Pets Are Inn Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $74K – $122K
- Disclosed sales
- $243K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Pets Are Inn is a pet services franchise offering in-home pet boarding by placing pets with vetted host families. Franchisees run local operations, matching pets with hosts and managing bookings and transport.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Pets Are Inn franchise requires a total initial investment of $74K – $122K, including a $65K franchise fee and an ongoing 10.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $243K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2024 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - figures are from a filing two or more years old
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 scored7 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $74K – $122K
- 21st pct Pet Services
- Avg gross sales
- $243K
- 7th pct Pet Services
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- 82nd pct Pet Services
- Units
- 5
- 28th pct Pet Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Pet Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Pet Services 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 $74K – $122K including a $65K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $243K/year (median $201K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 51/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Pets Are Inn, Inc.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Director
- James E. Platt, Jr.
- Incorporated in
- MN
- HQ
- 7831 East Bush Lake Road, Suite 200J, Edina, Minnesota 55439
- Auditor
- DJJCPA, LLC
- Audited financials
Affiliated brands
- of ours
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- James E. Platt, Jr.
- Headquarters
- MN
- Founded
- 1992
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 3
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 70% below the typical pet services franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $65K | $65K | |
| Initial Advertising Fee | $0 | $8K | |
| Real Estate and Improvements | $0 | $3K | |
| Mini Van | $2K | $30K | |
| Insurance | $500 | $1K | |
| Supplies and Printing | $2K | $4K | |
| Boarding Supplies | $500 | $2K | |
| Expenses incurred attending Training in Minneapolis | $500 | $1K | |
| Computer Equipment and Software | $3K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds | $2K | $4K | |
| Total initial investment | $74K | $122K |
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
- $74K – $122K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $2K – $4K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $65K – $65K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 11.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 10.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% |
| Technology fee | $50 |
| Transfer fee | $33K |
| Renewal fee | $7K |
| Inventory (initial) | $2K – $4K |
| Total fee load | 11.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 60% below the pet services norm.
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Pets Are Inn until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$101K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Pets Are Inn 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 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.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $243K
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
- Median gross sales
- $201K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross revenue
- Sample size
- 4 outlets
- vs category median 12 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $132K→$437KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 33 of the 2024 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 69 Pet Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $243K/year in gross sales. Median is $201K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.5x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 11.0% — above the Pet Services median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence. Sample size of 4 outlets — treat as directional only.
Operator retention
System shrank 20.0% over 3 years. Ask existing franchisees about local market conditions.
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 Pet Services medians
How Pets Are Inn Compares
Category median of published Pet Services 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 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 80%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -20.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -20.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 16.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 3 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.
3
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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.
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
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DJJCPA, LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 attaches only the audited financial statements of the guarantor, Pets Are Inn LLC (a Minnesota LLC), as of February 29, 2024. The franchisor itself is Pets Are Inn, Inc. The guarantor is a newly-formed shell: balance sheet shows total assets $1,000 (cash), total liabilities $0, total owner's equity $1,000 (contributed capital). Statement of income reports $0 income and $0 net income for the year ended Feb 29, 2024. No franchisor (Pets Are Inn, Inc.) standalone statements are included. Figures are in whole US dollars (not thousands).
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
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: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDOnly 5 operating units suggests extremely limited franchise system with unclear growth trajectory and viability
- 02MEDHigh franchise fee ($65,000) relative to system size and lack of disclosed franchisor profitability raises questions about business model sustainability
- 03MEDNo disclosed going concern issues but minimal system size and lack of financial transparency creates elevated risk of franchisor instability
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 11.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 10,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 60 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 5 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Minneapolis, Minnesota (mediation) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MN |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 24 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 3 hrs
- Training location
- Minneapolis, Minnesota metropolitan area
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 1 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
8 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 Pets Are Inn franchise?
The total investment to open a Pets Are Inn franchise ranges from $74K – $122K, with an initial franchise fee of $65K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Pets Are Inn franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Pets Are Inn FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $243K. The median is $201K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Pets Are Inn?
Pets Are Inn is franchised by Pets Are Inn, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Pets Are Inn 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 Pets Are Inn FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Pets Are Inn's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Pets Are Inn (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 Pets Are Inn franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Pets Are Inn has 5 total units in the United States, including 4 franchised units and 1 company-owned units.
Is Pets Are Inn a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Pets Are Inn as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 51 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?
If you represent Pets Are Inn, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.