Direct operating-model answer
How does My Salon Suite operate after opening?
A My Salon Suite franchisee leases and manages an Approved Location divided into furnished Individual Suites, then recruits salon professionals to lease those suites. The salon professionals serve and bill their own clients; the franchisee earns unit revenue from the suite-leasing business, maintains the facility, manages occupancy, and reports unit-level financial information through required systems.
Data basis
Legal franchisor: Suite Management Franchising, LLC. Basis: May 1, 2026 U.S. FDD Items 1, 6, 8, 11, 12, 15, 16, 19 and 20; Franchise Agreement; Conversion Addendum; and Franchise Operations Manual contents. Item 20 reports through December 31, 2025. Official pages checked July 31, 2026.
What does the franchisee sell, and who buys it?
The Franchised Business sells furnished salon-suite occupancy and related facility management to independent salon professionals; it does not ordinarily perform the professionals' hair, beauty, massage, aesthetic, medi-spa, or wellness services.
Item 1 names hair stylists, massage therapists, estheticians, nail technicians, and other salon professionals as the market. The official franchise overview describes the franchisee as a landlord recruiting professionals. The consumer site separates suite inquiries from end-client provider searches.
Franchisee
Leases the Approved Location, subleases Individual Suites, maintains the facility, manages occupancy, collects unit revenue, and reports Gross Revenues.
Salon professional or “Member”
Leases an Individual Suite and independently sets hours, prices, appointments, and client policies.
End client
Buys appointment services from the Member, who collects service revenue and controls the client relationship.
Item 6 excludes tenant sales to end clients from Franchised Business Gross Revenues. Official pages call the suite renter a “Member”; the FDD describes a third-party salon professional leasing or subleasing an Individual Suite.
A New Location is built or remodeled to Franchise System standards. A Conversion Franchise adapts an existing salon-suite operation, including an Acquisition Conversion, subject to required modifications. Both use the same suite-leasing and facility-management mechanism.
How does work move through a My Salon Suite location?
The recurring cycle is occupancy-led: recruit a salon professional, execute the suite arrangement, maintain the facility, collect unit revenue, retain Members, refill vacancies, and transmit required financial and occupancy records.
Generate suite demand
- Actor
- Franchisee or Designated Manager.
- Action
- Market available Individual Suites through approved materials, local outreach, referrals, and the official inquiry channel.
- System/asset
- Approved advertising, official website, local plan.
- Output
- Qualified suite inquiry or tour.
Match prospect to space
- Actor
- Franchisee or Designated Manager.
- Action
- Explain suite options and terms, tour the facility, and identify a suitable Individual Suite. No universal tenant-scoring formula is disclosed.
- System/asset
- Approved Location and availability records.
- Output
- Proposed suite and lease/sublease.
Document and onboard the Member
- Actor
- Franchisee.
- Action
- Execute a lawful Individual Suite lease/sublease, satisfy landlord requirements, and onboard the Member. Any franchisor template is reference-only.
- System/asset
- Lease/sublease and Member onboarding records.
- Output
- Occupied Individual Suite.
Provide and maintain the facility
- Actor
- Franchisee team and approved vendors.
- Action
- Maintain clean, safe, compliant suites and common areas, including equipment, security, Wi-Fi, supplies, and building services.
- System/asset
- Approved Vendors, security, Computer System, furnished suites.
- Output
- Serviceable Member workspace.
Member fulfills end-client appointments
- Actor
- Independent salon professional.
- Action
- Set prices and hours, schedule clients, perform services, collect payment, and follow up. Official Member benefits include Square, education, and online booking.
- System/asset
- Member tools and available brand programs.
- Output
- Member revenue outside franchisee Gross Revenues.
Collect, record, and report unit activity
- Actor
- Franchisee or Designated Manager.
- Action
- Collect suite revenue, maintain occupancy and financial records, submit reports, retain records seven years, and address vacancies or deficiencies.
- System/asset
- POS System, accounting records, email, EFT, Operations Manual.
- Output
- Reported Gross Revenues and renewed occupancy pipeline.
Evidence: 2026 FDD, Items 1, 6, 8 and 11; Franchise Agreement §§ 3.E, 9, 11 and 12; Exhibit H sections “Recruit Great Members,” “Retain Your Members,” “Member Onboarding,” “Run Great Salons,” “Revenue,” and “Suite Force.”
Who performs the work: owner, Designated Manager, staff, or Members?
The owner or a principal must personally supervise the Franchised Business and devote best efforts; day-to-day duties may be delegated to an approved, trained Designated Manager, but the owner remains responsible under the Franchise Agreement.
The franchise responsibilities page markets 5-10 weekly hours after occupancy stabilizes. The 2026 FDD does not grant absentee operation: a principal must supervise; a delegated Designated Manager must complete My Salon Suite University, work full time, and avoid other business activity without consent.
Franchisee or principal
- Supervises the unit and remains fully informed.
- Selects, employs, pays, and disciplines unit personnel.
- Controls lawful lease/sublease documents and landlord compliance.
- Funds maintenance, vendors, insurance, taxes, and local obligations.
Designated Manager and employees
- Handle day-to-day occupancy, communications, tours, and facility issues.
- Follow the Franchise Operations Manual and required training.
- Respond immediately to calls and incoming communications.
- Remain franchisee personnel, not franchisor employees.
Salon professionals or Members
- Operate independent businesses inside Individual Suites.
- Set their own appointment schedules, prices, and client policies.
- Perform and collect payment for their own services.
- Are tenants or subtenants, not disclosed unit employees.
Each location must always have one My Salon Suite University-trained operator and its own approved Designated Manager. A replacement must be hired within 30 days and trained within 30 more. The FDD sets no general headcount, shift, or labor ratio.
Which suppliers, systems, and operating inputs are mandatory?
Suite Management Franchising can require Approved Vendors, designated products, specified technology, security equipment, insurance providers, upgrades, and replacement items; the franchisee directly purchases, pays for, and maintains that operating stack.
Facility inputs
Fixtures, signs, supplies, equipment, Wi-Fi, security, and maintenance must meet Franchise System standards.
Approved Vendors
A vendor may be one of several suppliers or the sole source. Alternatives require advance approval and may require paid testing.
Computer System
The FDD lists Windows hardware, printers, Square Card reader, security equipment, POS System, accounting, and tenant scheduling.
Communications and data
Google Workspace, franchisor-issued email, networks, reports, and software remain subject to access, monitoring, retention, and replacement rules.
Item 8 estimates Required Purchases at 28.3%-33.2% of ongoing operating costs. The franchisor may receive rebates, discounts, allowances, or other vendor payments. No purchasing cooperative existed at issuance.
Official pages describe furnished suites and included infrastructure, plus Client Connect and Square scheduling and payments. The FDD does not classify every current Member platform as a mandatory franchisee system.
What does the franchisor control, and what remains with the franchisee?
The franchisor controls the brand system, approved offering, site and territory approval, operating standards, required technology, vendor approvals, advertising permissions, inspections, and data access; the franchisee controls lawful local execution and bears the unit's employment, leasing, maintenance, and financial obligations.
| Operating domain | Suite Management Franchising control | Franchisee decision or responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Offering | Specifies Approved Products and Services and can add, change, or discontinue them. | Offers all required items and no unapproved products or services. |
| People | Approves the Designated Manager and sets training and System Standards. | Hires, pays, schedules, supervises, and disciplines all unit personnel. |
| Suppliers | Designates Approved Vendors, specifications, technology, and replacement requirements. | Purchases, maintains, and pays vendors; may propose an alternative supplier. |
| Marketing | Controls the Website, Brand Building Fund, Marks, templates, and approval of local materials. | Executes approved local recruiting and vacancy marketing and documents expenditures if required. |
| Records | Can extract data, inspect records, audit reports, monitor systems, and require remedial action. | Keeps GAAP-based records, submits reports, maintains privacy compliance, and retains records seven years. |
| Premises | Approves the Approved Location, lease, design, security, and periodic remodel standards. | Negotiates the real-estate deal, prepares suite subleases, maintains the premises, and complies with law. |
The Computer System transmits operating and financial data. The Franchise Agreement permits access as often as considered appropriate, including daily extraction, with no stated contractual data-access limit. Inspections may occur without advance notice, and deficiencies must be corrected.
Ongoing support includes consultation, the Franchise Operations Manual, advertising and vendor review, system updates, training, inspections, and optional visits. The official support page also describes Member support, scheduling and payment tools, and education; the franchisee remains operator and employer.
How do territory and channel rules affect demand?
The Protected Territory limits same-brand physical franchised competition at the approved address, but it is not exclusive control of salon professionals, end clients, Internet channels, alternative distribution, competing trademarks, or the broader market.
The typical Protected Territory is a two-mile radius from the front door, set after lease execution and tied to the Approved Location. It may be larger, smaller, or overlapping. Franchisees may solicit outside it, while salon professionals may choose another location without compensation to the local franchisee.
Suite Management Franchising reserves Internet, direct-mail, wholesale, and competing-brand channels inside the Protected Territory. The franchisee may not use wholesale, Internet, mail-order, separate websites, or social accounts without approval.
A Development Agreement creates a separate Development Area for three Franchised Businesses over three years. Exclusivity depends on the development schedule and does not replace unit-level Protected Territories.
Item 20 signal
What does Item 20 show about the U.S. system footprint?
Item 20 reports 371 U.S. outlets at December 31, 2025: 320 franchised outlets and 51 company-owned or affiliate outlets, using one consistent year-end population for the exact composition chart.
U.S. outlet composition at December 31, 2025
Exact Item 20 counts; percentages reconcile to 100.0%.
- Franchised outlets320 · 86.3%
- Company-owned and affiliates51 · 13.7%
Interpretation: the system is predominantly franchised. Franchised outlets rose from 273 in 2023 to 302 in 2024 and 320 in 2025; company-owned and affiliate outlets ended 2025 unchanged at 51.
Source: 2026 FDD, Item 20, Table 1, pp. 82-90. Calculations: 320 ÷ 371 = 86.3%; 51 ÷ 371 = 13.7%; 86.3% + 13.7% = 100.0%.
Which operating facts should a buyer verify before relying on the model?
Material local uncertainties remain: the Member-recruitment process, suite pricing and lease terms, Designated Manager workload, current Approved Vendors and software configuration, and the proposed Protected Territory's competitive context near other locations.
- Identify current Approved Vendors, sole-source items, rebates, replacement cycles, and service obligations.
- Review current Manual sections for recruiting, Member onboarding, retention, Revenue, and Suite Force.
- Classify the My Salon Suite app, Client Connect, Square, accounting, scheduling, and security tools as required or optional.
- Confirm Designated Manager approval, full-time duties, coverage, and outside-activity limits.
- Map the Protected Territory, overlaps, nearby company-owned outlets, alternative channels, and Development Area.
- Review the Individual Suite lease/sublease locally; the franchisor template is not a compliance warranty.
- Separate Gross Revenues from Member service revenue and test treatment of rent, deposits, credits, and refunds.
- Ask operators how recruiting, vacancies, maintenance, complaints, reporting, and inspections work in practice.
What is the operating model in one sentence?
My Salon Suite is a salon-suite leasing and facility-management system: the franchisee recruits and retains independent Members and maintains the Approved Location; Suite Management Franchising controls the Franchise Operations Manual, Approved Vendors, technology, and data access. The largest question is whether local demand, manager coverage, vendor requirements, and the exact Protected Territory support sustained occupancy.