Ferncrest Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $501K – $1.8M
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (1)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Ferncrest is a hospitality franchise operating glamping resorts with dome accommodations and modern outdoor comfort. Franchisees own and operate the sites, managing accommodations, amenities, and guest experience.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Ferncrest franchise requires a total initial investment of $501K – $1.8M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Limited operating history: franchising since 2024. A system this young has fewer than three years of Item 20 outlet history and rarely enough SBA loans for a charge-off rate, so its grade rests on less evidence than an established system's. Read its Item 20 tables and talk to its first franchisees before relying on the grade. Other new franchisors
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $501K – $1.8M
- 33rd pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Outlet subsetPartial periodn=1
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 26th pct Recreation & …
- Units
- 3
- 11th pct Recreation & …
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Recreation & Entertainment · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Recreation & Entertainment median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $501K – $1.8M including a $50K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports revenue for a partial period rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 35/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +2 franchised outlets in the latest year (2 opened, 0 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports revenue for a partial period rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Ferncrest Franchising LLC
- CEO title
- Co-Founder
- Brian Linton
- Incorporated in
- FL
- HQ
- 3127 W. Waverly Avenue, Tampa, Florida, 33629
- Franchisor revenue
- $141K
- Most recent fiscal year
Affiliated brands
- a Ferncrest campground in Promised Land
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Brian Linton
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2024
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 105% above the typical recreation & entertainment franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Training Expensesnot refundable | $1K | $4K | |
| Premises Deposits | $3K | $10K | |
| Construction Servicesnot refundable | $150K | $600K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $6K | $12K | |
| Tent, Wellness Equipment, and Prefabricated Structuresnot refundable | $150K | $800K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures & Equipmentnot refundable | $60K | $100K | |
| Golf Carts - Linen, Utility, and Guest Cartsnot refundable | $50K | $100K | |
| Computer Systemsnot refundable | $575 | $1K | |
| Office Suppliesnot refundable | $250 | $1K | |
| Initial Inventorynot refundable | $3K | $10K | |
| Camp Store Opening Packagenot refundable | $5K | $8K | |
| Grand Opening Marketingnot refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $2K | $20K | |
| Licenses and Permitsnot refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $5K | $15K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 monthsnot refundable | $10K | $45K | |
| Total initial investment | $501K | $1.8M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $501K – $1.8M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $45K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $700 |
| Transfer fee | $0 |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $10K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Ferncrest is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Ferncrest unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Covers a partial period, not a full year
Based on a single reporting unit - not a system average
- Item 19 type
- Monthly revenue per unit (dome), single company-owned location
- Sample size
- 1
- vs category median 5 · small
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
Compared against 165 Recreation & Entertainment brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% — above the Recreation & Entertainment median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports revenue for a partial period rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Recreation & Entertainment medians
How Ferncrest Compares
Category median of published Recreation & Entertainment brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 3
- Opened
- 2
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 67%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.33 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- $840K
- Median loan
- $840K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (1)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 1 loan, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (1)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (1)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Single inception-period audited statements for the period July 23, 2024 (date of inception) to September 30, 2025; first-year franchisor with no prior-year comparative. Revenue of $141,290 comprises franchise fees, royalty fees, and other support service fees (ASC 606).
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 35 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDExtreme Information Opacity: No average revenue, net income, or growth metrics disclosed—impossible to validate ROI on $501K-$1.79M investment
- 02MINORMicroscopic System Size: Only 3 units operating with unknown growth trajectory suggests either pre-revenue concept or contraction
- 03MEDHigh Capital Requirement with Hidden Economics: $501K minimum investment + 7% royalty on undisclosed revenues creates unquantifiable risk
- 04MINORRapid Scaling Red Flag: $1.79M maximum investment suggests franchisor expects significant growth, but 3-unit base cannot support claims
- 05MINORFranchise Fee Structure: $50K fee is moderate, but trivial compared to total investment—suggests low franchisor capital commitment
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 30 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Florida |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | FL |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 20 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 11 hrs
- Training location
- Promised Land, Pennsylvania or Online
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Square POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Ferncrest franchise?
The total investment to open a Ferncrest franchise ranges from $501K – $1.8M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Ferncrest franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Ferncrest FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Ferncrest?
Ferncrest is franchised by Ferncrest Franchising LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Ferncrest FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Ferncrest FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Ferncrest's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Ferncrest (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Ferncrest franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Ferncrest has 3 total units in the United States, including 2 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Ferncrest a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Ferncrest as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 35 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.