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  • Escape Room Startup

    Hey there. My parents and I are in the process of starting up an Escape Room business. I'm sure most of you have heard of the concept, but if you haven't here is a brief rundown. Guests are trapped in a room, where they must find clues, solve puzzles, find keys, and other things necessary to escape the room. The concept it growing and growing, and I don't see it going away anytime soon.

    There is one room we went to a few weeks ago, and it was pretty good. You could tell that the owners did everything themselves (room construction, puzzles, etc). They had had major success since opening about a month ago, being in several newspapers, on the radio, and on the news. While we enjoyed the game, the thing is that it wasn't that detailed. At all actually! A lot of the props were handmade, you could see wires and such running along the floor and ceiling, and other little things like that. The business says that they will be changing the theme of the rooms every 3-6 months.

    We are looking at 3 or 4 rooms/themes, with the possibility of having a smaller, less detailed, but still detailed room that the theme could be changes every 6-9 months. I had contacted a couple of companies that offer escape room services. I then messaged Larry/Halloween Productions, inquiring about their Escape Room services. Like he said in his email, none of the other companies will create a realistic, super detailed environment, rather something basic. He also said that in escape games, puzzles, new technologies, and special effects can be added/changes, but the thing that you can't really change is the look and feel of the attraction. If people don't feel like they are in the theme that the name of the room is, they are less likely to return. With that being said, knowing the amount of detail that Larry/Halloween Productions puts into everything that they do, they are the front runners with helping us make this happen!

    I'm in the process of writing a business plan, and some of the questions, and your answers below will help me! If you have experienced an escape room or not, I would love to hear your ideas/suggestions!

    -What time limit do you think is best for an Escape Room? The last one that we did was 45 minutes, but I personally feel that customers would feel that they are getting the best bang for their buck, getting 1 hour of game play time.

    -What size of room would you say is best? The one that we were at last wasn't huge, but then had another hidden room that opened after completing a certain puzzle?

    -What kind of pricing do you think the majority of people would prefer. There are three that we are looking at. First, a rate of $25 per person, with the possibility that you are put with other people to fill a room. Second, a flat rate of $125 +/- for a group of up to 6 people, getting the whole room to your party.

    -What themes would you suggest? Halloween Productions has a handful on their site. The ones I am most interested in now are "Escape Temple", "Escape Haunted Mansion", "Escape Bank". and "Escape Titanic". All four are all very different themes, which would have guests return for another game.

    -Are there certain kinds of puzzles that you like/dislike?

    -How many hints would you give per game?

    -Are there any special effects that you think would make a room that much better? I was thinking adding in a scent machine to match each specific theme, thus heightening the guests over all experience.

    -Some Escape Rooms have a room that you watch an intro video to your specific room, and others, you watch the intro video in the room you are playing. Which one is better?

    -What kind of space would you recommend for this type of business? Where I'm located, you can get a 2000 square foot space in a strip mall for the same price you can get a 5000 square foot warehouse bay with front reception and office area down the road. Pros/cons to types of space?

    That's all that I've got for now. If you have anything to add that I hadn't said above, please tell!

    I thank you all for your time!

    Dustyn

  • #2
    Also check with your building/zoning department and fire marshal. They won’t let you lock them in a room. There must be a push-bar emergency exit door or you can't lock them in the room. Many of these businesses are attempting to open without securing the necessary permits. I got word last week that many fire marshals are looking into them now. The ones without permits or emergency exit doors will soon have a visit from their local city or fire departments.

    We operate two of the 3 minutes escape rooms in conjunction with our haunt; they are only open during haunt season. The entry door does not lock and can easily be pushed open. Our rooms are based on solving a challenge to win a prize, not necessarily escaping from the room. Our rooms are set up for groups of 4 - 6 and we charge $5 per person. We allocate time for a group every 4 to 5 minutes.

    Kelly Collins
    The ScareAtorium Columbus

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    • #3
      Originally posted by mrfoos
      I would recommend watching a season or two of the show "The Profit" before spending a penny on an Escape Room business.

      Write down the numbers: Operational costs (rent, props, electicity, advertising, staffing, maintenance.)

      How are you going to get those rooms booked in advance? How many hours out of the week do you think people are interested in this kind of entertainment? Is someone going to show up at 9am on a Wednesday?

      For-profit Haunts survive because we can funnel lines of people in a steady stream (with or without pauses) through our business... like a factory assembly line. AND, in general, it's only for a few weekend nights during October.

      I have yet to fathom how escape rooms are a possible standalone profitable business model.
      Thanks for the Reply Kelly. Definitely lots to consider and evaluate. I know that in my city here, the one location that opened a couple weeks ago, they currently have three rooms, and with 18 available games between the three rooms, they have been having an average of 15 of those 18 games sell out. In my hometown, on tripadvisor, under Fun & Games, 4/10 spots are Escape Rooms. So I know that people are interested in the idea, and people are checking the places out. But, again, I will for sure do my research before doing anything! Thanks again!

      Comment


      • #4
        I was in an escape room in Orlando last week, my first time. My daughter and I joined a group of 6 others that had booked the event. Technically, you're not really "locked" in the room, as there is an emergency exit you can use anytime you want. It was a very entertaining time and I'd say the difficulty level was very high. Our group "almost" made it out in the allotted time of 1 hour...probably only needed another minute or two to figure out the last puzzle. The cost was $35 per person but they gave us a $5 discount for booking in advance. Yes, a little pricey, but it was defintely fun. This particular escape venue had three different escape rooms operating at the same time and from what I could tell, they were booked solid. I counted 4 employees, 3 of which ran the escape rooms and 1 to work the front desk. I'm sure the operating costs and overhead expenses are pretty high but if they're generating revenue of about $700 per hour on a Tuesday evening, I'd say it is a profitable business.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Dark Fear View Post
          I was in an escape room in Orlando last week, my first time. My daughter and I joined a group of 6 others that had booked the event. Technically, you're not really "locked" in the room, as there is an emergency exit you can use anytime you want. It was a very entertaining time and I'd say the difficulty level was very high. Our group "almost" made it out in the allotted time of 1 hour...probably only needed another minute or two to figure out the last puzzle. The cost was $35 per person but they gave us a $5 discount for booking in advance. Yes, a little pricey, but it was defintely fun. This particular escape venue had three different escape rooms operating at the same time and from what I could tell, they were booked solid. I counted 4 employees, 3 of which ran the escape rooms and 1 to work the front desk. I'm sure the operating costs and overhead expenses are pretty high but if they're generating revenue of about $700 per hour on a Tuesday evening, I'd say it is a profitable business.
          Thanks for your input. The one we were in last, the door is never locked. You could leave at any time if you needed to use the restroom or whatever. The price at the one we went to was $25 per person, but when we went, they gave us a deal of $50 for the three of us.

          Thanks again for your reply!

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          • #6
            I notice Hauntworld published a how to about Escape Games on this Horror directory. Here is the link http://www.hauntworld.com/horror_att..._find_by_state

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            • #7
              Originally posted by hauntfarm View Post
              I notice Hauntworld published a how to about Escape Games on this Horror directory. Here is the link http://www.hauntworld.com/horror_att..._find_by_state
              Thank you!

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by mrfoos
                I have yet to fathom how escape rooms are a possible standalone profitable business model.
                Step 1: Forget about haunts, haunters and haunting.

                http://http://www.marketwatch.com/st...5-07-20?page=2

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by shawnc View Post
                  Step 1: Forget about haunts, haunters and haunting.

                  http://http://www.marketwatch.com/st...5-07-20?page=2
                  Awesome article, thanks!

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