes. In recent years, it’s become more than a members-only retreat. It’s been a winter White House, a political backdrop, and, now, unexpectedly, the center of a quiet software fight.
It started, not with politics, but with procurement.
For more than a decade, CedarCreek Systems, based in West Palm Beach, Florida, worked in a narrow lane of the hospitality industry — helping private clubs and resorts manage their backend operations. They didn’t build the software, but they sold it and supported it. Their clients didn’t need to know how the tech worked. They needed to know it would.
CedarCreek’s long-term partnership with a larger software company, BirchStreet Systems, made that possible. The arrangement gave CedarCreek exclusive resale rights to BirchStreet’s procurement platform — a system that handles ordering, invoicing, and tracking for everything from cocktail napkins to caviar.
A Long Partnership Unravels
That relationship is now unraveling.
In 2023, CedarCreek filed a lawsuit in Orange County, accusing BirchStreet of violating the terms of their reseller agreement. The allegations include unilateral price increases, undelivered tech upgrades, and the reassignment of CedarCreek’s longtime clients without warning.
In September 2024, BirchStreet issued a press release announcing a variety of Trump hotels and other properties as its direct customers. CedarCreek responded by threatening a cease-and-desist action, as it feared BirchStreet’s actions were a prelude to encroachment on CedarCreek’s own relationships with Trump properties—including Mar-a-Lago.
The legal documents never mention politics. But the properties named are among the most watched and recognizable in the country and the world. Their inclusion has shifted the nature of what might otherwise be a dry contractual spat.
An Unexpected Twist: The “Sham Acquisition”
And yet, what makes the case even more unusual isn’t the client list. It’s what happened next.
According to CedarCreek, BirchStreet initiated acquisition talks in early 2025. Over several months, executives from both sides exchanged documents and held meetings. CedarCreek shared sensitive financials and client information — believing the discussions were headed toward a deal.
But in June, BirchStreet abruptly walked away. CedarCreek now accuses BirchStreet of pursuing the acquisition talks in bad faith — not to buy, but to learn. They call it a “sham acquisition,” alleging it was little more than a strategy to extract business intelligence.
BirchStreet has yet to comment on the latest allegations.
When the Fine Print Involves a Famous Name
The lawsuit is scheduled to move forward this fall. CedarCreek is seeking more than $30 million in damages. In the meantime, the company says it’s continuing to serve clients, including some caught in the middle of the two vendors’ unraveling agreement.
It’s a dispute largely about business contracts and software licenses. But when Mar-a-Lago is one of the properties involved, even the fine print tends to attract attention.
