How far do we go?

[spookhaven]

So what is "industry standard" on when another haunt owner/cast want to visit your haunt. Do you give a courtesy discount to another haunt owner? I thought this was the case, but found some do not lend this. I am not talking about all these people claiming to be review sites, press, etc. I am talking about actually haunt groups.

[screamforadream]

It depends on your relationship with them, I would rather welcome all the haunt owners in the world to come for free before during and after we are open, it's always better to establish positive connections than burn bridges. Haunts shouldn't be so cut throat, we are all DYING to turn a profit in only ONE month, if anyone looses even just one day it could be DEVASTATING. The nature of the business includes unnecessary amounts of drama, accusations, and other nonsense, if we stopped worrying about people copying others ideas, or stealing volunteers, we could focus on having fun, working TOGETHER and making everyone get a piece of the pie.

Each customer who enjoys haunts will most likely try to visit most area haunts anyway, why not buddy up and cross promote/advertise?? It's a win/win! Looks good in the public eye, gets more customers for both businesses, and everyone leaves with a smile.

With that said, don't go sticking your neck out for people who have really done you wrong in the past or have mal-intentions. There is a line between professional courtesy and getting taken advantage of. Haunts should support each other, so designate a night/time for your haunt and other interested haunts to be open for you guys, come up with either a mutual discounted rate or just don't charge each other and go through as a group. Make sure everyone in your crew knows it has to be that time, because actors can stir up issues by taking a night off to go with friends to another haunt and asking for a discount just because they work at your place, set guidelines and stick to them.

[Mike Goff]

Well said Bobby

I agree with Bobby... again


As for us, If the owner or manager of the haunt, is present, they always go for free. I give them as much VIP treatment as possible and enjoy showing off my creations. I don't expect this in return, but I always remember when somone treats me in this way. As I look back over the years, there are a few people who really stand out. The guys from Netherworld, Niles, Factory of Terror, Brett Molitor, and Rodney, all of you guys rock. There are really too many to list, but each of them made an impression on me that I will not soon forget. In many of these cases, I have made good friends and have learned more than a few things from them. People of this caliber are the reason why I always, ALWAYS roll out the red carpet for another haunter.

I could also name a few that made the exact opposite impression, even after I paid what was far too much for what we were getting, but I'll stop there.

Open invitation, If you are a haunter, and are in the neighborhood, stop by anytime, my treat. Even if there is snow on the ground, I'll walk you through.

[naberhoodhaunts]

i agree with bobby too.

Well spoken Bobby, this past year a group from a haunted trail about a hour away came by. I did not charge them to go through the haunt. There were nine of them. After they came out they handed me Forty bucks and said they had so much fun. And thanked me for letting them all go through it. That really made my night... If any of the haunts from around me want to go through it. i would not charge them. I could use all the feed back from fellow haunters. We look at things that the normal customer would not.

[spookhaven]

Very interesting. We had an awesome experience at Shocktoberfest this year. Pat was great and my crew had an awesome time. Can't say that for a few other "well known" haunts. We were treated like shit even before we stepped out of the vehicle at one. If I hadn't driven over 4 hrs, I would have given them our money.

I am really feeling exactly what Bobby said myself. I am about helping eachother with education and not hiding things. As little drama as possible between the people that manager/own haunts. I think we need to be sharing a lot more than we are. That includes visits to other haunts. We always shut down and the first week in November find a haunt to take our crew to. It is an awesome learning experience for all. I think we need more of that. Kinda why I am asking.

Hoping someday we will be in a position to have visitors to our new place.

[screamforadream]

Wow! Thanks guys lol

Free walk throughs at our place when we move back in! Haha.

[SCfearfarm]

We did that this year too....

I talked to the owners of 3 other haunts in our area and they said that our workers could come to their haunts free and we would let theirs come to ours free, however....we were all open on the same nights and none of us really got to take advantage of it. haha BUT....one guy did come with a t-shirt on and said he was from "xyz" haunt and I let him in free and come to find out he just did some work on their website and they gave him a shirt. haha So, next year I still definately want to let them in free because we are all friends.....but I'm just going to give a few free tickets to each haunt owner? Most owners are so busy during the season that we dont get a chance to go to others, but it is still a good gesture. I know we only got to go to ones that were open the first week in Nov. like Netherworld etc. but my theory is that if you call or email a day or so before you come I will be glad to let the other haunt guys in free, but just because you're wearing a t-shirt does not get you in free when you arrive at the ticket booth! hahaha lesson learned!

[Bradenton Haunted Trail]

other owners

I will always let other owners go through my haunts for free and give them the royal treatment. If they feel that it was worth coming to my haunt during the season to check me out I take that as a compliment. I love to talk shop and always welcome others opinions. As far as other workers if they are with the owner or the owner calls, then yes they can go in free. But if they just show up and say hey I work for _____ Haunt then sorry no dice. I have had a kids that worked for another Haunt come to mine and I know that a had a much larger and better show than there's and on the way out they where yelling that my haunt sucks and everyone should go to Bla Bla Bla. But that is what happens when you let teenagers in for free. Ohh by the way I knew the owner of that Haunt and he said he fired them when I called him the next day.

Shawn
http://www.twistedwoods.com

[Jim Warfield]

Here's a Question (or 2?)

Having just read the previous posts it all sounds well , and good... but, how would you all feel about doing free tours if you were open every night of the year (so they would be coming to see you) and , of course they were only open during busy October, making it impossible to ever see theirs?
How would you all feel if you were the one taking them through your haunt and the normal tour is from a min. of 60 to possibly 90 minutes of your time, constantly narrating their tour, running up and down over seven physical levels coveing 5,000 sq feet traveling 3/4 of a mile in the process.
I had a person telling me that I should rent floorspace at Transworld ( then in The Rosemont) to get busloads of haunters to my house, but that because they were all in a haunter's organization, I should allow them to see my house for free!
I would have done this but that same weekend I was riding naked in the top of the double-decker buss through downtown Chicago, throwing bushel baskets of U.S, currentcy to people standing on the streetcorner.
Maybe I'm just an old cranky bastard?
( who likes to ride naked in double-decker busses)

[freak 'n' stein]

We have always kept a rapport with local haunts...those who have come and gone. This past season, a more local venue opened and we met the owners at Transworld and they came to visit us on our dress rehearsals due to the fact they couldn't make it during the season. We however, got to visit them during operation since they were open on Thursdays. An AMAZING show. I must say, the ability to trade opportunities to visit each others shows is great! I can also say Ben and Shane are awesome about this too. I agree, if everyone wasn't always so cut-throat and actually took the time to establish relationships then the haunt community could be that much greater. Simply because you bring a hoodie, shirt or any other bit of swag doesn't necessarily warrant an open invitation, but if you create relationships via the forum, facebook groups, tradeshows, email, etc. then I feel it should be tit for tat.

[Mike Goff]

Here 's an answer

Having just read the previous posts it all sounds well , and good... but, how would you all feel about doing free tours if you were open every night of the year (so they would be coming to see you) and , of course they were only open during busy October, making it impossible to ever see theirs?
How would you all feel if you were the one taking them through your haunt and the normal tour is from a min. of 60 to possibly 90 minutes of your time, constantly narrating their tour, running up and down over seven physical levels coveing 5,000 sq feet traveling 3/4 of a mile in the process.
I had a person telling me that I should rent floorspace at Transworld ( then in The Rosemont) to get busloads of haunters to my house, but that because they were all in a haunter's organization, I should allow them to see my house for free!
I would have done this but that same weekend I was riding naked in the top of the double-decker buss through downtown Chicago, throwing bushel baskets of U.S, currentcy to people standing on the streetcorner.
Maybe I'm just an old cranky bastard?
( who likes to ride naked in double-decker busses)

You are in a unique situation. For those of us who only operate in the fall, providing a comp tour, is not a significant percentage of our business on any given night. For you, or for a special event, like the MHC bust tour, or the Lengendary Haunt Tour, it is very significant to the nights profits. I doubt that anyone here would expect you to do this. The spirit of this gesture is all about courtesy. It would not be very courteous for someone to open your fridge and take the last beer, and it would also not be courteous to expect someone to give up a day's wages. I think that most haunters respect the fact that you have figured out a way to be open year round, and the fact that you can earn a living at haunting, puts you in an exclusive category. A certain amount of respect is due.
Most haunters are reasonable people and are willing to pay extra money to visit a haunt in the off season, we know that it costs money for someone to open their event for a specialized tour, and many of us are willing to pay the extra dough to see a haunt that we otherwise would not be able to see and to pay our respects to a fellow haunter with enough guts to attempt something like this. To your credit, when I visited Raven's Grinn Inn, I felt like you gave us the VIP treatment. When we gave notification of being haunters, you talked shop with us for a bit and then gave us one hell of a tour. In almost every case that I have taken an off season tour, the owners treated everyone with an incredible amount of respect. They entertained questions, and it was evident that they were honored to be hosting an event for their peers.

I would prefer not to mention any names, but I have been to off season tours, where we paid a premium to see the show, and were made to feel like cattle. I don't think that it was intentional, but it demonstrated a complete lack of respect for us, and will not be soon forgotten. When my wife and I were honored to have Scare Fair be a part of the MHC bus tour, we were so concerned about making sure that everyone was having a good time, and that everything was going smoothly, that we were exhausted at the end of the night. We were only open for a couple hours, but it felt like a 3am Saturday night in October. I remember the bus was running a little behind and my wife was shuttling people back and forth on the golf cart, just to make sure that everyone got to see all of the attractions. Courtesy and respect can not be easily faked. If you don't care, it will show.