Owning 2 Seperate Haunted Attractions

[Woo25]

I'd like to hear some input / comments on expanding a haunt business to an entirely different, second location, assuming the 1st attraction is self-sustaining AND the quality of either attractions wouldn't suffer. I recognize the obvious problem - management. Let's assume that wouldn't be an issue...anyone have any experience doing this or put any thought into it?

Would 2 seperate locations work? Should they be marketed together? etc.... Thanks for the input!

[Jim Warfield]

My Opinoin?

Unless you have one haunt that cannot be expanded and a second location is the only way to get bigger, if there is a need to get bigger? Then I guess a second location would be inevitable?
From what I gather over the years is that very few successful haunts ever run themselves.
Finding someone able and willing to manage your place well and not have to be a partner is a difficult mission too, from other's experiences
During operational hours the biggest problem will probably be getting and keeping your hired help to appear and stay focused, thereby keeping your customers potentially "Happy".
The other option would be to put all efforts into one "jewel" of a haunted experience, very able to stand on it's own and sustain the income you want to see coming from it, along with the show you want to perform.
The expense of advertising two seperate businesses would be heavier and possibly confusing for some customers.
I have a great number of confused customers finally end up here and I've been in the same location for 22 years and open year-round!

[monsterwax]

That's like saying if you could control the heat without melting the container, why not make a fusion reactor that works just like the sun? The answer is, because you can't control the heat without melting the container.

Management is the main problem with running two haunts at two different locations and dwarfs all other considerations. One is crazy enough, two is maddening. I'm not saying it can't be done, but every time I've seen it tried, it caused big problems at one of the two locations (if not both).

There was a guy who tried to run our place and his old place in another town, and it was a disaster for him. It was painful to watch. Whenever he was at one place, some emergency would demand his attention at the OTHER place. I took over the next year and brought in a partner, but the 45 minute commute was a major source of stress for her as well, because that was 90 minutes wasted each day just driving there. You need your energy to concentrate on the crisis of the day, not commuting and trying to reach other employees on the phone. But that's just my opinion, feel free to ignore it.

[Rocky Mountain Terror]

There are two companies here in Denver who have multiple haunts and they seem to be very successful at doing so. One company is on the Hauntworld top 31 list and the other usually runs on average 3 to 4 haunts in different locations, and has for years. I am planning a haunt in Denver and have done extensive research on these companies. It is possible, you just need to look at turning your haunts into "turn-Key" operations. I would suggest reading the book "the E-myth." The book focuses on doing exactly what your talking about.