K9 Resorts Luxury Pet Hotel announced July 9 that it is entering into a joint venture with its largest franchisee group, Luxury Pet Hotel Investments, in a move to bolster growth for the pet boarding and daycare franchisor.
Luxury Pet Hotel Investments and K9 Resorts have become 50-50 partners in all corporate-owned locations outside of the flagship location in Fanwood.
LPHI, K9 Resorts’ largest franchisee, is assuming responsibility of the day-to-day management of the resorts in Cherry Hill, Fairfield, Hamilton, and Malvern, Pa. LPHI owns and operates K9 Resorts in Arizona, California, Florida, and Illinois. No financial terms were disclosed. No executive changes were involved in the joint venture.
The creation of this venture enables K9 Resorts’ corporate team to focus more time and resources to drive growth and profitability across its franchise system. K9 Resorts said it is “doubling down on its commitment to world-class franchisee support, training and innovation.”
“We want to be the best franchisor we can be – a more focused franchisor means more support and increased profit for each of our franchisees,” said Jason Parker, co-founder and co-CEO of K9 Resorts. “This venture reflects our goal of growing our world-class brand and empowering our franchisees to thrive.”
The joint venture is seen as a way for K9 Resorts to accelerate growth powered by proven partners and a thriving franchisee-first model. Last year, LPHI invested $10 million into the brand. In April, K9 Resorts secured a major multi-unit agreement with LPHI to bring 13 locations to Florida.
K9 Resorts said it will continue to grow alongside LPHI, opening more locations in new markets across the U.S. K9 Resorts said it has currently 30 franchisees operating 45 open locations, with several additional franchisees in various stages of development.
“We have assembled a great team of executives from across the worlds of large-scale hospitality, entertainment, consumer banking, insurance, pet care, and franchising,” said Alan Leibman, co-CEO of Luxury Pet Hotel Investments, LLC. “Additionally, we have found a great brand in K9 Resorts that we truly believe in. Together, we feel that we can build on K9 Resorts’ leading position in the industry and become a household name in premium pet care.”
The pet industry continues to grow, with $152 billion spent on pets last year as franchise opportunity in the industry draws aspiring and existing entrepreneurs to areas such as pet boarding and daycare. Allied Market Research said the global pet boarding market was valued at $19.5 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $35.8 billion by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 6.4% from 2022 to 2031.
