SafeSplash Swim School franchise unit economics
SafeSplash franchisees teach swim lessons in their own pool (a Dedicated Location) or in pool time rented from a hotel, gym or community center (a Hosted Location). Dedicated turns $1,058,090 of revenue into 21.3% at-the-location profit, while Hosted turns $262,404 into 28.4% on a build costing 6% of the Dedicated one and returning 33% of the profit. The cheaper route has the risk: 14 Hosted locations closed permanently during 2025 while zero Dedicated ones did.
- Primary source
- SafeSplash Brands, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure; Item 20 for the location count
- Population
- the locations the filing reports on
- Our calculations
- Marked on the page with an asterisk. Method
- Last reviewed
- 26 September 2026
Disclosure-based. Not a forecast, not an offer to sell a franchise, and not advice.
Two formats, two full profit and loss statements. Own the pool and you spend $961,200 to $1,348,785 for $1,058,090 of revenue at a 21.3% margin. Rent pool time inside someone else's facility and you spend $57,500 to $81,000, 6% as much, for $262,404 at 28.4%. The rented format returns a third of the profit on a sixteenth of the capital, and it is also the one that closes.
- A Hosted location costs 6% of a Dedicated one to open and earns 33% of the profit. $57,500–$81,000 against $961,200–$1,348,785; $74,393 of profit against $225,652.
- Renting pool time costs 15.3% of revenue where owning the occupancy cost 20.0%. Which is why the smaller format runs the higher margin: 28.4% against 21.3%.
- 14 Hosted locations closed permanently during 2025 and zero Dedicated ones did. Out of 63 Hosted locations open at the year end.
- The seven Dedicated locations that employ a manager pay $108,882 for it, 10.3% of revenue. The other seven run owner-operated at zero.
- The Enhanced Services fee ended in the first quarter of 2026. Hosted locations swap an average $27,125 charge for an $11,400 technology fee.
How much does a SafeSplash Swim School franchise make?
The average SafeSplash Swim School unit reported $1,058,090 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $964,348. The brand’s disclosure document puts the profit line at 21.3% of revenue. Fees come off the top first, at about 10% of sales across royalty, brand fund and the rest of the stack. Revenue is not income. Rent, wages, cost of goods and the franchise fees all come out before an owner is paid. The figures for the highest-selling and lowest-selling businesses are below.
Top performers
What separates the top SafeSplash Swim School performers
SafeSplash Swim School splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $1,703,924 a year. The worst averaged $557,002. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $964,348. The average was $1,058,090. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 3.1× gap between bands is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
- Territory, and how much of it is real.This model sells from a territory rather than a building. Two owners with the same brand and different ground are running different businesses, and density decides how much driving sits between jobs.
- What you spend to open.Opening costs $57,500 to $1,348,785, a 23.5× range inside one brand. The high end usually buys more capacity, so the cheapest build is not always the cheapest route to the top band.
- Lease economics.Occupancy cost ran 20.0% of sales in this filing. The rent does not fall when sales do, so the same lease is a far heavier line at the bottom of the system than at the top. That is how a weak site compounds into a weak profit line.
Live operating levers
- Wages, the dominant line.Wages take 32.7% of sales, against 21.3% kept at the end. Staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission are where this is won. Small movements here move the result more than anything else, because nothing else in the structure is that large.
- Occupancy, the line that does not flex.Rent and building costs take 20.0% of sales here. Sales per square foot and the hours the space is earning are the only two ways to move it, because the rent itself is fixed at signing.
- Enrolment, the operating driver.This model bills on enrolment. The licence fixes how many places exist, so what is left is how many are filled, what each is priced at, and how long a family stays. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Service and retail mix.Attachment rate on retail, and the share of customers on the higher service tiers, lift what each hour earns without adding an hour or a room. It is the only lever that raises the ceiling without spending capital.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites.Fees run about 10.0% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Context you underwrite around
- The reporting screen.37 of 106 locations are behind these figures. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded, so the numbers describe locations that cleared that screen, not the system as a whole.
- Brand-owned locations.The franchisor reports its own locations alongside the franchised ones. Treat them as indicative rather than representative: they are operated by the franchisor, usually mature, and usually few.
Fees and what it costs to open
What the fees come to.
| Item | Rate | Dedicated at $1,058,090 | Hosted at $262,404 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 6% of gross revenues | $63,485 | $15,744 |
| Strategic marketing and promotions fee | 2%, may rise to 3% | $21,162 | $5,248 |
| Local advertising requirement | 2% of gross revenues | $21,162 | $5,248 |
| Technology fee | $950 a month | $11,400 | $11,400 |
| Total | n/a | $117,209 | $37,640 |
| Share of revenue | n/a | 11.1% | 14.3% |
Ours, built from the filed rates applied to each format's average revenue.
The Enhanced Services fee ended in the first quarter of 2026. All 23 reporting Hosted locations and 8 of the 14 Dedicated ones paid it, at 10% to 13% of revenue for Hosted and 7% to 13% for Dedicated. It is replaced by the $950 monthly technology fee. On the filed averages that swaps $27,125 for $11,400 at a Hosted location (worth $15,725, that is 6.0 points of revenue) and $37,430 for $11,400 at a Dedicated one, worth $26,030 or 2.5 points.
That saving comes with work attached. The Enhanced Services program covered call center and billing services; the technology fee covers software alone. The six Dedicated locations that stayed outside the program used their own employees to produce bills and answer calls. So the money moves from a franchisor fee line into wages, and how much of it an owner keeps depends on how well those two functions get absorbed.
Brand and marketing take 11.1% of a Dedicated location's revenue and 14.3% of a Hosted one's. The gap is the flat $11,400 technology fee, which is 1.1% of Dedicated revenue and 4.3% of Hosted revenue. On a Hosted location running two to four days a week at $188,293, that single fee is 6.1% of revenue.
Opening a location.
| Item | Dedicated low | Dedicated high | Hosted low | Hosted high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $55,000 | $55,000 | $37,500 | $37,500 |
| Net building work | $679,550 | $949,800 | n/a | n/a |
| Additional funds, three months | $90,000 | $150,000 | $7,500 | $20,000 |
| Furniture, fixtures, equipment and signage | $50,000 | $70,000 | $2,000 | $4,000 |
| Advertising and marketing | $25,000 | $28,900 | $5,000 | $7,500 |
| Architectural construction documents | $17,250 | $17,250 | n/a | n/a |
| Engineered pool plans | $14,000 | $14,000 | n/a | n/a |
| Rent, initial deposit | $10,000 | $15,000 | n/a | n/a |
| Insurance | $5,000 | $12,000 | $2,000 | $2,500 |
| Professional services | $5,000 | $10,000 | $1,000 | $3,000 |
| Licenses and permits | $4,400 | $10,000 | $0 | $2,000 |
| Retail inventory | $3,000 | $5,000 | $500 | $1,000 |
| Training expenses | $3,000 | $4,000 | $2,000 | $3,500 |
| Soil testing | $0 | $7,835 | n/a | n/a |
| Total | $961,200 | $1,348,785 | $57,500 | $81,000 |
As the brand reported it, reordered here by size; all four columns add exactly to the stated totals.
Building work are $679,550 to $949,800, 71% of the Dedicated build. Add engineered pool plans, architectural documents and soil testing and the pool itself accounts for $710,800 to $988,885. That is what the Hosted format buys its way out of for a $37,500 franchise fee and $20,000 of everything else.
A Dedicated build is 4.3 to 6.0 years of its own profit; a Hosted build is 9 to 13 months of its own. $961,200 to $1,348,785 against $225,652, and $57,500 to $81,000 against $74,393. Both figures sit before depreciation and debt service, so the Dedicated payback lengthens further once financing is layered on.
Cash to run the business day to day is $90,000 to $150,000 for a Dedicated location and $7,500 to $20,000 for a Hosted one. Both labeled three months. Against Dedicated operating expenses of $832,447 a year, $150,000 is 2.2 months; against Hosted expenses of $188,010, $20,000 is 1.3 months. The Hosted reserve is the thinner of the two relative to its own cost base, and 14 Hosted locations closed during 2025.
Two formats
Own the pool, or rent the water.
| Line | Dedicated | Share | Hosted | Share | Gap in points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | $1,058,090 | 100.0% | $262,404 | 100.0% | n/a |
| Wages, staff | $292,026 | 27.6% | $73,892 | 28.2% | +0.6 |
| Wages, management | $54,441 | 5.1% | $2,001 | 0.8% | −4.3 |
| Building costs | $211,600 | 20.0% | $40,212 | 15.3% | −4.7 |
| Royalties | $63,485 | 6.0% | $15,617 | 6.0% | 0.0 |
| Other | $55,343 | 5.2% | $11,915 | 4.5% | −0.7 |
| Marketing | $44,963 | 4.2% | $10,651 | 4.1% | −0.1 |
| Enhanced services | $37,430 | 3.5% | $27,125 | 10.3% | +6.8 |
| Insurance | $19,421 | 1.8% | $1,531 | 0.6% | −1.2 |
| Supplies | $19,391 | 1.8% | $1,852 | 0.7% | −1.1 |
| Repairs and maintenance | $17,374 | 1.6% | $477 | 0.2% | −1.4 |
| Merchant and credit card fees | $16,973 | 1.6% | $2,737 | 1.0% | −0.6 |
| Adjusted at-the-location profit | $225,652 | 21.3% | $74,393 | 28.4% | +7.1 |
Both columns as the brand reported it, reordered here by size; the point gap is marked *.
A Hosted location costs 6% of a Dedicated one at either end of the range. $57,500 against $961,200, and $81,000 against $1,348,785. It produces 24.8% of the revenue and 33.0% of the profit. Measured as return on the build, that is 92% to 129% a year for Hosted against 17% to 23% for Dedicated, a payback of roughly ten months against five years.
Renting pool time costs 15.3% of revenue; owning the occupancy cost 20.0%. The Hosted Location Fee runs 10% to 25% of revenue or $4,000 a month, whichever is larger. That single line replaces rent, common area charges, property tax and utilities. So the format that avoids the capital also pays less for space as a share of what it bills. That is the opposite of how these trade-offs usually run.
Staff wages is 27.6% and 28.2%, effectively identical across the two formats. Instructor-to-swimmer ratios travel with the teaching model. What differs is management: 5.1% at Dedicated locations against 0.8% at Hosted ones. That is because a single manager covers one Dedicated location plus one to three Hosted ones.
Repairs and maintenance is $17,374 at a Dedicated location and $477 at a Hosted one. 36 times. Supplies run $19,391 against $1,852 and insurance $19,421 against $1,531. Owning a pool means owning a mechanical plant, chemistry and a liability profile; renting time in one leaves all three with the host.
Only 43% of Dedicated locations reach the average revenue and 29% reach the average profit. Revenue runs $557,002 to $1,703,924 with a median of $964,348, $93,742 below the average. profit runs $84,016 to $475,941 with a median of $202,141. The distribution is pulled up hard at the top, so the median is the honest planning number.
How the hosted version works
What drives a hosted location.
| Group | Locations | Average revenue | Median revenue | Low | High | Average profit | Median profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 to 7 operating days | 9 | $392,792 | $283,801 | $116,526 | $887,843 | $124,784 | $38,487 |
| 2 to 4 operating days | 13 | $188,293 | $140,594 | $73,961 | $364,987 | $45,037 | $23,570 |
| All reporting locations | 23 | $262,404 | $240,428 | $52,344 | $887,843 | $74,459 | $23,570 |
| Franchisees with 1 location | 3 | $145,000 | $91,568 | $55,453 | $287,980 | n/a | n/a |
| Franchisees with 2 to 3 | 6 | $711,618 | $462,718 | $158,935 | $1,834,314 | n/a | n/a |
| Franchisees with 4 to 10 | 5 | $1,049,582 | $993,942 | $529,778 | $1,990,253 | n/a | n/a |
As the brand reported it.
Three more operating days a week is worth $68,166 of revenue and $26,582 of profit *, reading across from the 2-to-4-day group to the 5-to-7-day one. That is roughly $22,722 of revenue and $8,861 of profit for each additional day. The margin rises with it as well: 31.8% at five to seven days against 23.9% at two to four. Because the fixed portion of the host facility fee range further.
Median profit at five-to-seven-day locations is $38,487 against an average of $124,784. 3.2 times apart, and only 2 of the 9 reach the average. One location at $463,846 has the group. Across all 23 reporting locations, 5 reach the average profit and the minimum is a $22,422 loss. Anyone modeling this format should build from the medians, $23,570 across all locations.
Franchisees with four to ten locations bill $1,049,582 across the business. Against $145,000 for single-location owners and $711,618 for those with two or three. Per location that is $194,367, $145,000 and $309,399 *, so the middle group holds the highest-selling individual sites while the largest group runs more of them. One manager can cover a Dedicated location plus one to three Hosted ones, which is where the multi-unit logic in this system comes from.
The host facility sets the ceiling. Performance moves with the arrangement reached with the host. The number and timing of hours, and how much of the pool you may use. Most Hosted locations run a limited number of classes because the pool is shared. So the lease negotiation here is a schedule negotiation, and it is the single most valuable conversation in the format.
The network of locations
The network of locations.
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminations | Non-renewals | Reacquired | Ceased, other | End | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 94 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 103 | +9 |
| 2024 | 103 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 90 | −13 |
| 2025 | 90 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 106 | +16 |
As the brand reported it; every row reconciles exactly.
Departures ran 7, then 23, then 14 across three years. Against openings of 16, 10 and 30. The network fell 13 outlets in 2024 and recovered 16 in 2025. The recovery is substantially the affiliate selling 11 of its own schools into the franchise system.
14 of 63 Hosted locations closed permanently during 2025 and zero Dedicated locations did. A further five Hosted locations closed for part of the year and 21 filed incomplete statements. So the 23 locations in the profit and loss are 37% of the format. That is the cost side of the low entry price. A Hosted location can be closed as easily as it was opened, by the operator or by the host facility.
The affiliate shrank from 29 schools to 16 in a single year. Nine closed and eleven were sold to franchisees. For an owner already in this system, those eleven refranchised schools are the ones to watch. They converted mid-year. So they sit outside every performance table until next year.
Territory is protected. Five miles around a Dedicated location and 2.5 miles around a Hosted one, with zero performance condition attached to keeping it. The franchisor will place zero other SafeSplash locations inside it. Reserves the right to sell into it through SwimLabs and Swimtastic locations, online channels and its own affiliates. All digital marketing is controlled centrally, so an owner may advertise outside the territory but may run zero websites or social accounts.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What should each format be earning?
The 14 reporting Dedicated locations averaged $1,058,090 of revenue and $225,652 of adjusted at-the-location profit, a 21.3% margin. A median revenue of $964,348 and a range from $557,002 to $1,703,924. profit ran $84,016 to $475,941 with a median of $202,141. The 23 reporting Hosted locations averaged $262,404 and $74,393, a 28.4% margin, with a median revenue of $240,428 and a range from $52,344 to $887,843. profit ran from a $22,422 loss to $463,846 with a median of $23,570. Those locations had been open an average of 4.7 years on the Dedicated side.
Which format makes more sense?
On capital efficiency, Hosted wins clearly: it costs 6% of a Dedicated build at either end of the range and returns 33% of the profit, a payback of roughly ten months against five years. On durability, Dedicated wins just as clearly: 14 Hosted locations closed permanently during 2025 and zero Dedicated ones did. The Hosted format also leans on a third-party host for pool time, and performance varies significantly with that arrangement. Many franchisees run both, one manager can cover a Dedicated location plus one to three Hosted ones.
Where does the money go?
At a Dedicated location, staff wages takes 27.6% of revenue, occupancy cost 20.0%, royalties 6.0%, management wages 5.1%, other 5.2%, marketing 4.2% and enhanced services 3.5%. Insurance, supplies, repairs and merchant fees each between 1.6% and 1.8%. At a Hosted location, staff wages takes 28.2% and occupancy cost 15.3% (the host facility fee, at 10% to 25% of revenue or $4,000 a month) with repairs at 0.2%, supplies at 0.7% and insurance at 0.6%. Management wages is 0.8%. Of the 14 Dedicated locations, seven employ a manager at an average of $108,882 and seven run owner-operated at zero.
What changed for 2026?
The Enhanced Services program ended in the first quarter of 2026. It covered call center services, billing and software for a fee of 10% to 13% of revenue at Hosted locations and 7% to 13% at Dedicated ones. Every reporting Hosted location and eight of fourteen Dedicated locations used it. It is replaced by a $950 monthly technology fee covering software alone. So a Hosted location swaps an average $27,125 charge for $11,400 and a Dedicated location swaps $37,430 for $11,400. The call center and billing work has to be absorbed into wages or outsourced, which is where part of that saving goes back.
Who does bookkeeping for a SafeSplash franchise?
Two things make this system distinctive at the close. First, most owners run more than one location and often both formats. So the close has to produce a clean per-location profit and loss as well as a consolidated one, franchisees holding four to ten Hosted locations bill $1,049,582 across the business. Leaves an owner blind to any single site. Management wages is the line that makes this hard, since one manager’s cost is genuinely shared across a Dedicated location and up to three Hosted ones. It has to be allocated on a basis that survives scrutiny. Second, the 2026 fee change: the Enhanced Services fee drops out of the expense stack and a $950 monthly technology fee replaces it. Billing and call handling move into wages or a third-party vendor. So the comparative period needs restating before any year-over-year read means anything. Alongside that, royalty is swept transaction by transaction with ancillary revenue invoiced quarterly. That means the royalty the accrual and the cash sweep sit on different calendars. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.
Questions worth putting to SafeSplash Swim School
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- Is the profit figure in Item 19 before or after owner pay, and how many locations sit below it?
- What separates the highest-selling locations from the lowest: trade area, years open, size, or the owner?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many SafeSplash Swim School locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Finance Diagnostic runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
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