Planet Beach Franchising Corporation

What Planet Beach Franchising Corporation does

Planet Beach Franchising Corporation is a privately held franchisor founded in 1996 by Stephen P. Smith and headquartered in Marrero, Louisiana. The company operates what it describes as the world's largest automated spa franchise, with over 200 units globally across the United States, Canada, Ireland, Poland, Kazakhstan, Panama, and Egypt. The core offering is a membership-driven, push-button automated spa experience that delivers beauty, wellness, and fitness services without licensed therapists, capped at roughly four employees per location.

The underlying technology centers on automated spa hardware (infrared saunas, automated massage chairs, Hydro-Derma Fusion hydration pods, LED light therapy, teeth-whitening rigs, spray-tan booths) and the patented HOTWORX 63 sq ft infrared sauna, which fuses infrared heat with virtually instructed isometric and HIIT workout sessions. The product portfolio extends across 10+ service categories and a private-label retail assortment including La Taravella holistic skincare, Resto[red] red-light therapy products, and aromatherapy lines. The company also operates the HOTWORX sub-brand, which has scaled to 730+ locations.

Planet Beach monetizes through four streams: recurring monthly memberships starting around $59, transactional service fees, retail product sales at franchise locations, and franchise fees plus royalties from new and existing franchisees (entry requirement $70K-$90K liquid plus a 680 credit score). Go-to-market is hybrid: a corporate franchise-recruitment engine targets prospective operators through a discovery process, while individual consumers are acquired via a multi-channel social, content, and email funnel and converted through free first-visit trials.

Name

Planet Beach Franchising Corporation

Legal name

Planet Beach Franchising Corporation

Website

https://planetbeach.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Planet Beach Franchising Corporation is a privately held franchisor of automated spray-and-spa centers, operating 200+ franchise units globally. It sells memberships, services, and private-label wellness products to mass-market consumers while licensing its brand and patented HOTWORX infrared fitness concept to operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Automated Spa & Wellness Franchise Services

NAICS

Beauty Salons (812112), Health and Personal Care Retailers (4561), Hair, Nail, and Skin Care Services (81211)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHSALAJAI

Tanning Salon Franchise Operations

Home & Personal Services/Personal Care & Beauty Services/Tanning Services (Spray/UV)

SECONDARYHSALAJAD

Tanning Memberships & Subscription Programs

Home & Personal Services/Personal Care & Beauty Services/Tanning Services (Spray/UV)

SECONDARYHSALAJAA

UV Tanning (Tanning Beds/Booths)

Home & Personal Services/Personal Care & Beauty Services/Tanning Services (Spray/UV)

SECONDARYHSALAJAE

Tanning Packages & Sessions (Single/Bundle)

Home & Personal Services/Personal Care & Beauty Services/Tanning Services (Spray/UV)

SECONDARYTHAJAHAC

Spa & Massage Services (Day Spas, Massage Studios, Treatment Packages)

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Wellness & Spa Experiences (Retreats, Thermal Baths, Yoga)

Keywords

• Automated spa services
• Infrared fitness workouts
• Wellness franchise system
• Monthly spa memberships
• Beauty and skincare retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Marrero

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Monthly recurring revenue from unlimited-access memberships. Members pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to automated spa services, creating predictable monthly revenue streams for franchisees.
2. Spa Services: Individual service fees for treatments including HOTWORX sessions, spray tans, UV tanning, massages, teeth whitening, red light therapy, facials, and weight management services.
3. Retail Products: Private-label skincare, wellness, nutrition, aromatherapy, sunless tanning, and UV lotion products sold at franchise locations. Multiple product lines including La Taravella, Restored, Green Tea, and Cleanse.
4. Franchise Fees: Initial franchise fees and ongoing royalties from franchisees. Financial requirements: minimum $70,000-$90,000 in cash/liquid assets plus 680 credit score.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Planet Beach Franchising Corporation franchises and operates automated, push-button spray & spa locations that deliver beauty, wellness, and fitness services — including automated massage, facials, spray tans, UV tanning, red light therapy, teeth whitening, body hydration, weight management, oxygen therapy, and guided meditation — in private rooms without licensed therapists, supported by the proprietary HOTWORX infrared-isometric fitness program. Consumers access these services primarily through monthly unlimited memberships (starting around $59/month) or individual service fees, with additional revenue from private-label skincare, sunless tanning, and aromatherapy retail products sold at franchise locations.

Product overview

Planet Beach Franchising Corporation operates the world's largest automated spa franchise offering a comprehensive beauty, wellness, and fitness platform. The core offering combines automated spa services (spray tans, UV tanning, automated massage, facials, red light therapy, body hydration, teeth whitening, weight management, oxygen therapy, and guided meditation) with the proprietary HOTWORX infrared fitness program. The company also sells private-label skincare products including La Taravella holistic line, Resto[red] red-light therapy products, and general skincare/beauty products (cleansers, exfoliators, moisturizers, aromatherapy). Revenue streams include membership fees, service fees, and retail product sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HOTWORX: An infrared fitness franchise combining sauna workouts with isometric and HIIT sessions, created by Stephen Smith following a 2014 conversation in Jamaica. Planet Beach is the original authorized HOTWORX location.

Quantifiable outcome

• Services offered at fraction of time and cost compared to traditional day spa
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• M'lis CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlanet Beach partners with M'lis Company for private-label skincare and nutrition product lines. M'lis provides holistic health products including the Cleanse, Green Tea Cleanser, Daily Essentials vitamins, Soothe pain relief cream, and other wellness products sold at franchise locations. M'lis is described as a 37+ year old holistic health company.
• WYXcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWYX aromatherapy line featuring essential oils, 100% soy candles, and spa sprays. Exclusive to Planet Beach locations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Massage Envy: The largest membership-based massage and skincare franchise in the US, offering recurring monthly subscriptions across thousands of locations. Directly comparable to Planet Beach in membership model, franchised distribution, and multi-service automated spa positioning.
• Massage Heights: Membership-driven massage and wellness franchise with a comparable service breadth and franchised growth model. Targets the same value-segment spa customer as Planet Beach.
• Amazing Lash Studio: Single-service beauty franchise (lash extensions) with hundreds of US locations and membership-driven revenue. Comparable in franchise scale, real estate footprint, and beauty-services target customer.
• Palm Beach Tan: Multi-service tanning and spa franchise combining UV tanning, spray tanning, and skincare. Highly comparable as a competing franchise brand targeting similar customers with overlapping service catalogs.
• Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa: Franchise offering massages and facials on a membership and single-service basis with hundreds of US locations. Closely comparable in service mix, subscription model, and franchised unit economics.
• European Wax Center: Largest waxing franchise in the US with membership-based packages and a recurring-revenue model. Comparable in franchise structure, membership pricing, and personal-care service focus.
• Sun Tan City: Large indoor-tanning franchise chain with multiple service tiers and membership packages. A direct comparable on the UV tanning and spray tan franchise side of Planet Beach's offering.
• The Woodhouse Day Spa: Full-service day spa franchise offering massage, facials, and body treatments across US locations. Comparable in franchise model and customer base, though it operates with licensed therapists rather than fully automated services.

Emerging players

• Restore Hyper Wellness: Franchised recovery and wellness chain offering cryotherapy, IV therapy, infrared sauna, and hydration services. Overlaps Planet Beach on infrared sauna, red light therapy, and oxygen/hydration treatments, targeting the same wellness-minded consumer.
• HOTWORX: Affiliated sub-brand launched from the same founder with patented infrared sauna workouts; sits within Planet Beach's extended brand portfolio and shares the automated, staff-light service ethos.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/planetbeach
• Facebookfacebook.com/PlanetBeach
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/companies/planet-beach-franchising-corporation
• Instagraminstagram.com/planetbeachofficial
• Pinterestpinterest.com/planetbeach
• Xx.com/planetbeach

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Planet Beach Franchising Corporation