Friday Programs

The pet care businesses winning in 2026 are not necessarily the busiest—they are the ones with the strongest operating systems. In this session, Alyson will break down the five operational levers that most directly impact profitability in boarding and daycare businesses: labor efficiency, occupancy/capacity management, pricing structure, add-on attachment, and client retention, and also identify the most common “profit leaks” inside a pet resort operation. The session will also explore how stronger operators structure their offers, staffing, and customer experience differently—not just to grow revenue, but to keep more of it.

Enrichment is everywhere—but operationalized enrichment is rare. In this focused session, Amber will break down why enrichment so often creates more chaos than calm and what it actually takes to make it work in real facilities. You’ll learn the four-step C.A.L.M. process Amber pioneered to increase revenues, manage dog and staff needs, and create a seamless integration into daily operations. Attendees will leave with clarity, practical frameworks, and next steps you can implement immediately.

Many pet resort owners assume profitability is the sole driver of business valuation, but it isn't. This session reveals the true metrics and factors that professional buyers and private equity groups actually consider when valuing a business. Craig will break down the key metrics that move the needle on sale price and provide a blueprint with practical steps for owners to maximize their sale outcome—regardless of when they plan to sell. Attendees can also bring their business sale-related questions!

In 2027, knowing where your customers come from matters more than ever. Join Juls for a plain-English look at digital marketing for pet resorts. Attendees will learn who your ideal customers are, how they're finding you online, and whether your marketing dollars are going to the right places. Juls will break down the customer journey, paid media, and ROAS (return on ad spend) into practical steps you can use whether you're newly opened or well established. No jargon, just clear takeaways you can put to work right away.

Your team is your greatest asset, and your biggest competitive advantage. In this session, attendees will learn practical, high-impact ways to invest in your staff that improve performance, strengthen culture, and increase long-term retention. Ellen will explore how intentional leadership and meaningful accountability create engaged employees who stay and grow with your business. Whether you're leading a single facility or multiple locations, you'll leave with actionable strategies to build a stronger team, reduce turnover, and create a workplace where both people and pets thrive. Invest in your staff, and they'll invest in your business

In the dog daycare environment, gate control isn’t just about opening and closing doors—it’s the foundation of safety and efficiency. Join Eve as she shares tactical strategies for mastering gate transitions, minimizing chaos, and preventing injuries. Learn how to train your team to anticipate and react to behavior, read the room, and manage gates like pros—so your facility runs smoother and your dogs stay safer.

Pricing in pet care is moving, and the old rules of thumb are starting to show their age. This session starts with a big-picture look at what has changed across the industry since last year, then zooms into the aggregate patterns we’re currently seeing, from booking behavior and service mix to add-ons, timing, and demand. Drew will also share where operators may be leaving revenue on the table, which trends are actually worth paying attention to, and how to use the signals inside your own business to decide when to raise prices, when to hold steady, and how to make pricing changes without creating unnecessary friction with customers.

Should you own the roof or rent the run? This seminar cuts through the confusion to help pet care entrepreneurs make one of the most consequential financial decisions of their careers. Through real-world scenarios, Ola will weigh the pros and cons of having a landlord versus the risks and rewards of real estate ownership. Attendees will learn critical due-diligence steps for business acquisitions, how to evaluate lease terms that protect their operations, and the hidden costs of property ownership. Walk away with a clear framework to decide which model aligns with your capital, risk tolerance, and long-term growth goals.

Pet care profitability isn't about headcount—it's about operational systems. This session reveals how one three-location boarding and daycare operation executed a ground-up turnaround by implementing standard work, documented procedures, consistent staff training, and a structured enrichment calendar that cycles dogs through activity and rest. By eliminating the chaos of unmanaged open play and replacing it with thoughtful operational design, the business reduced dog fights and vet visits while increasing dog-to-handler ratios. Learn how this operational approach delivered measurable cost savings, happier animals, and revenue growth.

Join Mallory in evaluating new dogs in this fast-paced, interactive session designed for daycare and boarding professionals. Through real evaluation footage, live polling, and case-based discussions, attendees will take on the role of the evaluator, assessing dogs in real time and deciding whether to pass, fail, or proceed with caution. As additional information and outcomes are revealed, attendees will identify the factors that influence evaluations, common red flags, management considerations, and the reality that there is rarely a simple yes-or-no answer. This session will challenge assumptions, spark discussion, and provide practical takeaways attendees can immediately apply to their own evaluation process.

The worst thing you can do is leave the expo with a head full of inspiration and a notebook full of ideas only to get swallowed up by the day-to-day reality of running your facility. But ideas don't increase the value of your business. Assets do. In this fast-paced Golden Hour session, Dom introduces Future Bank—a practical framework for identifying the ideas that deserve your time, money, and attention when you get home. You'll discover the 7 Profit-Producing Assets every modern pet business should be building, how to filter the noise from the gold, and how to get the biggest possible return on every dollar and every hour you've invested in this year's expo.

Every week, local dog owners search for boarding and daycare, and most of them book one of the first few names they see. This session is about being one of those names. Austin and David will start with the basics: what a search result actually contains, what each part of it is for, and where people really click. From there, they will focus on the one area where an independent facility has the advantage—and what to do about it this week. You'll leave knowing how improve your Google Business Profile and your reviews, and with a checklist you can run when you get home.