---
title: "Planet Fitness Said No to New Franchisees for a Decade. Here’s How This Guy Got a Yes."
url: https://burnaze.com/article/5d96b7f3-fb17-4f48-a500-abe0fa2b410b
source: "Entrepreneur Franchise"
original_url: https://www.entrepreneur.com/buying-a-franchise/planet-fitness-said-no-to-new-franchisees-for-a-decade-this-guy-got-a-yes
author: "Jon Small"
category: "Gym & HVLP"
industry: "Fitness"
segment: "Gym & HVLP"
published: 2026-09-09T13:10:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T13:17:30.278Z
image: https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/planet-fitness-0926-g-166421799.jpg
---

# Planet Fitness Said No to New Franchisees for a Decade. Here’s How This Guy Got a Yes.

**TL;DR:** Ian McClure of Gulf Coast Hotel Management has signed a development deal with Planet Fitness to open over a dozen locations, becoming the first outside franchisee to join the brand in a decade. The deal marks a change in Planet Fitness's approach, which had previously only allowed new entrants to buy existing franchises.

*By Jon Small, originally published in Entrepreneur Franchise on 2026-09-09. [Read the original](https://www.entrepreneur.com/buying-a-franchise/planet-fitness-said-no-to-new-franchisees-for-a-decade-this-guy-got-a-yes).*

## Story

For more than ten years, the only way into the Planet Fitness system was to buy an existing franchisee’s gym, the way mega-operator Flynn Group did in 2023. That changed this year.

Ian McClure, who builds hotels for a living, just did something no outside franchisee has done in over a decade. He signed a brand-new development deal with Planet Fitness instead of buying out an existing operator’s gyms, Franchise Times reports. His company, Gulf Coast Hotel Management, has 40-plus extended-stay properties across 14 states and 30 more Wyndham locations under construction in Texas, Florida and Colorado. He landed three area development deals to open more than a dozen Planet Fitness gyms on Florida’s west coast.

The buy-in isn’t cheap. A single location runs $1.3 million to $5.4 million depending on equipment financing — real money for a franchise built on $10-a-month memberships. McClure is betting hospitality know-how translates. “Planet Fitness stood out as the ideal partner,” he said, citing its “industry leadership” and “brand appeal.”

## Entities

- Fitness (sector)
- Entrepreneur (publication)
- fitness industry (topic)
- Planet Fitness (company)
- development deal (topic)
- Flynn Group (investor)
- new franchisee (topic)
- hotel management (topic)
- Jon Small (person)
- Ian McClure (person)
- Gulf Coast Hotel Management (company)

---
Originally reported by Jon Small, Entrepreneur Franchise (https://www.entrepreneur.com/buying-a-franchise/planet-fitness-said-no-to-new-franchisees-for-a-decade-this-guy-got-a-yes). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/5d96b7f3-fb17-4f48-a500-abe0fa2b410b).