Franchise marketing for tanning studios makes sure customers find the studio near them with the right opening hours, equipment and membership options. We take over that marketing for head office: one approach centrally, delivered locally for each studio.
What makes marketing for tanning studio chains different?
Tanning customers often walk in without an appointment and choose based on distance, opening hours and the type of equipment. It is a recurring, local choice in which convenience and a reliable impression of hygiene tip the balance.
That is why franchise marketing for tanning studios does not start with the brand, but with the moment a customer nearby makes a choice.
How do customers search for tanning studios?
Customers rarely search for the franchise brand's name. They search for their question and choose from whatever appears nearby.
| Search query | What the location needs in order to be chosen |
|---|---|
| tanning studio [town] open | Accurate, generous opening hours |
| sunbed without appointment | Clear that walk-ins are welcome |
| spray tan near me | Extra treatments listed as services |
| tanning studio membership | Memberships and prices per studio |
How the same question sounds in an AI assistant
In ChatGPT, Gemini or Google AI Overviews, customers ask longer questions, for example: "Which tanning studio near me is open late in the evening and also does spray tans?" An AI can only recommend a studio if those details appear literally in its profile, reviews and location page. That is why we combine local visibility with AI visibility per location.
What goes wrong at tanning studio chains?
A head office marketing team often only spots these problems once franchisees complain about them. We look for them in advance.
Wrong opening hours
Studios with generous opening hours gain no advantage from them because the profile is incorrect.
Equipment not described
Customers cannot see which sunbeds or treatments are available.
No impression of hygiene
Without recent photos, customers have doubts about the condition of the studio.
Unclear memberships
Prices differ per studio, but online there is one national price.
Our approach for tanning studios
For each channel we set out what we do for tanning studios. In the scan we test the order of priorities against the figures for your locations.
| Channel | Focus for tanning studios |
|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Opening hours, walk-in, treatments and recent photos |
| Studio pages | Equipment, memberships and prices per studio |
| Review management | Responses to hygiene and service complaints |
| Local advertising | Promotions around the holidays and in spring |
| Membership renewals and promotions per studio |
No time or expertise in-house? Leave your franchise marketing to us.
Rules and points of attention for tanning studios
Make no health claims about tanning (such as vitamin D or a 'healthy tan'); strict advertising rules apply. Include the safety advice that applies to sunbeds.
We record these agreements in the franchise brand's style guide, so that every location does the same. If there is legal doubt, we consult your lawyer.
What does better visibility deliver for tanning studio chains?
The NFV healthcare sector, under which we classify tanning studios, counted 38 franchise brands with 2,201 locations and €2.8 billion in revenue in 2025. That is an average of around €1.27 million in revenue per location per year. The worked example below shows the revenue effect at which the Growth package pays for itself.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Average revenue per location per year | €1,272,149 |
| Per month | €106,012 |
| 1% extra revenue per year | €12,721 |
| Cost of the Growth package per year | €3,000 |
| Break-even point: required revenue growth | 0.24% |
Which KPIs count for tanning studio chains?
In addition to the standard KPIs in our monthly report (visibility, customer actions, reviews and position in Maps), in this sector we also look at:
| KPI | Why |
|---|---|
| Direction requests and call clicks | Walk-in customers via Maps |
| Memberships per studio | Recurring revenue |
| Visits during off-peak hours | Effect of promotions |
When should you plan marketing for tanning studios?
The busiest period is in spring before the summer and in the weeks before holidays and parties; in the summer itself, demand falls. If you only start when the peak begins, you are too late. We prepare profiles and campaigns a month in advance.
How do we get started with franchise marketing for tanning studios?
No big up-front project, but a ninety-day plan. In that period we set up the basics, run the first campaigns and deliver a report per location. After that, you decide whether we roll out to all the tanning studio locations in your franchise brand.
| Period | What we do |
|---|---|
| Weeks 1-2 | Baseline measurement at three locations on search queries such as tanning studio [town] open and sunbed without appointment, plus an AI test with fixed questions |
| Weeks 3-4 | Google Business Profile: opening hours, walk-in, treatments and recent photos |
| Month 2 | Studio pages and review management: responses to hygiene and service complaints |
| Month 3 | Local advertising live and first monthly report with direction requests and call clicks, and memberships per studio |
Checklist: is your tanning studio brand in good shape online?
- Accurate, generous opening hours
- Clear that walk-ins are welcome
- Extra treatments listed as services
- Memberships and prices per studio
- Email: membership renewals and promotions per studio
Can you not tick off every point for every location? Then the free scan shows exactly where the gains are.
Who works on franchise marketing for tanning studios?
Our permanent team works on franchise marketing for tanning studios: founder Gijs Bodenstaff maintains contact with your head office, Angela analyses local visibility and leads per location, Elisabeth manages local Google Ads and Peter builds local authority. Ten regular freelancers, trained by us, handle profile management and reviews for each location. Read more about Franchise-Marketing.nl.
Related sectors and services for tanning studios
This page belongs to franchise marketing for healthcare brands. Similar sectors are franchise marketing for wellness centres and marketing for maternity care chains. For tanning studios we focus mainly on Google Maps optimisation for chains and review management for franchise brands. You can read what it costs under prices per location per month; you can start with a free baseline measurement.
Frequently asked questions about franchise marketing for tanning studios
Can we advertise the benefits of tanning?
How do we show that our studios are clean?
How quickly do tanning studio chains see results?
Tanning studios: do you sign the contract with head office or with each location?
Tanning studios: what if one location is already doing well on its own?
What does franchise marketing for tanning studios cost?
How do customers search for a tanning salon nearby?
How can a tanning salon chain get AI assistants to recommend its salons?
How can tanning salon chains show different subscription prices per salon?
Which mistakes do you often see in tanning salons' Google Business Profiles?
Sources
Gijs Bodenstaff
Franchise marketer, local SEO and GEO specialist, author
Curious how the locations of your tanning studio brand are doing? Request the free scan of three locations.