Sun Tan City franchise unit economics
Sun Tan City franchisees run a 17-bed tanning and spa salon selling monthly memberships alongside single sessions, spray tanning, spa services and lotions. That runs from a leased site with a two-mile protected radius. Across 154 franchised salons trading all of 2025 the average was $627,114 of revenue on 3,488 sessions a month. Opening one costs $1,048,790 to $1,797,750, and zero franchised salons opened in either 2024 or 2025.
- Primary source
- STC Franchising, 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
- 154 of 156 locations
- 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.
Opening a salon costs $1,048,790 to $1,797,750 against a franchised salon averaging $627,114 a year, between 1.67 and 2.87 times a full year of revenue. Zero franchised salons opened in 2024 or 2025, and eleven left. The operating figures themselves are strong: $14.98 of revenue for each session, with 48.1% of it recurring.
- The build costs 1.67 to 2.87 times a year’s revenue. $1,048,790 to $1,797,750 against $627,114 *, building work of $450,000 to $800,000 and tanning and spa equipment of $450,000 to $700,000 between them are 86% of the low end.
- Zero franchised salons opened in two years. Eleven opened in 2023, then zero in 2024 and zero in 2025, against 11 departures, so the count fell from 167 to 156 *, with four of the 2025 losses reacquired by the brand.
- A session is worth $14.98 at a franchised salon and $13.46 at a company one. 11.3% more *, on 17.7% fewer sessions a month, so franchisees monetise a visit better than the brand’s own estate does.
- Just under half of all revenue recurs. Membership collections are 48.1% of the franchised average and 47.3% of the company one, $301,579 and $323,902 *, which is what makes this a subscription business with tanning beds in it.
- The brand and marketing load is 11% of revenue. An 8% royalty plus a 3% advertising minimum that already contains the 2% national fund, $68,983 at the franchised average *, with zero minimum royalty anywhere.
How much does a Sun Tan City franchise make?
The average Sun Tan City unit reported $627,114 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $587,086. The brand’s disclosure document discloses revenue and not profit, so what an owner keeps depends on the cost structure set out below. Fees come off the top first, at about 11% 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 Sun Tan City performers
Sun Tan City splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $1,520,382 a year. The worst averaged $200,285. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $587,086. The average was $627,114. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 7.6× 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 $1,048,790 to $1,797,750, a 1.7× 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.
Live operating levers
- Members, the operating driver.This model bills on members. The owner watches how many people join, how many cancel, and what a member spends beyond the plan. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites.Fees run about 11.0% 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.154 of 156 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.
- What the disclosure leaves out.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations. The brand’s own locations are the only margin signal in the document, and they are run by the people who wrote the playbook.
Two estates
The brand’s own salons sit beside yours in the same tables.
| Measure | Company salons, 92 | Franchised salons, 154 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Median | Average | Median | |
| Sessions a month | 4,240 | 4,070 | 3,488 | 3,334 |
| Membership collections | $323,902 | $313,438 | $301,579 | $279,177 |
| Other revenue | $360,969 | $342,000 | $325,535 | $311,137 |
| Total sales | $684,871 | $665,809 | $627,114 | $587,086 |
| Lowest total sales | $299,816 | $200,285 | ||
| Highest total sales | $1,632,464 | $1,520,382 | ||
| Reaching the average | 39, 42% | 67, 44% | ||
| Average years trading | 16.9 | 12.7 | ||
Every figure is as the brand reported it, with company salons owned by the franchisor’s parent and concentrated in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Company salons bill 9.2% more and have been open 4.2 years longer. $684,871 against $627,114 on 16.9 years against 12.7 *, so most of the gap is age.
Franchised salons sit closer to their own middle. The company median is 97.2% of its average while the franchised median is 93.6% *, so the franchised group has the longer right tail, running from $200,285 to $1,520,382.
The franchised range is 7.59 times and the company range 5.44. *, wider at both ends, with a lowest-selling franchised salon billing $99,531 less than the lowest-selling company one.
Both estates split revenue almost identically. Membership collections are 47.3% of company revenue and 48.1% of franchised, a 0.8-point difference *.
Around 42% of salons in each estate reach their own average. 39 of 92 and 67 of 154, so an owner planning against $627,114 is planning above the middle of the group, which bills $587,086.
The session
Everything here divides by a session.
| Measure | Company salons | Franchised salons | Difference * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions a month | 4,240 | 3,488 | −17.7% |
| Sessions a year * | 50,880 | 41,856 | −9,024 |
| Revenue for each session * | $13.46 | $14.98 | +11.3% |
| Membership for each session * | $6.37 | $7.21 | +13.2% |
| Other revenue for each session * | $7.09 | $7.78 | +9.7% |
| Revenue for each bed, on 17 beds * | $40,287 | $36,889 | −8.4% |
Sessions and revenue are as the brand reported it and every per-session and per-bed figure divides them out on a 17-bed salon, marked * throughout.
A franchised salon earns $1.52 more for each session. $14.98 against $13.46 *, and across 41,856 sessions a year that difference is worth $63,621, which is most of the gap in the other direction on volume.
The highest-selling franchised salon runs at $1,520,382. 2.42 times the franchised average *, and at the average revenue per session that is about 101,500 sessions a year, or 8,460 a month against a group average of 3,488.
Every extra session a day is worth $5,468 a year. At $14.98 across 365 days *, so a salon adding ten sessions a day adds $54,680, which is 8.7% of the franchised average.
Membership is worth $7.21 for each session at a franchised salon. Against $7.78 of everything else, so lotions, spray tanning and spa services together just outsell the subscription per visit *.
A 17-bed salon earns $36,889 for each bed. On the franchised average *, against tanning and spa equipment costing $450,000 to $700,000. So the equipment alone costs 0.72 to 1.12 times what a franchised salon bills in a year.
What the fees come to
Eleven percent, and it holds at every revenue.
| Charge | Rate | Lowest-selling $200,285 | Median, $587,086 | Average, $627,114 | top quarter, $1,520,382 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty, new franchisee | 8% of sales | $16,023 | $46,967 | $50,169 | $121,631 |
| Advertising requirement | 3% of sales | $6,009 | $17,613 | $18,813 | $45,611 |
| of which the national fund | 2%, counted inside | $4,006 | $11,742 | $12,542 | $30,408 |
| Total | 11% | $22,031 | $64,579 | $68,983 | $167,242 |
| Technology and services | About $428 a month plus setup | $5,137 | $5,137 | $5,137 | $5,137 |
Every rate is as the brand reported it and each dollar figure is marked. With technology covering the software support, monitoring, application, ecommerce, email, digital messaging and card services charges at their current rates.
The load stays at 11% of revenue at every level. Because there is zero minimum royalty and zero dollar minimum on advertising anywhere in the schedule *, which is unusual, and it means a weak year costs the brand as much as it costs the owner.
Converting an existing salon starts the royalty at 5%. 5% for the first twelve months, 6% for the second twelve and 7% from month 25 for the rest of the term. So a converter pays 1 point less than a new franchisee for the whole term, worth $6,271 a year at the franchised average *.
The national fund has quadrupled since 2014. 0.5% at launch, 1.0% from 2017, 1.5% from 2019 and 2.0% from February 2024. The brand may take it to 2% without a vote, with anything higher requiring a majority of company and franchise salons.
The fund spent 83% of its money on digital advertising last year. Social, video and search, with 13% on email, text and customer systems and 4% in salon, so effectively the whole national spend is chasing bookings.
Technology runs about $428 a month before card processing. Software support, monitoring at $49 a device, an application at $75, ecommerce at $150, email at $50, digital messaging and applicant tracking *, small against 11%, and it arrives whatever revenue does.
A million to open
The build is the business decision.
| Line | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Building work | $450,000 | $800,000 |
| Tanning and spa equipment | $450,000 | $700,000 |
| Office equipment, furniture, counters and interior signage | $50,000 | $75,000 |
| Cash to run the business day to day, three months | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| Initial franchise fee | $0 | $30,000 |
| Everything else | $48,790 | $92,750 |
| Total | $1,048,790 | $1,797,750 |
| Against a year of average revenue * | 1.67 times | 2.87 times |
Every figure is as the brand reported it for a newly constructed 17-bed salon excluding real estate. The everything-else row grouping the remaining printed lines and the revenue comparison marked *.
The two biggest lines are 86% of the low end. $900,000 of building work and equipment against a $1,048,790 total *, so almost the whole decision is the build.
The initial franchise fee can be zero. Fees actually charged in 2025 ranged from $0 to $30,000. The brand able to waive or reduce it for an existing tanning salon converting under an agreed plan. So the fee is a conversion lever.
A three-salon development agreement costs $50,000. Of which $30,000 is credited against the first salon’s franchise fee, so the uncredited cost of committing to three is $20,000 *.
Zero financing is offered, directly or indirectly. The brand declines to guarantee a note or lease and declines to discount financing arrangements. On a build of this size puts the whole capital question on the franchisee and its lender.
The protected area is a two-mile radius. Site-specific, and expressly non-exclusive, so on a build costing more than a million dollars, the protection extends two miles.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks.
What does a Sun Tan City salon bill?
Across 154 franchised salons trading all of 2025, the average was $627,114 of total sales and the median $587,086, on 3,488 sessions a month. The lowest-selling billed $200,285 and the highest-selling $1,520,382, and 67 of the 154 reached the average. The 92 company salons averaged $684,871 on 4,240 sessions a month, having traded 16.9 years against the franchised group’s 12.7.
How much of the revenue recurs?
48.1% at a franchised salon, membership collections of $301,579 against total sales of $627,114. At company salons the share is 47.3%. The rest is single sessions, spray tanning, spa services and lotions and other product sales.
What does the brand take?
8% of sales in royalty for a new franchisee. That is a converting salon pays 5% for twelve months, 6% for the next twelve and 7% from month 25. Advertising must reach 3% of sales, and the 2% national marketing fund contribution counts inside that. That is 11% in total, with zero minimum royalty and zero local advertising dollar minimum anywhere.
What is a session worth?
$14.98 at a franchised salon on our reading, dividing $627,114 of revenue by 41,856 sessions a year. Company salons run 4,240 sessions a month against 3,488, but earn $13.46 a session, 11.3% less. Every extra session a day is worth $5,468 a year at the franchised rate.
What does it cost to open?
$1,048,790 to $1,797,750 for a newly constructed 17-bed salon, excluding real estate. Building work run $450,000 to $800,000 and tanning and spa equipment $450,000 to $700,000, 86% of the low end between them. Cash to run the business day to day for three months is $50,000 to $100,000, and zero financing is offered.
Is the territory exclusive?
The territory is expressly non-exclusive. The grant is site-specific for a single salon with a protected area of a two-mile radius. Inside it the brand keeps out both other franchises and its own salons. It is subject to stated exceptions including acquiring a business that already has a franchisee or licensee there.
How stable is the system?
156 franchised salons at the end of 2025, down from 167 two years earlier. Eleven opened in 2023 and zero in either 2024 or 2025, against eleven departures, four terminations in 2023, four in 2024. Three terminations plus four reacquisitions by the brand in 2025.
Which two numbers should run monthly?
Sessions a month against 3,488, since each one costs $14.98 of revenue. And membership collections as a share of total sales against 48.1%, because that share is what turns a capital-heavy build into a predictable one.
- No profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- No cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
Questions worth putting to Sun Tan City
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- 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 Sun Tan City 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.
Launch the diagnostic →What is a session earning you?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around $14.98 for each session, the 48.1% of revenue that recurs. What a build costing more than a million dollars needs to return.
Request the reviewthe franchise library, all 243 brands · how franchise unit economics work · running the books across several locations · what Averan does for franchise owners
Sun Tan City reads against the rest of the tanning group: GLO Tanning · Palm Beach Tan. The tanning guide compares all of them on the same figures.
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?How royalty, ad fund and minimums actually work on a monthly statement.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?A 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?Usually it is a revenue problem wearing a payroll costume.
- Do I need a bookkeeper, a controller, or a CFO?What each one owns, and the point at which the next one pays for itself.
- Revenue was the highest it has been. Why did profit not move?Where the extra revenue went, line by line.