Margaritaville Hotels & ResortsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts franchise does not disclose total investment in its current FDD, including a $105K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $22.1M
- 50th pct Lodging
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 2nd pct Lodging
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 4th pct Lodging
- Units
- 18
- 21st pct Lodging
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Lodging · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Lodging avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Franchised units fell from 18 to 15 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $22.1M including a $105K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Item 19 discloses "Actual Performance" rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 89/100.
- Item 19 reports "Actual Performance" instead of annual gross sales. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts, LLC
- Parent company
- Margaritaville Holdings LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and President
- John Cohlan
- CEO experience
- 1997 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 6900 Turkey Lake Road, Suite 200, Orlando, Florida 32819
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $92.5M
- vs $104.6M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
Franchisees operate upscale resort and hotel properties branded under the Margaritaville name, managing daily operations including hospitality services, guest experiences, food and beverage offerings, and resort amenities. Franchisees handle marketing, staffing, maintenance, and customer relations while paying 5% royalties on gross revenue to the franchisor.
- CEO
- John Cohlan
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 1997
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 9
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 26 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application Feenot refundable | $105K | $105K | |
| PIP feenot refundable | $0 | $20K | |
| TIP feenot refundable | $0 | $10K | |
| Professional services fees (architect, design, market study, engineering, etc.)not refundable | $600K | $3.0M | |
| Insurance and Permits, licenses, deposits and related feesnot refundable | $50K | $150K | |
| Training expenses; vendor and brand trainingnot refundable | $50K | $200K | |
| Construction, improvements, remodeling, and decorating costsnot refundable | $15.0M | $200.0M | |
| Technologynot refundable | $1.3M | $2.0M | |
| Website Set-Upnot refundable | $23K | $53K | |
| CRS Set-Upnot refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| CRM Set-Upnot refundable | $13K | $13K | |
| Loyalty Program Set-Upnot refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| Furniture, fixtures, other fixed assets, and equipment (FF&E)not refundable | $2.0M | $10.0M | |
| Operational Supplies and Equipment (OSE)not refundable | $1.0M | $2.5M | |
| Exterior signsnot refundable | $500K | $600K | |
| Financial, tax and legal costsnot refundable | $600K | $750K | |
| Pre-opening Sales and Marketingnot refundable | $200K | $350K | |
| Photography and Videographynot refundable | $55K | $125K | |
| Medallia Set-Upnot refundable | $3K | $3K | |
| Upsell Software Platformnot refundable | $800 | $800 | |
| Total initial investment | $22.1M | $221.3M |
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
- $22.1M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $300K – $500K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $105K – $105K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Renewal fee | $50K |
| Inventory (initial) | $1.0M – $2.5M |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
This brand's FDD disclosed "Actual Performance" in Item 19 rather than annual gross sales. This metric cannot be directly compared across brands, so we omit it from rankings.
vs Lodging averages
How Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 18
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 5.6%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +20.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 4
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 5.6%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 5.6%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 16 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Margaritaville Hotels presents substantial due diligence concerns: extreme capital requirements without financial transparency, a stagnant 18-unit system with unresolved litigation, and a franchisor of questionable financial stability seeking two-decade commitments.
Litigation (Item 3)
Two cases disclosed: (1) Boss Investments Ltd. v. Margaritaville entities - settled December 30, 2020, dismissed with prejudice January 8, 2021, regarding trademark sub-license agreement dispute; (2) Shultz/Koptieff v. Margaritaville Enterprises, LLC et al. - pending as of April 12, 2021 Third Amended Complaint filing
Largest disclosed settlement: $50
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 89 / 100 rating
- 01MINORExtremely high capital requirement ($22.1M+) with no Item 19 financial performance disclosure, making ROI validation impossible
- 02MINOROnly 18 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory suggests stagnant or contracting franchise network
- 03HIGHMultiple litigation events including trademark disputes, conspiracy lawsuits, and regulatory violations indicate operational and legal instability
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status is False, creating questions about franchisor financial viability and long-term support
- 05MED5% royalty on undisclosed average revenues combined with massive upfront costs creates opacity around profitability thresholds
- 06MED20-year term locks franchisees into a relationship with a small, legally troubled franchisor with limited disclosure
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Area of Protection |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Delaware |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two cases disclosed: (1) Boss Investments Ltd. v. Margaritaville entities - settled December 30, 2020, dismissed with prejudice January 8, 2021, regarding trademark sub-license agreement dispute; (2) Shultz/Koptieff v. Margaritaville Enterprises, LLC et al. - pending as of April 12, 2021 Third Amended Complaint filing
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 7 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 33 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- joint
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- InfoGenesis
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: InfoGenesis
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
19 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What do Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts franchise owners earn?
Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts (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 Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts has 18 total units in the United States, including 18 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 89 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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
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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.