Buying a dog boarding or kennel business: what to check
Short answer
When buying a dog boarding or kennel business, measure occupancy by night and season (holidays and summer peaks often carry the year), daycare attendance and packages, and revenue per run or suite. Verify bookings against card payments and deposits. Then check zoning and permits (kennels are often restricted by noise and land use rules), the property (often included or owned by the seller), around-the-clock staffing, vaccination and safety procedures, and incident history.
Kennels are part hospitality, part real estate. The location, zoning and peak-season occupancy decide most of the value.
Occupancy and revenue
| Metric | Source |
|---|---|
| Occupied runs/suites per night | Booking software |
| Average nightly rate and add-ons | Invoices |
| Daycare attendance and packages | Software, package balances |
| Grooming and training revenue | POS |
| Deposits and card payments | Processor and bank |
Worked example: occupancy by season
A kennel's year is made in a few weeks. Ask for nightly occupancy for every run or suite for two years and lay it out by month. Then you can see how much of the profit sits in holidays and summer, and how much spare capacity there really is.
Illustrative example, not a real kennel or market rate
A kennel has 50 runs at $55 a night. Full every night, that would be 50 × 365 × $55 = $1,003,750 a year. In this example it's 95% full for 10 peak weeks (holidays and summer) and 45% full for the other 42. Peak: 50 × 0.95 × 70 nights × $55 = $182,875. Off-peak: 50 × 0.45 × 294 nights × $55 = $363,825. Boarding revenue is $546,700, or 54% of the theoretical maximum. The peak weeks are 19% of the nights but 33% of boarding revenue ($182,875 ÷ $546,700). Two lessons: a bad holiday season hurts a lot, and the upside is in the off-peak weeks, often through daycare, which fills the same space on weekdays.
Property, permits and staffing
- Zoning and use permits for kennel operations; noise or neighbor complaints.
- Real estate: included or leased; condition of runs, drainage, HVAC, fencing.
- Staffing for nights, weekends and holidays; pay and tenure.
- Vaccination policies, incident and injury log, insurance claims.
- Prepaid packages and credits owed.
If the seller owns the land and leases it to the business, see related-party rent.
Real estate, zoning and the 504 question
Kennel sites are hard to replace because zoning for barking dogs is hard to get. If the seller owns the property, find out whether it's in the sale and at what price, and get the zoning or conditional use approval in writing, including any conditions (hours, number of animals, outdoor play limits). When real estate is involved, SBA financing may include it in a 7(a) loan or use the SBA 504 program for the property; lenders will order an appraisal and often an environmental review. Ask how wastewater from washing runs is handled. Depending on the site, it may go to sewer, septic or need a permit, and a failing septic system is an expensive surprise.
Staffing around the clock
Dogs need care at night, on weekends and on every holiday, which is when the kennel is fullest and staff most want time off. Ask how nights are covered (on-site staff, cameras, owner living on the property), what the overnight arrangement costs, and whether the seller has been covering it personally. If the owner lives on site and handles nights unpaid, the add-back for owner salary covers labor you'll have to buy. Check wage and hour compliance for overnight and holiday shifts.
What an SBA lender will check
Lenders will match tax returns to IRS transcripts, appraise the real estate if it's included, and test debt coverage in a weak season, not just an average one. If the business leases from the seller, they'll check that the rent is at market. Expect questions about incidents and insurance, since one serious injury or illness outbreak can hurt bookings for months.
Worked example: adding daycare to quiet weeks
Illustrative example continued, not market prices
The kennel above is 45% full for 42 off-peak weeks. Say it runs daycare in the same building, averaging 30 dogs a weekday at $38 a day for 250 weekdays: 30 × $38 × 250 = $285,000 a year. Daycare needs staff (one handler per group of dogs, set by your own safety policy and any local rules), so if it takes three extra staff at $17 an hour, 9 hours a day, 250 days, plus 12% payroll costs, that's 3 × $17 × 9 × 250 × 1.12 = $128,520. Contribution is about $156,500, from space that was otherwise half empty. If the seller already runs daycare, check attendance by day and the package liability; if not, that's upside you'd create, not something to pay the seller for.
The first 90 days after you buy
Keep the staff who know the regular dogs and their owners, and honor every booking and prepaid package. Holidays are when a new owner is most exposed, so if you close within a few months of a peak, plan staffing and procedures with the seller before it arrives. Walk the facility daily in the first weeks: drainage, ventilation, fencing and gates are where problems show up first. Track occupancy and daycare attendance weekly against last year's numbers from the booking system.
What moves the value of a boarding business
We don't value deals or publish multiples we can't verify. These are the factors appraisers and lenders weigh:
| Factor | Supports a higher value | Pulls it lower |
|---|---|---|
| Occupancy | Strong outside peaks, with daycare filling weekdays | Full only at holidays |
| Site | Owned or long lease, zoning approval in writing | Uncertain zoning, short lease |
| Facility | Good drainage, HVAC, fencing; easy to clean | Aging runs, poor ventilation |
| Staff | Trained, stable, nights covered | Owner lives on site and covers nights unpaid |
| Safety record | Clean incident history, strong reviews | Outbreaks, injuries, escapes |
| Ancillary | Grooming and training add revenue | Boarding only |
Red flags specific to kennels
- Vaccination policies not enforced, or no record of checking.
- Neighbor complaints about noise or smell, especially if zoning has conditions.
- Drainage and wastewater handled informally.
- Holiday bookings taken far beyond capacity, then cancelled.
- Prepaid packages sold heavily before the sale.
Documents to request
- Booking system data: nights by run, daycare days, add-ons, prepaid packages (24 months).
- Card processor and bank statements; tax returns and P&Ls.
- Zoning approval, permits, any state licence and inspection reports.
- Incident log, vaccination policy, insurance and claims.
- Staff roster, schedules (including nights and holidays), pay.
- Deed or lease, property condition reports, utility and wastewater records.
Questions to ask the seller
- Can I see nightly occupancy by run for the last 24 months?
- How many prepaid daycare packages and credits are outstanding?
- Is the property included, and what does the zoning approval allow and forbid?
- Who covers nights and holidays, and what would it cost to staff them?
- Any disease outbreaks, injuries, escapes or deaths, and how were they handled?
- Have neighbors ever complained about noise or smell?
Vaccination, intake and incident records
A well-run kennel can show, for any dog in its care, the vaccination records it collected, the signed intake agreement and any incident reports. Ask to see a sample of files from different months. Missing records are a sign of how the business is run, and they matter if a dog is injured or falls ill. Review the incident log, how each one was handled and whether any led to a claim or a complaint to a local authority, and confirm that the liability policy covers animals in your care.
Frequently asked questions
Is the real estate usually part of a kennel sale?
Often, because zoning-approved kennel sites are hard to replace. If it's included, SBA lenders appraise it separately; if leased, the lease term is critical.
How seasonal is dog boarding?
Very, in most markets: holidays and summer can be full while other periods are quiet. Look at occupancy by month for at least two years.
Are daycare packages a liability?
Prepaid daycare packages and credits are obligations you'll fulfil after closing. Count and credit them.
What permits matter?
Zoning approval for kennel use, local animal facility permits, and in some states licensing of boarding facilities. Check with the local planning office and state agency.
How do I verify a kennel's revenue?
Rebuild it from the booking software: nights booked by run or suite, nightly rate, daycare days and add-ons. Compare with card processor statements and bank deposits month by month, and check that prepaid package balances in the software are accounted for. Peak months should show up clearly in all three records.
How does daycare change a boarding business's numbers?
Daycare uses the same space and staff on weekdays, when boarding is often quiet, so it can lift revenue without much extra fixed cost. It also brings regular customers who later book boarding. Check daycare attendance by day, package prices and how many daycare dogs also board.
Sources
- SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 (real estate appraised separately; blended terms)
- SBA 504 loans (real estate and long-life equipment)
- EPA: NPDES permits (wastewater discharge)
- ASTM E1527-21 (Phase I environmental site assessment)
- IRS: Employment taxes
Related guides
General information, not legal, tax, financial or investment advice. Rules and lender practices change; check the linked sources and talk to your attorney, CPA and lender about your deal. Examples with named numbers are illustrations, not real businesses. OKtoBuy's Deal Check does not value businesses or give price opinions.