From the filed FDD — automated extraction, check the source
2026 FDD
KOA
Campgrounds, cabins & glamping · parent company: not identified
KOA (Kampgrounds of America) is a network of campgrounds offering RV sites, tent sites, and cabin rentals to traveling and vacationing families. A franchisee owns and operates a campground property, managing reservations, guest services, and grounds upkeep, either by building a new park or converting an existing one to the brand.
KOA net unit count declined 1.0% over 2023–2025 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. Most numbers on this page come from that document; others come from federal SBA loan records and labor and census data, each labelled with its source:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened, transferred and left the system, the main basis for our verdict, which rates how strong the disclosed record is, or says when the system is too new, the filing too old, or the disclosure too thin to judge.
Our rating · opinion
Proven & steady
A real track record, though with soft spots. Units fell 1% (2023–2025: 486 → 481); the fiscal 2025 exit rate was 4.0%, in line with the 4.8% median across 22 comparable systems (hotels & hospitality). SBA loans to its franchisees approved FY1991–2020 charged off far less often than franchise loans of the same years (2 vs about 12 expected, 0.2×).
Exit rate · fiscal 2025
4.0%
vs 4.8% median across 22 comparable systems (hotels & hospitality)
Cost to open
$40K–$16.7M
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan losses · vs same-year loans
0.2×
2 of 93 charged off vs ~12 expected
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Data as of 2026-10-29. Figures come from KOA's public FDD filings (latest: MN 2026, extracted 2026-07-30) and SBA FOIA loan records (through FY2026), extracted by us and possibly containing errors. The rating is our opinion, not investment, legal, or tax advice. Franchisor or owner and see something wrong? Report a correction — we review every request.
What each source says
FDD record · SBA loans · model · auditor
The sources broadly agree, and the verdict follows the FDD's operating record.
FDD record · Item 20
Steady operating record
Units fell 1% (2023–2025: 486 → 481); exit rate 4.0% (fiscal 2025) vs 4.8% median.
SBA loans · vs same-year loans
Far fewer defaults than expected (0.2×)
2 charge-offs among 93 resolved loans approved FY1991–2020; about 12 expected.
Modeled risk
Lower risk
The brand's own loan record contradicts this prediction; the record leads.
Auditor opinion · Item 21
Clean opinion
Unqualified audit, 2026 FDD. Says nothing about franchisee results.
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
latest consecutive years · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness · shown, not counted in the verdict
Systemwide units
2023–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 17 of 429 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 4.0% (fiscal 2025), vs a 4.8% median across 22 comparable systems (hotels & hospitality). An exit is not a failure: this counts terminations, non-renewals and "ceased — other reasons" as reported, and excludes transfers to new owners.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 478 | 486 | 480 |
| Opened | 19 | 11 | 20 |
| Transfers | 17 | 20 | 21 |
| Terminations | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Non-renewals | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Outlets at end | 486 | 480 | 481 |
| Net change | +8 | -6 | +1 |
The franchisor's own finances
FDD ITEM 21 · AUDITED STATEMENTS · 2026 FDD
Eide Bailly LLP gave an unmodified (clean) opinion on the statements in the 2026 FDD; revenue rose 3% from FY2023 to FY2025.
This is the company selling the franchise, not any franchisee. A clean opinion means the statements are fairly presented — not that the business is healthy.
Revenue · FY2025
$195.3M
extracted · not cross-checked
Net income · FY2025
$15.7M
p. 127 · matched to statement
Where FY2025 revenue came from
17% royalties
initial-fee share not extracted
Show the statement figures ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Fiscal year | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $190.0Mextracted · not cross-checked | $184.6Mextracted · not cross-checked | $195.3Mextracted · not cross-checked |
| Royalty revenue | $32.9Mp. 127 · matched to statement | $34.1Mp. 127 · matched to statement | $33.7Mp. 127 · matched to statement |
| Net income (loss) | $21.3Mp. 127 · matched to statement | $9.5Mp. 127 · matched to statement | $15.7Mp. 127 · matched to statement |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan outcomes · compared with franchise loans of the same years
Banks have made 144 SBA-backed loans to KOA franchisees since 1991. Of the 93 approved FY1991–2020 that have resolved, 2 charged off — where about 12 would be expected for franchise loans made in the same years. That is 0.2× the expected rate: these loans defaulted far less often than comparable franchise loans.
All-time, 2 of 97 resolved loans charged off (2.1%). That raw figure mixes every approval year since 1991 — loans made in 2006–08 failed at several times the rate of loans made in 2010–13 across all franchises — so it is shown as evidence, not as the score.
0.2×
2 of 93 resolved (FY1991–2020) vs ~12 expected
2.1%
2 of 97 resolved, every approval year
—
charged-off $ ÷ approved $, defaulted loans
$1,223,453
what recent franchisees borrowed
—
shown with 10+ defaults
14 vs 12
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%) · dashed line = all franchise loans that year
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO KOA BY SBA FRANCHISE NAME/CODE · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL · EXPECTED = SAME-YEAR RATE ACROSS ALL SBA FRANCHISE LOANS, LOANS ≥ ~6 YEARS OLD
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $45,000 franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $40K–$16.7M (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$40K–$16.7M
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$45,000
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
8%
of sales, ongoing
Starts at a placeholder of $2M — a round figure for the sector, not from KOA’s filings. Set your own figure and check it against this brand's Item 19 and what owners tell you.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$160K
8% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$1.6M
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This estimate is computed by software from the brand's public filings and any inputs you enter. No CPA prepared it for you and no assurance is provided on it. Actual results will differ, and the differences may be material.
This is not profit. It covers what the FDD fixes: what you put in, and the royalty you owe on sales. Your take-home depends on payroll, property costs, brand and reservation fees, debt on the building, and the months to breakeven, none of which the FDD fixes for your unit (some Item 19s include cost data — read it).
Build a real pro-forma for KOA with a buyer-paid CPAHow the earnings claim is built
FDD ITEM 19 · BASIS · 2026 FDD
The headline figure is Average Annual Registration Revenue (per RV Site) for 12 months ended Dec 31, 2025, for 431 of 449 units, leaving out owned by an Item 2 individual, company/affiliate-owned. It is not an annual per-outlet figure, so we don't treat it as unit revenue.
Graded on three things the filing states: coverage (2 points if the figure covers at least 75% of the units it is compared with, 1 point for 50–75%), centre (2 points if it prints both a median and a mean, 1 for one of them), and costs (2 points for costs through a profit line or full cost detail, 1 for some cost items). 5–6 points = More complete, 3–4 = Partial, 0–2 = Limited. The grade describes the disclosure, not the business.
Show the basis ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| What is measured | Average Annual Registration Revenue (per RV Site) (other measure; not an annual per-outlet figure) |
| Period | 12 months ended Dec 31, 2025 |
| Whose results | Franchised outlets |
| Units included | 431 of 449 KOA franchised campgrounds open and operating at any time during 2025 (432 at year end + 17 closed) |
| Left out |
|
| Average (mean) | printed, but not an annual per-outlet figure |
| Median | printed, but not an annual per-outlet figure |
| Met or beat the average | 201 (46.64%) |
| Costs shown | Yes — through a profit line |
| Where | p. 45 (Item 19 runs pp. 43–60) |
| The filing's words | “The tables below provide financial information derived from 448 of the 449 KOA franchised campgrounds (“KOA Campgrounds”), which constitutes all KOA franchised campgrounds that were open and operating at any time during the 12-month period” |
Modeled risk
FDD Risk Score · a prediction from disclosure and loan-file features
This brand's own loan record is better than the model predicts: its franchisees' SBA loans charged off at 0.2× the rate of same-year franchise loans, where the model expects about 0.8×. We lead with the observed record; the model is shown for context.
Observed · vs same-year loans
0.2×
2 of 93 seasoned loans charged off
Risk percentile
14th
Checkable · higher = riskier
Modeled · vs same-year loans
0.8×
≈ 12.4% at the all-loan vintage mix
Top drivers: Investment ceiling (log) (lowers) · Item 3 litigation (log) (raises) · System size (log units) (lowers) · Item 20 exit rate (lowers). The observed record differs from the model, so treat the score as context only. A linear scorecard trained on brands' vintage-adjusted SBA loss records; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Public records
Bankruptcy, closure & federal court records · coverage is selective · dockets are not scored
We have no verified public-record signals published for KOA. This is not evidence that no events exist. Check PACER, the FDD's Item 3 (litigation) and Item 4 (bankruptcy), and recent news yourself.
10 questions to ask a KOA franchisee
Built from this brand's own disclosures · take it to your validation calls
The franchisor will give you a list of owners to call. Most buyers ask whether they like it. These questions come from what KOA has disclosed. Each one carries the number it came from, so you can check the answer against the record.
- 01
KOA’s own Item 20 shows 17 of 429 franchised outlets left the system in fiscal 2025 — about 4.0%. Do you know any of those owners, and do you know why they left?
A franchisor will call these “transitions.” An owner three doors down usually knows whether they sold at a profit or handed the keys back.
FDD Item 20 · FY2025
- 02
21 units transferred to new owners in fiscal 2025. When you look at those, were they people cashing out a good business — or getting out of a bad one?
Item 20 counts transfers as neutral, but a transfer can be a good sale or a reluctant exit — the filing does not say which.
FDD Item 20 · FY2025
- 03
The system went from 486 units to 481 over 3 disclosed years. What's the explanation you've been given, and do you believe it?
A shrinking system means fewer owners funding the ad fund and support staff you're paying for.
FDD Item 20 · FY2023–FY2025
- 04
SBA loans to KOA franchisees approved 1991–2020 defaulted far less often than franchise loans made in the same years: 2 charge-offs among 93 resolved loans, where about 12 would be expected (0.2×). Did you finance with an SBA loan, and how close did your first two years come to trouble?
This is the lender's view of how these loans ended, from public federal records matched by SBA franchise code — independent of anything the franchisor discloses — compared with franchise loans made in the same years. A charge-off is a loan outcome, not proof the business closed.
SBA 7(a)/504 loan record, seasoned loans FY1991–FY2020 · 0.2× of same-vintage franchise loans
- 05
You pay 8.0% royalty on gross sales, plus the ad fund, before any of your own costs. On your actual revenue last year, what did you take home as the owner — not revenue, take-home?
Royalty is charged on sales, not profit. This is the number the brochure never shows and the one your life actually runs on.
FDD Item 6
- 06
KOA makes an earnings claim in Item 19. Does your unit look like that number — and do you know which units they included to build it?
Item 19 is legal to build from a flattering subset. Ask whether they excluded new units, closed units, or company stores.
FDD Item 19 · 2026
- 07
How many months did it take to cover your own costs, and how much cash did you burn getting there?
Ramp-to-breakeven working capital is the most underestimated line in any franchise purchase, and the most common reason otherwise-good units fail.
Not disclosed in any FDD — ask an owner
- 08
What does the franchisor charge for that you didn't expect — required tech fees, mandatory remodels, approved-supplier pricing?
Required spending appears across Items 6, 8 and 11 rather than in one place, so buyers routinely miss the total.
FDD Items 6, 8, 11
- 09
If your agreement came up for renewal tomorrow at current terms, would you sign again?
The single most predictive question you can ask. A hesitation is the answer.
Ask every owner you speak to
- 10
Who else should I call — including someone who left?
The franchisor's list is curated by definition. Former franchisees are where the unflattering truth lives, and current owners usually know how to reach them.
Ask every owner you speak to
Want this as a checklist you can take to the calls?
I'll email you the printable version, and tell you if KOA’s numbers move — a new filing, a rising exit rate, a distress signal. Unsubscribe in one click.
A broker is usually paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid only by you, never by a franchisor you're considering — and the job is pressure-testing KOA’s numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
This page is what buyers see before they call you for validation. If the record above is wrong — or right in a way the numbers can't show — say so. Franchisors: send corrections with the page reference and we will review them against the filing and update or annotate the page. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.
KOA franchise questions, answered from the filings
How many KOA franchised outlets left the system last year?
In KOA's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 17 of 429 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 4.0% — compared with a 4.8% median across 22 comparable systems (hotels & hospitality) tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons" as the franchisor reported them; it excludes transfers to new owners. The FDD does not say why each outlet left, and an exit is not the same as a failure.
How much does a KOA franchise cost?
Per KOA's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $45,000 (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $40K–$16.7M (Item 7).
What royalty does KOA charge?
KOA charges an ongoing royalty of 8.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does KOA disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — KOA makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.
How often do SBA loans for KOA franchises default?
SBA loans to KOA franchisees approved 1991–2020 defaulted far less often than franchise loans made in the same years: 2 charge-offs among 93 resolved loans, where about 12 would be expected (0.2×). All-time, 2 of 97 resolved loans since 1991 charged off (2.1%); that raw figure mixes every approval year, so we compare with same-year loans instead. A charge-off is a loan loss, not proof the business closed. Source: public SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA data.