escape games Tags • Regiondo https://pro.regiondo.com/blog/tag/escape-games/ Activity Booking Software Mon, 05 Jun 2023 12:10:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 How to Start an Escape Room Business: Step by Step Guide https://pro.regiondo.com/blog/escape-room-business/ Thu, 09 Jan 2020 12:03:40 +0000 https://pro.regiondo.com/?p=19116/ Starting an escape room business is hard work. There are many steps involved and pitfalls that might slow down or even stop you. As with other ventures, there’s no silver bullet to help you get it right. Still, at Regiondo we’ve seen hundreds of escape rooms launch and grow into profitable companies. In this article, we’ll […]

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Starting an escape room business is hard work.

There are many steps involved and pitfalls that might slow down or even stop you.

As with other ventures, there’s no silver bullet to help you get it right.

Still, at Regiondo we’ve seen hundreds of escape rooms launch and grow into profitable companies. In this article, we’ll present some of our key advice from working with escape room owners who made it.

Ready? Let’s go.

1. Understand your market and competitors

Research is an essential part of every startup business and we highly recommend spending enough time to collect all the necessary information prior to making major business decisions.

You need to conduct comprehensive market research to better understand both your customers and competitors. Collect up to date facts and figures about the local market and audience.

Since you will need a constant stream of different visitors, think about the interests of people based in your area, as well as the relevant demographic factors like age, education level, and occupation.

2. Define your business concept

Be as specific as you can in clarifying your business ideas and goals. Think about your expectations and what you are willing to sacrifice in order to achieve them!

Ask yourself simple questions like

  • Who is your escape room suitable for?
  • How does it engage both new and returning visitors?
  • What would be different and unique about it?
  • Where would be the ideal location for it?
  • How would you market it? Will you require a booking software for escape rooms?

Knowing the answers to all of the above will facilitate the business planning process. Moreover, it will help you shape a clear concept that will be the starting point for many of your future decisions.

3. Create a detailed business plan

“Plans are worthless, but planning is essential.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Being aware of your current priorities and long-term objectives is essential for any startup company. And putting together a detailed business plan will provide a systematic approach to achieving your goals.

Below, we’ve listed some of the key points to include:

  • Company description: business name, description, and location.
  • Market analysis: demand, supply, and competition.
  • Goals and objectives: what are you aiming to achieve in the long run?
  • Sales strategy: how are you planning to achieve the above?
  • Services offered: how many games are you planning to launch? What packages and types of games will be available?
  • Products to sell: will you be selling add-ons like photographs of the participants, promotional T-Shirts, mugs, keychains, etc.?
  • Values and mission: what will be your priorities as an entrepreneur? What kind of reputation will you be building?
  • Budget breakdown and financial projections.
  • Marketing plan: how will you meet the needs of your market?

One crucial point here is distribution. How are you going to reach your potential customers? One of the best ways to get early revenue is through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Viator and GetYourGuide. Check out our guide on OTAs learn more:

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4. Secure financing

Starting a new business often requires a solid financial base. Premises, equipment, advertising all need to be considered and funded from the very beginning. Don’t forget about any legal and administration fees that are a must.

Consider securing a sufficient budget that can easily cover the range of potential costs you might incur. In case you are unable to save the money yourself, it might be a good idea to apply for financing. Remember that having a solid business plan and well-grounded financial projections will be a compulsory part of your application.

Since having an accommodating venue with the potential to expand is one of the main expenses associated with opening a new escape room, owning an appropriate space will dramatically decrease your costs.

Wondering what is the cost of starting an escape room business? Research indicates the average costs for starting a single room are between 7,000 EUR  – 30,000 EUR, with some businesses spending over 150,000 EUR.

An escape room franchise can cost anywhere between 3,000 EUR 150,000 EUR. The price is mainly based on brand success and additional rights and features that come with it. Only about 5% of the escape rooms are franchisees.

5. Choose a suitable venue

Finding the right space for your escape room follows immediately after securing a budget. In addition to being practical and convenient, it needs to be located in a good area.

Among the major factors that constitute a good business location are:

  • accessibility and foot traffic
  • security and crime rate
  • competition
  • business rates and rental costs (also license fees if relevant)
  • potential for growth and expansion

Take them into account when choosing a venue for your escape room. Also, don’t forget to consider the physical characteristics of the space like room size, access to water and electricity, fire exits and assembly points, office and admin area, overall planning, etc.

Of course, always use your particular requirements as a starting point of the above list! This will allow you to add valuable points that matter for the success of your business.

6. Develop exciting themes and narratives

Think of creative escape room themes and narratives to offer your customers. Articulate the ideas as clearly as you can and then expand them if needed.

Figure out which themes would be relevant considering the audience in your local environment. See what your competitors do and try to be unique and different. Instead of copying their practices, offer something innovative that exceeds the expectations!

If you need some inspiration, you can check out this list with 10 escape room theme ideas.

7. Build a marketing strategy and start promoting

Once everything is in place, create a detailed marketing strategy that involves articulation and expansion of ideas and a clear plan for action. Stick to the budget restrictions you’ve already set up, and use the findings collected from the competitor research.

One of the best approaches to adopt as a startup business is utilizing promotion and marketing that are either free of charge or come at a cheap cost.

Here are some ideas you can start with:

  • List your business on Google My Business
  • Create a compelling blog
  • Use the power of positive feedback and share existing testimonials to attract more visitors
  • Share exciting footage on social media featuring participants, promotions, games, etc.
  • Sell exciting branded products and make extra profit

If you need some extra guidance, check out the top 10 escape room marketing ideas to boost your business.

8. Collect and use customer feedback

The importance of customer reviews is undoubted. We suggest considering effective methods for generating reviews from the very beginning of your business activity.

For example, invite a few people to do a test run before you launch and take note of their experience. Were the riddles too hard/easy? Did people have everything they need to succeed? Is your staff well prepared and presented?

Incorporate a review collection system and approach customers personally to ask for their feedback. This will positively affect both your sales and marketing.

You can also share testimonials in future email campaigns, your website, and even print materials. They are a valuable addition to any marketing channel so try to collect some feedback as soon as you can.

9. Take care of any legal requirements

The boring stuff is always part of the business so don’t postpone it forever. Get your business authorized and obtain all the required licenses on time (if you haven’t already). Put together terms and conditions, as well as a privacy policy that can be clearly stated on your website.

Pay special attention to any safety requirements in your country since the industry is now tightly regulated.

Create a space that not only engages customers with exciting games but also protects them properly at all times. Don’t be negligent because a potential accident will ruin more than just your business.

10. Keep up with industry news and trends

Despite the ever-increasing competition, the escape room industry is still growing in terms of revenue. However, the market is always changing and so are your possibilities!

That’s why you need to stay in tune with the trends and be open to any major shifts.

To get started, have a read through these 5 trends in the escape room industry.

Conclusion

Although their name suggests otherwise, escape rooms have become much more than a game. They are among the most exciting social activities people can enjoy nowadays.

And while it can be hard, starting an escape room business will definitely be a positive experience for those who face it well prepared.

Take your time to consider each of the points above and maximize your chances of success in 2020.

This post is part of our series about starting and growing an escape game business. You can find the rest of the articles below: 

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10 Escape Room Theme Ideas to Inspire Your Next Business Move https://pro.regiondo.com/blog/escape-room-theme-ideas/ Thu, 12 Sep 2019 12:26:29 +0000 https://pro.regiondo.com/?p=18241/ Escape rooms are a great way to make the most of our free time. They give us a break from technology and the chance to spend some quality time with friends and loved ones. Since they aim to create an experience full of excitement and fun, a good concept is crucial. To establish a successful […]

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Escape rooms are a great way to make the most of our free time. They give us a break from technology and the chance to spend some quality time with friends and loved ones. Since they aim to create an experience full of excitement and fun, a good concept is crucial.

To establish a successful long-lasting escape room business, your game should be challenging, unique, and entertaining!  In this article, we share 10 escape room theme ideas to inspire your next business move. Go ahead and be the first one to take one of our awesome suggestions and craft them into something your customers will absolutely love.

Chernobyl: Nuclear Disaster

The miniseries received the highest ever score for a TV show on the film website IMDB. Use it as a source of inspiration for the sets and challenges of your escape game. Players are locked in the control room buried in the heart of the nuclear reactor No. 4. Give them 60 minutes to prevent a nuclear disaster. They need to follow the instructions and do some maths to stop the nuclear experiment before it’s too late. A sudden power cut and loud alarm sounds could take the challenge to the next level.

(© https://xcapebranson.com/)

60 Minutes to Freedom: Jailbreak

Jailbreak is a typical escape game scenario, which could be developed in various directions. We suggest something players definitely won’t expect. Before you let them play as a group, lock ‘prisoners’ in separate cells they need to exit first. To make matters even worse add ropes and chains.

Some individual skills will be required here as they can hardly communicate with each other throughout the thick walls. Moreover, help from outside is not allowed. You can give freedom to your imagination and make things a bit creepy with abandoned-look sets, spider webs, fake rats and insects.

Classic Puzzle Ideas

Go for the classics and create a truly amazing experience for your players with a real puzzle escape game. Use unusual places to hide each piece and leave a map of clues that leads to them. In this game players haven’t got the picture, it is only shown to one of them prior to beginning. The completed puzzle will open up a box containing the key. Yet that won’t be the final challenge, as the players will be required to work together and find the hidden door.

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Sensory Room: the Blind, the Mute, the Deaf

Inspired by a classical riddle

There were three men. One was deaf, the other was blind and the third was mute. One day the deaf man kissed the blind man’s wife. The mute man saw this and he wants to tell it to the blind man, but he cannot speak. So how does the mute man explain the situation to the blind man.”

Get inspiration from the above riddle. Take one sense of each player and make them solve a mystery by only using their remaining senses. They will be required to find alternative ways to interact with each other in order to pass important messages. This game is only suitable for teams of 3 but at the same time great for team building as develops communication skills

Alice in Wonderland

Step into the magical world of fairy tales with an Alice in Wonderland inspired labyrinth. Break the classical maze style with sensory mirrors, colors, and unique lighting. Use typical objects with unusual shapes and sizes, positioned upside down.

Create a beautiful optical illusion space where each of the objects contains clues, some of which confusing rather helpful. Players must find the Queen of Hearts and rescue her, for which they need to reed mysterious messages and collect magical items. Use color and sound, dress players in funny costumes, hang backward clocks, the only limit is your imagination!

 

Pyramid Tomb

In this scenario, groups are locked in a tomb with many doors and many routes. The first key that they find will define the further route. They are surrounded by walls covered in ancient symbols and drawings. Players need to find clues that will help them translate all the messages and maps leading to the hidden keys. Each key will open another door but they only have 60 minutes to make it to the exit.

To make this game even more challenging, you can place teams in different rooms of the tomb. Hide the keys in one and the messages in another, thus requiring players in separate rooms to work together.

Murder on the Orient Express

A murder mystery is a great brain exercise for all ages and Murder on the Orient Express is one of the best ones ever! Build a luxury train setting where all players are seated in the carriage. Give them a bunch of evidence to track and investigate. Groups must use logical reasoning and maths to find the name of the murderer that is the only way to let themselves out. Following the original story, you can include some faulty clues that will make things confusing and challenge the 60 minutes time limit.

Save The Plane

The team is traveling on a plane when they are informed that there is a bomb on board. It is about to explode in 60 minutes and that’s how much they’ve got to find out the name of the person who left it there. They need to carefully investigate the past of each passenger to find the necessary answers and prevent the fatal accident. They will then have to navigate their way through the cabin to find the bomb and disable it before the plane is on fire.

Gold Hunt

In this room, players will be transported to a tropical island to steal a buried treasure. They only have one hour to discover all encrypted messages hidden around the green plants and coconut trees. Players need to find all trails and maps leading to the treasure chest but need to do it soon as someone else is seeking it too. To win the game, the team must find both the clues and the chest.

Classroom Game

Create a classroom themed game for the youngest visitors. Build the game around their usual educational activities like reading, calculating, and drawing. Include exciting logical riddles and puzzles that involve their favorite superheroes. To make the experience engaging and interesting for everyone, build colorful, magical sets featuring famous story characters and creatures.

Conclusion

No matter which theme you choose, remember to stick to it. Use your imagination to organize all decorations and sets around the concept. Think of challenging tasks to take players outside of their comfort zone. Give groups iPads to keep track of time and take group photos to share on social media. Use unique scents and themed music. Make it a game that is FUN after all!

This post is part of our series about starting and growing an escape game business. You can find the rest of the articles below: 

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The post 10 Escape Room Theme Ideas to Inspire Your Next Business Move appeared first on Regiondo.

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Top 10 Escape Room Marketing Ideas to Boost Your Business https://pro.regiondo.com/blog/escape-room-marketing-ideas/ Tue, 27 Aug 2019 14:03:55 +0000 https://pro.regiondo.com/?p=18002/ Escape room owners put a tremendous amount of effort to make their ideas a reality. They spend months planning compelling games and building interactive spaces for many people to enjoy. However, many rooms work below capacity due to failing to attract enough customers. This article is aimed to provide some of the best marketing ideas […]

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Escape room owners put a tremendous amount of effort to make their ideas a reality. They spend months planning compelling games and building interactive spaces for many people to enjoy. However, many rooms work below capacity due to failing to attract enough customers.

This article is aimed to provide some of the best marketing ideas that will help you boost your escape room business. Implementing them will instantly increase your chances of standing out from the crowd. Our tips will not only help you rival the competitors and local franchises but will also improve your brand vision, both online and offline. Have a read through and add them to your to-do list!

Google My Business

Google is a significant part of every business, especially the small or startup businesses that are mainly aimed at the local audience. An optimized Google My Business listing is what will make a difference and let people know that you are out there.

Users can scroll through the panel and see a summary of everything important about your business. From photos and videos to customers’ feedback and opening times, you are allowed to display all that matters to create a good first impression. You will even be able to list upcoming events and link to your bookings page at no extra cost!

So don’t waste more time and try to get the maximum of Web Extensions to help your customers land on the right page on your website. Use Call Extensions to increase the number of calls you receive and Maps to promote your location.

Google is the best tool to make your business visible and easy to find so add working on your listing to your top priorities.

Did you know your customers can now book tours directly from Google search results? Read more about Reserve with Google and connecting it with Regiondo.

Online Advertising

Once you’ve established your company and worked on your presence on Google, you will need to start building some brand awareness. If you are just at the beginning of your journey as an escape room owner, the online advertising platforms come in quite handy.

Promotion with Google Ads and Social Media Ads is a great way to begin. You can easily create your first campaigns and track their performance at any time. The full control you have over every aspect of your Ads will let you do some flash sales and gain a better understanding of your audience.

You can even consider Linkedin Ads to promote some games suitable for team buildings. As we discussed in our last article, escape games require us to practice teamwork and problem-solving which makes them perfect for all types of corporate events.

Learn more about getting free advertising for your business here.

Create a Compelling Blog

Everyone has heard about Escape Rooms, but just a few people know what they are all about. Starting a blog that educates and intrigues new people is a great idea. You will have the freedom to cover all topics that you want in a way that puts you at the forefront.

Collaborate with guest bloggers based in your area. They will talk about the experience to a broader audience which will help you build brand awareness. You can offer them some free visits in return. This way you will promote your brand without revealing or spending too much and also establish some good relationships that might be useful in the future.

Learn more about using content marketing in the leisure industry.

The Power of Positive Feedback

Nowadays it’s all about building customer trust and loyalty. We don’t go to a new company or place easily. It all begins with hours of research and carefully read through consumer reviews websites.

If you are looking to become one of the key players in your area, then start working towards collecting more feedback straight away. A bunch of 5-star ratings always pays off so don’t be doubtful about it.

Use every possibility to approach customers after their visit and want to know about their experience. Engage with their problems and always respond to negative comments. Apologize and sympathize with them to demonstrate your customer-oriented approach and excellent service.

Did you know you can connect Regiondo with Review Express to collect more reviews automatically? Every time a customer buys through your Regiondo shop, they will get an email from TripAdvisor to leave a review. Learn more in this article.

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Vouchers & Deals

Offer discounts, free mini-games, and gift cards. It is not about the before and after price, but the deal itself. Modern people are so into getting the best possible price and saving on everything. Just be careful with discounts as you might not fulfill your spaces profitably. Define booking limits and set a cap.

Allow a few months before you start to actively make offers. We advise this as you will need some data to accurately estimate how many spaces you can ‘afford’ to sell for less. Create corporate bookings and group discounts for all teambuilding events and make sure to promote them. Selling vouchers on your website and third-party platforms is the perfect way to fill rooms during low-demand times and periods.

Share Exciting Footage on Social Media

Create engaging video content to give a glimpse into the exciting world of your game. Use a professional photographer & videographer to capture the best moments and share them in the most visually engaging way.

Encourage shares with giveaways and contests that you regularly organize on your online channels. As we already mentioned, Social Media Ads are very powerful when it comes to building brand awareness too! So make the most of them by promoting your best posts.

Your presence on social media will demonstrate that you are engaged with the customers’ experience and want to keep it constantly great and exciting.

Build a Functional Website

Create a website with a built-in booking system for escape rooms that reflects the experience you offer and is easy to use. Websites remain one of the most effective ways to get more bookings and track how you are performing. That is the foundation of your business and the place where everyone would land through all other marketing channels. And creating website from scratch is easy with easy-to-use website builders.

Google, brochures or social media adverts will all take potential customers to your website so it needs to be effective. Consider your audience to create a website that will satisfy their expectations. Make it user-friendly and call-to-action based. Navigate visitors through your brand values and escape room theme to make them intrigued.

Learn about website best practices for tour and activity companies.

Use Data Wisely

The more time you run a website, the more data you have for good analysis. So track web visitors and leads, and don’t let them go! You can easily define which days, months, and times of the year are more successful and create a custom marketing strategy for those.

data

Build remarketing and email marketing campaigns. Send customers an email before their visit to prepare them with some tips. Also, get in touch straight after the game to make sure they enjoyed themselves. Highlight their best moments with pictures and videos that you send them when asking for feedbacks or social share.

Learn more about using data to make better decisions.

Branded Products

Designate budget and area in your venue where you can sell branded items. Design personalized products with your logo on them. Give some of them as a gift for a certain spend. It is a great idea to take pictures of all players and offer them printed on mugs, T-shirts, keyrings etc.

This will require some professional equipment but the investment is definitely worthwhile. Don’t forget that having your logo on all items you sell is a free promotion that will be a great boost for your brand name.

Build Business Relationships

Start collaborating with local Tourism and Leisure companies. This is a win-win strategy for promotion that you will find quite useful in the long run. It is not much of a hassle to display some flyers or brochures at your reception desk to promote other businesses in the area.

They will do the same for you and help you gain the customers’ trust. This is quite a good strategy as it would promote you directly to audiences already interested in local tourism activities and events.

Conclusion

A good marketing strategy is crucial for the success of every business nowadays. Escape rooms are no exception to this rule. To make your business grow and build relationships with customers requires more than a great experience and outstanding props.

Think outside of the box and find your way to stand out from the crowd. Adopt the strategies for success that will popularize your escape room business and stick to your values. Lastly, always spend time on researching what other similar businesses do and don’t be afraid to experiment with new marketing techniques.

This post is part of our series about starting and growing an escape game business. You can find the rest of the articles below: 

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5 Trends in the Escape Room Industry and How to Make the Most of Them https://pro.regiondo.com/blog/escape-room-industry-trends/ Tue, 30 Jul 2019 13:44:02 +0000 https://pro.regiondo.com/?p=17334/ Escape games are suitable for people of all ages and genders. They give the unique opportunity of practicing teamwork and problem-solving which makes them perfect for corporate or team building events too. And while playing the escape game is an immersive and fun experience, the actual process of running an escape room business requires a […]

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Escape games are suitable for people of all ages and genders. They give the unique opportunity of practicing teamwork and problem-solving which makes them perfect for corporate or team building events too.

And while playing the escape game is an immersive and fun experience, the actual process of running an escape room business requires a lot of hard work and attention, too. In order to remain competitive, it’s important to stay on top of industry developments.

Here’s a look at 5 escape room industry trends to keep in mind and how to make the most of them.

This post is part of our series about starting and growing an escape game business. You can find the rest of the articles below: 

1. The market is still growing

Since the first escape room opened doors in 2007, the industry has grown to reach people from all over the world. According to recent data, there are over 3,000 escape games in Europe and around 14,000 worldwide.

And while nothing goes up in a straight line forever, the escape room market is still on the rise. According to the State of the Escape Room Industry Report 2018, 59% of escape room owners reported having plans to expand within the next year.

Also, almost 7 in 10 respondents (68.33%) said that they will add at least one more room to their current location. This not only indicates that many owners feel that the popularity of Escape Rooms continues to rise but also shows that the supply has yet to overwhelm the demand.

The industry is still very profitable and entrepreneurs report that the cost of launching their first venue pays off within a year.

2. Higher competition

Escape games took off but the market is getting more stabilized and mature rather than growing exponentially. We all know how every flourishing industry attracts a number of entrepreneurs to invest in. Escape rooms are not an exception.

In some cities, especially capitals, the amount of rooms is getting very high, which makes this market more and more competitive. In general, it is now more difficult to launch new ones, but also to grow and maintain existing games.

The competition is rising and so are people’s expectations. The July 2018 Escape Room Industry Growth Study finds a substantial increase in the number of room closures in the USA last year.

The main issues we can outline are:

Price competitiveness

The more competition you have, the more your pricing usually goes down. However, making a lower quality room to decrease your price is not always the solution to differentiate your business from your competitors.

As some escape room owners say, it’s occasionally required to increase the price in order to benefit from higher margins and compensate for the decrease in bookings due to competition.

The pricing elasticity in this sector is quite important and interesting. You won’t necessarily choose a room in Paris because it’s €10 cheaper, you will be more appealed by the theme, availability, and reviews. Plus, higher pricing can have a „higher-quality“ cognitive effect on your customers.

Marketing expenses

More games around you also mean growing customer acquisition costs. You need to reinforce your marketing and make sure you meet the demands. You can see this mainly when it comes to the cost per click from Google Ads campaigns.

For some keywords such as Escape game + name of your city, you probably saw a cost increase compared to 2-3 years ago.

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3. Saturated Market

The traditional escape game is no longer a novelty and everyone requires high-quality sets, props, and technology. People want a real challenge and an engaging experience like no other. Below are some ideas that will help you differentiate in a saturated market.

Be more innovative:
Spice your experience up and diversify your offer. Some escape game owners are opening VR games, mobile and outdoor games. Since the escape game is a one-time-thing, it becomes important to release new themes and activities on a regular basis.

Best quality is not the key:
Don’t get me wrong – you must create a “wow” effect and make your customers happy. However, it doesn’t mean you need to increase significantly your investment by creating high-class rooms.

Customers will remember how you treated them, how friendly you were, and generally the theme and puzzles they went through – not that the decoration was pure marble.

New Channel Development:
The Escape game industry was the victim of its success. The concept was trendy, everyone wanted to try it and everyone was talking about it. Therefore Escape room owners stayed in their comfort zone and focused on only one channel – B2C.

To be more precise, the main and unique revenue stream for some of the providers was direct end-consumer sales with a strong online share.

However, given the maturity of the market and the reduced “new-trend” effect, it’s required to innovate also commercially speaking and develop new channels like Business-to-Business (team building, corporate retreats, etc.).

B2B can also be online thanks to all e-commerce marketplaces dedicated to leisure activities and new ones even specialized in Escape games.

Movie-inspired escape rooms:
More and more theme inspired rooms open, all of them providing innovative activities aimed at particular audiences.

From Harry Potter, Lost and Prison Break, to Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, escape rooms take the excitement to the next level by letting ordinary people experience the characters’ challenge first hand.

Creating a movie-inspired room seems to be a great way to be different and guarantees a high level of engagement. By giving a new life to some of the all-time favorite stories and characters you can accommodate a large subset of customers.

According to The Top Escape Rooms Project, researching escape games all over the world, the majority of the most successful venues are inspired by some horror movie motives.

So if you want a proven formula for doing well in the escape room business, choose a great movie and build a concept around it, making sure to check with the copyright holders to avoid infringement.

4. Big focus on safety

We see more and more escape rooms prioritizing health and safety to prevent accidents and comply with government regulations.

There are various ways in which escape rooms can be made safer. For example, installing panic buttons and fire alarm systems (if you haven’t already) is a good first step.

So make sure to check with your local authorities about all the safety requirements to avoid fines and potential accidents.

5. Increasing reliance on online bookings

Offering the most unique experience out there is definitely not enough. The 2018 Escape Room Industry Report found abundant evidence indicating the crucial impact of an escape room’s website.

According to the results, more than two-thirds of escape room reservations came in from the business website. Having a responsive website with a built-in booking system for escape rooms that offers a custom and user-friendly  experience is a great way to make a difference. Our two tips for success are:

1) Improve Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO):
SEO will be more than ever the best long-term investment for an escape game.  So pay attention to your site structure and don’t hesitate to hire a good Freelancer or Consultant to help you out. Furthermore, read, read, and read; keep yourself updated about new algorithm changes from Google and adjust as needed.

Free SEO grader

2) Work Hard on Your Brand:
One of the most important things for your success is to develop a great and memorable brand. You should make sure to create awareness of who you are. This is why reviews are not solely important for SEO, but also to streamline a good word of mouth effect.

Same with blog articles. An excellent best practice is to ask bloggers that you would consider as influencers to invite them for free to play your games. In exchange, they can write about your experience and hopefully in a good manner. It can be an important source of traffic and an affordable marketing channel that makes your brand well-known.

Don’t forget to register your business on social networks and launch campaigns on Google Ads, so your offers are both easy to book and easy to find!

Conclusion

Escape games are now a big part of the leisure market – and a very profitable one.

If you want to remain competitive in the escape room industry, it’s important to stay on top of the latest trends and market developments.

While the market is still on the rise, competition is getting tougher and you need to work extra hard in order to gain an advantage in the eyes of your customers.

Given its growing popularity, innovation needs to play a good role in terms of product development like VR integration, mobile escape rooms or outdoor ones, as well as developing new sales channels in the B2B space.

Many rooms find success by theming their experience using movie concepts. This is a good way to differentiate, provided you have consent from the copyright holders.

In addition, there’s a growing concern about safety when it comes to escape rooms and it’s important to comply with your local regulations to prevent accidents and avoid hefty fines.

Lastly, as most escape room bookings are now made online, it’s crucial to have a great buying experience on your website and other online sales channels.

The post 5 Trends in the Escape Room Industry and How to Make the Most of Them appeared first on Regiondo.

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