Travel Leaders Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $2K – $18K
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 10 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Travel Leaders is a travel-agency franchise whose advisors book leisure and corporate travel using the network's supplier relationships. Franchisees run an agency, often home-based, earning commissions on trips and packages.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A TRAVEL LEADERS franchise requires a total initial investment of $2K – $18K. This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
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 scored2 of 2 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $2K – $18K
- 1st pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- Not extracted
- Units
- 188
- 49th 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 $2K – $18K.
- RETURNSThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 66/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -1 franchised outlets in the latest year (7 opened, 8 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Travel Leaders Network, LLC
- Parent company
- Travel Leaders Group, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2026 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Internova Travel Group
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2026 FDD
- Predecessor
- Travel Leaders Franchise Group, LLC (formerly Carlson Travel Network Associates, Inc.; originally Ask Mr. Foster Associates, Inc.)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President
- Lindsay Pearlman
- Incorporated in
- Minnesota
- HQ
- 3033 Campus Drive, Suite E192, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55441
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $131.7M
- vs $118.5M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Lindsay Pearlman
- Headquarters
- MN
- Founded
- 1984
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 40
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 98% below the typical recreation & entertainment franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $0 | $0 |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $2K | $18K |
| Total initial investment | $2K | $18K |
Source: TRAVEL LEADERS 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $2K – $18K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $0 – $0
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- N/A
- Paid to franchisor at signing
- Royalty
- $1,285 per month
- Ad fund
- $340 per month
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | Level 1: $1285/month main, $124/month branch; Level 2: $886/month main, $124/month branch; Level 3: $612/month main, $124/month branch |
| Technology fee | $1K |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
TRAVEL LEADERS makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. 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 TRAVEL LEADERS 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, royalty rate, ad fund rate, 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
No financial performance representation
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Disclosure
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+2.7% 3-year CAGR) with 188 units.
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 Travel Leaders 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
- 188
- Opened
- 7
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 8
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 5
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.3%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -0.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +2.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 5
- Transferred
- 1
- Termination rate
- 0.5%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 1.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 38 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
188 current owners across 39 states.
- WI 18
- CA 17
- MN 14
- MI 11
- FL 8
- IL 8
- TX 8
- IN 7
- WA 6
- IA 5
- MD 5
- NJ 5
- +27 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 1 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 10
- Loan volume
- $3.1M
- Median loan
- $312K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 10 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 10 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 10 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 10 loans
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 6
- Defaults
- 2
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
Established travel-agency franchisor (since 1984), 188 units, no litigation or bankruptcy, strong parent-level financials (net worth $38.7M, revenue $131.7M, net income $56.5M), audited. Financials are parent-level so the brand's own equity isn't disclosed, and there is no Item 19.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Franchisor revenue figures are for Travel Leaders Network, LLC's own consolidated financials (Item 21), not franchisee unit-level sales; no Item 19 franchisee financial performance representations are made.
ⓘ 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: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 66 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDFinancials are parent-level; brand-specific equity not disclosed
- 02MINORNo Item 19 disclosure
- 03MINOROtherwise clean: 0 litigation, no bankruptcy, 188 units +2.7%, audited
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 3 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 3 years |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | Minnesota |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 16 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Franchisor location and on-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- ClientBase CRM
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ClientBase CRM
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
189 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 TRAVEL LEADERS franchise?
The total investment to open a TRAVEL LEADERS franchise ranges from $2K – $18K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do TRAVEL LEADERS franchise owners earn?
TRAVEL LEADERS makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns TRAVEL LEADERS?
TRAVEL LEADERS is franchised by Travel Leaders Network, LLC. Its parent company is Travel Leaders Group, LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Internova Travel Group. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the TRAVEL LEADERS 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 TRAVEL LEADERS FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is TRAVEL LEADERS's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for TRAVEL LEADERS (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 TRAVEL LEADERS franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, TRAVEL LEADERS has 188 total units in the United States, including 187 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 7 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is TRAVEL LEADERS a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates TRAVEL LEADERS as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 66 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
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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.