Good Company

Boarding Drives 42 Percent of Pet Care Revenue, and the Booking Calendar Predicts Whether Owners Get Paid

A benchmarking survey of 457 pet care operators, 93 percent of them in the US, finds boarding far ahead of daycare, training and grooming on revenue, repeat customers carrying the business, and a stubborn gap between packed peak weeks and empty weekdays.

By Good Company Editorial Desk

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The News

Pet boarding is the revenue engine of the pet care services business, and it is not close. Boarding accounted for 42.1 percent of total revenue for pet care service operators in the 2026 Pet Boarding Industry Benchmarking Survey, reported by GlobalPETS on November 3. Daycare followed at 21.7 percent, training at 19.3 percent and grooming at 10.1 percent.

The survey, run by The Dog Gurus, the International Boarding and Pet Services Association (IBPSA) and PocketSuite, polled 457 pet care operators across 9 countries between March 2 and April 7. This is a North American story in practice: 93 percent of participants were based in the US and another 4 percent in Canada, with Australia, the UK and a handful of other countries making up the rest.

The operators surveyed are mostly established, single site businesses: 41 percent operating more than 15 years, 32 percent for 6 to 15 years, 27 percent for 1 to 5 years. Overall, 81 percent ran a single location, 57 percent owned their property and 35 percent rented or leased.

A companion summary in Pet Boarding and Daycare magazine, by Heather Murphy of The Dog Gurus, adds texture: the median facility is 4,000 square feet, and the top 10 percent run 20,000 square feet or more. The typical operator is a substantial local business with real fixed costs, not a side hustle.

Why It Matters

The first reason this matters is the mix. Boarding is seasonal by nature: holidays and summer travel fill kennels, and ordinary Tuesdays do not. Boarding had the highest capacity use of any service, with 6 in 10 respondents at least 50 percent full on average across the year, ahead of daycare at 5 in 10, grooming at 36 percent and training at 33 percent. Yet the trade summary found nearly a quarter of boarding operators and 38 percent of daycare operators filling less than 30 percent of capacity on average.

That is a yield problem, not a demand problem. Most businesses reached maximum capacity in high demand months: 27 percent were typically fully booked 2 to 3 weeks ahead at peak, 13 percent 2 months ahead and 11 percent 3 or more months ahead. Only 13 percent were not typically fully booked at all. The operators who smooth the valleys, with memberships, off peak pricing or add ons, turn a busy calendar into steadier income.

The second reason is who carries these businesses. More than half of operators, 54 percent of facilities in the trade summary, said at least 75 percent of monthly revenue came from repeat customers. Retention is the growth engine, even though acquisition habits look informal: 59 percent paid for marketing, 33 percent for digital advertising, only 31 percent ran a referral program and 20 percent offered introductory discounts.

The Numbers

  • Survey base: 457 operators in 9 countries, polled March 2 to April 7, by The Dog Gurus, IBPSA and PocketSuite
  • Geography: 93 percent US, 4 percent Canada, 2 percent Australia, 1 percent UK, less than 1 percent each in five other countries
  • Revenue mix: boarding 42.1 percent, daycare 21.7 percent, training 19.3 percent, grooming 10.1 percent
  • Tenure: 41 percent operating more than 15 years, 32 percent for 6 to 15 years, 27 percent for 1 to 5 years
  • Profile: 81 percent single location, 57 percent own their property, 35 percent rent or lease, median footprint 4,000 square feet
  • Capacity use, at least 50 percent full on average: boarding 6 in 10 operators, daycare 5 in 10, grooming 36 percent, training 33 percent
  • Results: 60 percent reported year over year results from flat to growth above 21 percent, 17 percent reported declines of 3 percent or more
  • Repeat business: more than half said at least 75 percent of monthly revenue came from repeat customers
  • Owner income: 86 percent took personal income in the past year, 91 percent at 2 or more locations, 85 percent at single locations
  • Income by tenure: 91 percent of owners past 10 years took income, 87 percent at 3 to 10 years, 54 percent under 3 years
  • Satisfaction: 42 percent happy with their income, 33 percent satisfied, 25 percent not happy
  • Acquisition: 59 percent paid for marketing, 33 percent for digital ads, 31 percent ran a referral program, 20 percent offered introductory discounts
  • Add ons: 71 percent said at least 1 in 10 customers bought extras beyond the base booking, 22 percent said 6 or more in 10 did
  • Labor: 20 percent spent under $75,000 last fiscal year, 35 percent spent $75,000 to $369,999, 35 percent spent $370,000 to $2.99 million

What It Means For You

If you run a boarding, daycare or grooming business, treat your booking horizon as a financial metric, not a scheduling detail. The trade summary of this survey found that how far ahead a facility is booked was one of the strongest predictors of whether the owner paid themselves at all last year. Among owners who took no personal income, 66 percent were typically booked out less than two weeks or not reliably fully booked. Among owners who did pay themselves, only 25 percent were in that position. Deposits, waitlists and early peak season booking pushes are cash flow tools. Use them that way.

Second, fix the weekday problem before you add space. Peak season pricing, lower off season rates and daycare memberships are all named in the survey coverage as ways operators match price to demand. A membership sold in a quiet month is worth more than a kennel added for a busy week.

Third, put the add on in the booking flow, not in your front desk team's memory. Most customers buy few extras: 29 percent of operators said only 1 in 10 customers purchased add ons, and 28 percent said 2 to 3 in 10 did. Operators closing that gap build optional services into online booking, raising revenue per reservation without a sales pitch at check in.

Fourth, formalize the referral engine you already have. Repeat customers carry the revenue, yet only 31 percent run a formal referral program. A structured referral offer aimed at your best clients is likely the cheapest growth dollar in this category.

If you sell to pet care operators, note the profile: established, single location, property owning businesses whose pain is utilization and labor, not survival. Pitch yield, retention and staffing relief, not generic growth.

What To Watch

Watch whether operators close the capacity gap or keep building through it. If the next round shows fewer facilities under 30 percent full, the membership and dynamic pricing playbook is working. If footprints keep growing while utilization stays flat, expect consolidation pressure on mid sized single location operators.

Watch the second location divide. Owners with 2 or more locations were more likely to have taken personal income, 91 percent against 85 percent for single sites, and tenure compounds the effect. That gap is the case multi location groups and franchisors will keep making to independents.

And watch labor. With 70 percent of operators spending $75,000 or more a year on labor including contractors, staffing will decide who can cover the peak weeks that carry the year. The facilities that solve scheduling and retention will own the calendar, and in this business the calendar is the paycheck.

Sources

  • GlobalPETS, "Survey: Pet boarding drives revenue for global pet care operators," November 3, 2026: https://globalpetindustry.com/news/survey-pet-boarding-drives-revenue-for-global-pet-care-operators/
  • Pet Boarding and Daycare magazine, Heather Murphy, "Why Some Pet Businesses Thrive and Others Just Survive: A New Industry Report Card," September to October 2026 issue: https://digital.petboardinganddaycare.com/issue/september-october-2026/why-some-pet-businesses-thrive-and-others-just-survive-a-new-industry-report-card/