So I meet with the town planner and officals today

[HauntedPaws]

Boy was that a little overwhelming with 10 town officials grilling you left and right. However afterwards it seemed to have been a positive discussion.

[Dark Scares]

Glad to hear things went well.

[mrfoos]

I'd love to hear the questions you can remember if you feel like typing them up!

[HauntedPaws]

There were fewer questions then I would have liked but let me see..

In attendance:

Asst fire marshall
Health Inspector
economics developer
Environmental
Town Engineer
Police Chief
Asst Town Planner
Town Planner


"Are you going to sell food and merchandise"
"Does the property have septic or sewers" then I mentioned having port-a-potties "Do you want to have port-a-potties?"
"You're going to need refuse containers"
"Space may be more littered then you realize"
"How many parking spaces do you have?" here I use a factor of 3 meaning the average people in a car will be 3 so if you have 50 spots you can take in 150 people. If your show is 1hr then you can have 150 new people every 1hr but it's best to allow for some overlapping, so for 150 people you may want parking for 225 people or 75 spaces.
"Are you going to give all your charity contributions to just one charity or multiples?"
"What age range and are 13-15yr olds dropped off, or do they require parental supervision"
"Is this a legit business?"
"What sorta of signage, we don't allow much"
This was the oddest question yet "Is this business profitable?" 1) why do you care? 2) Why would I go through the trouble of dealing with town official to intentionally lose money?

That's the majority of what I can remember. It was a little overwhelming wondering what are these people thinking of me, I don't wanna say something to cast a negative on me, am I answering the question. Don't mention getting larger or to large before you get your foot in the door to you can manage a small crowd.

Afterwards I thought to myself I wonder how much more entertaining this meeting may have been if Shane was speaking on my behalf

[mrfoos]

I keep wondering what the deal is with this concept that all haunted houses should contribute a portion of their profits to charity. It's not that I'm against charity but it isn't a default expectation for any of industry.

[SeanMassacre]

Why do haunted houses have to contribute to charity? Or rather, why do villages want us to? In our village that we host our event, we had 2 officials come for the walk through and they were more impressed with everything we presented them at first than having any questions. They saw the emergency lighting, and exits and where happy. we are a temporary haunt. Kill them with kindness!!! Have more paperwork on your props and products than they know what to do with.

[HauntedPaws]

You don't I just wanted to.

[Cliff]

I was thinking this year I would create $1.00 or $2.00 vouchers,(idea i picked up at TW) give them to numerous charities in the area… High School football boosters club, women’s shelter. Then give them the face value of the vouchers that were redeemed ….maybe make it a $1.00 off ticket price as well. Nothing wrong with a little cross marketing right??

[Michael Inks]

I keep wondering what the deal is with this concept that all haunted houses should contribute a portion of their profits to charity. It's not that I'm against charity but it isn't a default expectation for any of industry.

Aside from just basic philanthropy and wanting to help your fellow man, I think a lot of haunts will team up with a charitable organization in exchange for actors and other support. Aligning with a respected charity can also drive attendance by lending credibility... a stewardship that must be respected! But done well, it can be a nice partnership.

[BrotherMysterio]

Aside from just basic philanthropy and wanting to help your fellow man, I think a lot of haunts will team up with a charitable organization in exchange for actors and other support. Aligning with a respected charity can also drive attendance by lending credibility... a stewardship that must be respected! But done well, it can be a nice partnership.

Also, it's a sign of good will, which can go a long way. It's also a form of mission based marketing, which is perhaps the strongest kind of marketing of all, right after word-of-mouth.