Spread your risk : Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

The size of your catchment area, the area around your center that the majority of your customers come from, actually depends significantly on how long customers spend in your center. Research shows that customers will travel on average 30-40 minutes for an experience that will last for two to three hours. The shorter the experience lasts, the less distance customers will travel.

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The average Laser Tag experience will last 8-15 minutes, so your catchment area extends about 10-15 minutes’ drive away. To increase your catchment area, you can consider other entertainment attractions, such as bowling or mini-golf, that last around 30-40 minutes.

It’s simple. If you increase the amount of time your customers are being entertained in your center, then your catchment area will increase. By doubling the distance that customers are willing to travel to your center, you quadruple your catchment area and customer base. That’s why over the last decade, many laser tag sites have combined with other entertainment facilities to create a full family entertainment centre, with a mix of attractions and draw cards.

Some attractions which go great with Laser Tag are:

  • Bowling
    Skating parks
    Escape rooms
    3D-4D Rides
    Inflatable arenas
    Bumper Cards
    Go-Karts
    Mini Golf
    Trampoline parks
    Redemption Arcade
    Virtual Reality
    Challenge Rooms
    Party rooms

What’s that you say? That’s almost every attraction! You’re right, of course. Laser Tag is a glue attraction that works with practically any other entertainment option. It increases the revenue of other attractions, as well as creating a substantial return of its own.

Because you’re clever, you’ve also noticed we didn’t say Arcades. That’s because even though adding a few arcade machines to your laser Tag facility will return some profit, the inclusion of just 5-10 machines does not add to the drawcard of a multi-entertainment centre. However, if you go all-out with your arcade, creating a redemption arcade with 30+ games, tickets, and prizes, it will be a strong boost to the centre. Redemption arcades are the second-highest earner per m2 in a family entertainment centre. What’s the first you ask? Why Laser Tag, of course, and that’s not just us saying it!

Here are 3 Reasons why having a multiplex helps:

  • Cost advantage, they utilize shared facilities, like bathrooms, reception, party rooms, and staff.
  • Customers will be entertained for longer, which means they will travel greater distances.
  • People are more likely to go to a multi-entertainment centre as there is more to do and will travel past smaller centres to get to it.

The downside? Setting up a full family entertainment site is not for the fainthearted! The costs are much higher, and the building must be larger. Regulations will be more intense, and the time commitment much greater as well. But with risk, comes reward!