Squeeze Massage Franchise Plans 490% Expansion Growth Empowered by Occupier
Last Updated on August 8, 2024 by Morgan Beard
Manually tracking leases in a legacy tool made it difficult for Squeeze Massage to ensure up-to-date lease data, resulting in time-consuming efforts to find and report on real estate updates.
So, Squeeze’s Director of Real Estate, Kathrina Reyes, chose Occupier’s lease management software and lease abstraction services to easily access essential lease data to inform growth decisions.
Squeeze Massage is a massage & wellness franchise that is revolutionizing the self-care industry. Founded in 2019, by the masterminds behind Drybar, Squeeze Massage is elevating the traditional massage experience with a movement they call “the feel-good revolution.”
They focus on curating a spa space that can brighten someone’s day. From spacious massage rooms to aromatherapy stations, and the use of an integrated mobile app — every design detail is guest-centric and tech-enabled.
With plans to expand from 85 to 500 locations by 2027, Squeeze Massage implemented the real estate lease management platform Occupier to help facilitate their bold growth. According to the Director of Real Estate, Kathrina Reyes, “As soon as I joined Squeeze, one of my first initiatives was to onboard Occupier. I’ve used Occupier with my last three firms, and I am a huge proponent of the system for all things lease administration and management. The value of having centralized, reportable lease data available and actionable for our franchisee operations is vital — Occupier truly makes that process so easy and seamless.”
Challenge: Inefficiency and Inaccuracy Using Legacy Tools
Squeeze Massage has an ambitious goal to open over 500 new locations in the next five years. However as they experienced rapid growth, their existing systems were unable to scale accordingly. Critical lease information was scattered across multiple platforms, resulting in disorganization and difficulty accessing up-to-date data. This fragmentation made it nearly impossible to gain a holistic view of their portfolio, impeding strategic decision-making.
Additionally, managing lease provisions became a daunting task due to the lack of visibility and tracking. Important clauses such as exclusivity provisions, co-tenancy requirements, and landlord obligations were often overlooked, leading to potential financial and operational repercussions. The complexity of handling these provisions manually added to their workload, increasing the risk of errors and non-compliance. These challenges underscored the urgent need for a more integrated and efficient lease management solution to support Squeeze Massage’s expansion strategy.
Solution: Streamlined Lease Management for Real Estate Expansion Planning
As a franchise model, Squeeze Massage leans on Occupier to equip individual franchisees with real estate management and expertise. Kathrina Reyes, the Director of Real Estate & Development, says “I manage the real estate journey of our Squeeze franchisee partners — from site selection to opening shop in conjunction with our partners at SABRE and Sevan Multi-Site Solutions. Our franchisee operators are not real estate or construction experts, so we are empowering their leasing journey with the support of Occupier for lease management.”
In order to quickly answer franchisees’ pressing lease questions around timelines, responsibilities, financials, and issues, Reyes leverages Occupier. “Real estate can be a real heartbreaker. Permitting is a wild card, construction can be a wild card, and unforeseen delays crop up during development. With Occupier, I have the ability to support our franchisee operators and answer any lease provisions or critical data questions that they may have.”
Reyes models rent, operating expenses, and construction costs to determine expansion feasibility and profitability per location. With key performance indicators anchored in inaccurate data, Squeeze can provide advisory real estate support to franchisees and strategically grow its physical footprint.
“Occupier has been fundamental to our Squeeze franchisee expansion. Our lease data is available at the click of a button! Their lease management software is exceptionally user-friendly and customizable and plays a pivotal role in assisting with our real estate decision-making. ”
Benefits of Occupier
Several key capabilities make Occupier the ideal real estate lease management partner for emerging growth brands like Squeeze Massage:
- Centralized database
- Trustworthy, up-to-date lease data
- Robust lease abstraction services
- User-friendly interface for our team and partners
- Custom reports to empower expansion planning
- Modular functionality from site selection to lease accounting
- Dedicated Occupier customer support team
“Part of what drives the Feelgood Revolution is making communities better — believing that little things are big things and these little interactions can really have this ripple effect of the greater good,” said Reyes.
With Occupier’s real estate lease management platform in place, Reyes can focus more time on Squeeze’s core mission of spreading wellness. Occupier is proud to empower the Feelgood Revolution as Squeeze Massage accelerates expansion.
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