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The Age-Old Ticket Price debate

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  • The Age-Old Ticket Price debate

    I know this is discussed every year at every haunt at least one time of "What should our ticket price be this year" "X haunt is charging this and we're better" etc. etc. BUT I want to hear some debate on this subject. Do the customers now a days judge a haunt by it's ticket price? Part of me says "If we keep prices down and give a great show with more for their money than they're getting anywhere else it will boost attendance" while the other part of me says there are people our there (I've heard it) that are saying "X haunt is only $15 and Z haunt is $25 so Z haunt must be better" and not only did they gain the customer, but a lot more income as well. I know there are tons of ways to get extra $ off of the customer while on site but are some haunts missing the extra income by not charging enough?? There are also the "bad apples" that pop up and charge too much and close down in 2 years that leave a bad taste in a customer's mouth, but for the most part.....how do you decide what is JUUUUST enough???

  • #2
    Disclosure: We have no local competition (yet). We are a little over an hour drive to a big market. Our attraction is a single outdoor haunted trail with a little side show stuff. We don't sell much beyond glow sticks.


    Year 1 we charged $16 and received feedback that we had a "low price" for the show we delivered. Message accepted! Year 2 we charged $20, grew by about 25%, and received no complaints about price increase. We are going into year 4 now and still at $20.

    I've spoken with more established haunts that sell concessions and have a ticket price at $20 + a few bucks JUST to break the customers second $20 bill so it's easier to get them to buy concessions. I like this plan.

    Alternatively, once we reach a size that justifies having two concurrent haunts (different queue lines and running at the same time), I plan to go a little over $20 but not sure where yet.

    Comment


    • #3
      Let me take a stab at this for like the 100th time... LOL

      I do NOT agree that just because a new haunt opens they should charge what the other haunts charge. For example we charge $25.00 another haunt opened in this market and they came out of the box charging the same exact price as the Darkness. Now c'mon give me a break on that one... well at least that is what you should think. On the other hand shouldn't a business be allowed to charge ANY PRICE THEY WANT including MORE? Yes they should!

      In my view I have a haunted house in Creepyworld that takes over an hour to complete yet these other haunts take 10 minutes and they charge the same price. Doesn't seem right to me but this is what all the new haunts do all the time every time they open across the country. I'm selling a Corvette and they are selling an Escort but both car lots want the same price is one way you can think about it... but on the other hand maybe they are doing something you are not, maybe this maybe that. I don't know unless you go and visit those haunts you just don't know right? More likely they are not going to last very long! How about that one? I've seen so many haunts open and close shortly there after I can't even begin to count them all.

      I have not visited other haunts in this market so honestly I don't know. So to really answer your question here is my honest thought on the issue... I don't care what someone else charges. I really don't even pay attention. I've always had a policy of not partnering up with other haunts, not promoting other haunts, not mentioning other haunts pro or con, not paying attention to what other haunts do or don't do, I have only and always simply put focused on what I DO!

      If I in my mind man o man this new haunt opened and they are charging more, the same, or this or that than I charge what does that have to do with me?

      ONLY YOU CAN DECIDED what is RIGHT for your business. Charge what you think you should charge and your customers will feel is a great price! That is the bottom line!

      PUT BLINDERS ON and just FOCUS on YOU and YOUR business and pay little to NO attention what others do. If you focus 110% on your haunt they in the end you'll be the most successful haunt in the market. That is my belief.

      So the other haunts who open and or in most cases close shortly after opening around here... I don't worry about them. I worry about myself ONLY and if one of those haunts locally or regionally asked me I would tell them the same. The people who sit around trying to copy their competition lose every single time.

      I'm going to open a haunted house in Indiana and I'm not going to visit a single one of those haunts prior to opening or after I open. I wish them all well but I have to focus on what I'm doing first and foremost.

      So hopefully this puts you in the right direction... just focus on what you think not what anyone else is doing. As for Hauntworld.com we allow anyone to advertise competition to our own haunts or not that is different, but when it comes to what I spend my money to promote I only promote my own places end of story. I charge what I charge knowing my customers not what others are doing.

      Larry
      Larry Kirchner
      President
      www.HalloweenProductions.com
      www.BlacklightAttractions.com
      www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
      www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

      Comment


      • #4
        We treat our haunt like a business and used a business plan and calculations to determine our ROI (return on investment) to set our pricing. Yes, we also considered our competition, but that really wasn’t part of the formula.

        We looked at our costs; rent, construction, utilities, permits, advertising, haunt labor, etc. Then we estimated transactions (number of customers) and then calculated when we feasibly could break even and then make a profit. Our goal was to break even after our second year and start making a profit in our third year.

        We have two haunted attractions; the asylum takes about 20 minutes to complete and the funhouse takes about 15 minutes to complete. We offer free parking on a paved lot with lights, bathrooms with flush toilets, inside queue lines and covered outside queue lines. We have security cameras inside and outside the building and a monitor watching them when open. We utilize 80 – 90 paid actors and support staff nightly and hire a police officer and additional security staff. We also have HVAC units and can air condition or heat the building on really hot or cold nights (this really increases our utility costs).

        We charge $20 for general admission; $23 for timed tickets and $30 for on-site VIP tickets. We feel we are offering a great value to the consumer. We’ve considered raising our prices last year, but instead we added the optional 3 minute escape rooms and charged an additional $5 per person for each room. They really helped our bottom line and allowed us to maintain our current ticket prices.

        This year we’ve budgeted more for new scene construction and we’re adding more staff and our rent is continuing to increase. We will be increasing our ticket prices soon; if not this year, then most likely in 2017. Again, we will look at our calculated ROI and make a decision.

        I think if you are in a market with no competition, you could charge whatever you want as long as guests are willing to pay for their experience. If they are having a good time and feel it is worth it, then they’ll probably be back. If not, then you may not see them again. If you are in a market with lots of competition, then you should have a better product if charging the same or more.

        With outdoor haunts you probably don’t spend much on rent or fire protection systems, but you should allow for rainy days and closed nights. Good luck with your business. Keep improving and showing guests a good time!

        Kelly Collins
        The ScareAtorium

        Comment


        • #5
          I few years ago I thought the haunt industry went nuts with the prices they charged but it seems to work. I don't think anyone should price their haunt based on what someone else does. You should charge what you think your customers will pay. I believe every time you raise the price you loose some customers but if the majority stay with you it's an increase in revenue. It's costly to run a haunt so don't under sell yourself.

          Comment


          • #6
            For the past ten years we have charged 10$ a person and 5$ for under 12. We had to raise the price to 15$ a person and 10$ under 12. I don't know what the other haunts I the area charge but there not important to me. The only focus I have is to market to my customers and build the best haunt I can build with the resources I have available to me. I have yet to have that "break out" year "where you make enough to quit working your full time job and only focus on your haunt." That's a real dream of mine. I feel that the past 10 years of hard work and dedication will finally pay off this year... This is my first season with knowledge of SEO and how important it is to rank well on search engines, but anyways I feel our price is justified we have a 30 minute walking trail and just purchased a house to use for our haunt and it's takin a lot of the weekly income to get the haunt ready this year.



            Booger Jim's Hollow
            http://boogerjimshollow.com/
            2 Haunts, 1 location, 1 Low price
            Last edited by Booger Jim's Hollow; 06-06-2016, 10:33 AM.

            Comment


            • #7
              Here is what we've learned about haunt pricing: Industry Standard for Big Haunts $25.00 (Most Popular) - Secondary Industry Standard $20.00 (2nd Most Popular) - from there you have two different price points something between 10 and 20 and mega events charging after all upcharges $35 - $40. The point here is most of the charity haunts to small haunts are between 10-20 while only a handful of major haunts are $35 to 40. The true industry standard price is between 20 and 25.

              Comment


              • #8
                We started year 1 at $13 first time charging as we ran a home haunt for 16 years prior. The location changed so we didn't know what we would receive. We had decent crowds year 1 and now at year 6 after huge crowds we are considering $25 from $20 last year tax included.We hear clients mention we are too cheap and we went with the rule $1 per minute for this season. We have also added some new props etc.

                Comment


                • #9
                  To add a follow up here I was talking to a few nameless haunt friends and everyone is raising their prices this year. I'm hearing like $30.00 per person and some are saying raise prices on the busiest days. Thoughts?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Ten years ago when I first opened I charged 8. I was told by many people they almost the didn't come because the price was low so they figured it must be bad. The next year we raised it to 10. For the past five years we have charged 15 and have no plans to raise it anytime soon. It is tough because on one hand we have to charge a certain amount because of our costs to to business and on the other hand I take the approach of how much am I willing to pay to go through a haunt. I love haunted houses but I don't love them enough to spend 30 per family member to go through one. That is just me though, I am very willing to admit that I maybe cheap. But yesterday I went to see the Warcraft movie and it only cost me $20 total for my family of 5. I realize it is a completely different entertainment venue but a 30 dollar haunt would would have cost me $150.00 for a much shorter experience. Last weekend I went to Cedar point and the tickets cost me 37.00 per person (discounted), that experience lasted me all day. Again, I realize it is a different experience. Those are just examples of how I look at the value of my money. The reality of it is charge whatever enough people are willing to pay, I just know how much I am willing to pay for haunted house experience. I probably shouldn't admit this but I rarely visit other haunts due to cost, and I can business expense it. It isn't because I can't afford it, I just can't justify it enough in my head anymore.
                    Jared Layman

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Here is what we are charging this year! Hope this helps. Larry


                      tickets most updated 2016.jpg
                      Larry Kirchner
                      President
                      www.HalloweenProductions.com
                      www.BlacklightAttractions.com
                      www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
                      www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by drfrightner View Post
                        Here is what we are charging this year! Hope this helps. Larry


                        [ATTACH=CONFIG]21994[/ATTACH]
                        Hey Larry! You have a typo on the bottom of this where it says offers t-shirts. I thought you might appreciate the heads up. I hope all is well!

                        Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Thanks!!! Darn I didn't see that. Larry
                          Larry Kirchner
                          President
                          www.HalloweenProductions.com
                          www.BlacklightAttractions.com
                          www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
                          www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by drfrightner View Post
                            Thanks!!! Darn I didn't see that. Larry
                            You're welcome.

                            Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

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