Just 6 years ago, no one would have dreamed that quest projects in real space would conquer the entertainment market and would be such a success in our time. Escape rooms are relative the new kind conducting leisure activities, the essence of which is placing people (usually a team of 2-4 people) in a confined space. The team's goal is to escape the room within a certain amount of time (usually 60 minutes) using logic, clues, and items placed in the room.
According to the Guild of Quests (an independent rating agency involved in the popularization of this area), at the end of 2015, about 950 quest rooms were opened in Russia. Every year more and more of them open, but there are free niches in this market; success depends on the creativity of your ideas and marketing policy. This type of business is attractive due to its relatively low investment, as well as the fact that the payback period is only 5 months, and the break-even point will be reached in the second month of operation.
The advantage of quest rooms is that there is no need for expensive premises, luxurious decorations, or highly specialized employees. Success directly depends on the sharpness and twist of the plot.
The initial investment amount is 538 700 rubles
Break-even point is reached in the second month of work.
The payback period is from 5 months.
2. Description of the business, product or service
The ideas for creating quest rooms came from computer games, in which the main character must solve all sorts of logical problems and puzzles in order to free himself from captivity. The thirst for a range of emotions and adrenaline in real life gave rise to the idea of transference virtual game into reality. Thus, the main audience of the quest room is people aged 18-35 who want to experience new sensations and diversify their leisure time. Corporate clients who want to spend time with colleagues cannot be ruled out.
The location of the quest room does not play the most key role. This is precisely the type of business that does not require high foot traffic, because usually visiting a quest is a pre-planned event where clients arrive at the reserved time, having planned a route. The requirement for room for a quest is at least 40 sq.m., at least 15 sq.m. m is allocated to the administrative premises, the rest - to the room itself. Of course, the square footage depends on the concept and scale of your quest room. Typically, quest rooms are located in offices, rented rooms, and garages.
To make it easier to view the quest description, customer reviews, and booking, you need a website, a group on the social network “VKontakte,” and an Instagram profile. Ideally, if you promote three sites at once - this will give the greatest effect. To minimize your investments, you can limit yourself to social networks only - if you methodically maintain a group and profile, you can receive up to 7 applications a day.
Typically, the client views the description of the quest, reads reviews, books a convenient time and arrives at the specified address.
Before the team arrives, the quest room administrator cleans and prepares the room for the task, meets clients, introduces safety precautions and voices the necessary conditions. Next, the team is allowed into a closed space, where, in fact, the quest begins. The price of participation may vary depending on the region, complexity (for example, quests with live actors are more expensive), and the duration of the quest.
This business is seasonal: in winter, with a successful combination of circumstances, one location can receive up to 15 teams per day, which corresponds to revenue of up to 52,500 rubles. IN summer time attendance is falling, approximately 2-3 teams per day allow you to receive revenue of up to 10,500 rubles.
Location opening hours: daily from 10:00 to 01:00. Entrance ticket price per team is 1500 rubles - 4000 rubles. in the regions, 2500 rub. −5000 rub. in Moscow.
The specificity of this business is that after a certain amount of time (usually 1-1.5 years) a new scenario and plot must be introduced into the old location, since after completing the quest the client will not be able to complete it a second time.
3. Description of the sales market
The target audience of quest rooms is people aged 18-35 with average and above average income. The target audience can be segmented even more narrowly:
- Students aged 18-23 years. Main time for visiting locations
this group occurs in the morning and afternoon hours, since the price of visiting is lower than in the evening;
- Working people visiting quest rooms in the evening, at night and on weekends;
- Corporate clients using quest projects as one of the ways of informal team building;
- Parents and their children participating in family quests.
SWOT analysis of an quest room
Project strengths | Weak sides project |
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Project capabilities | Project threats |
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4. Sales and marketing
5. Production plan
The step-by-step plan for opening an quest room is as follows:
1. Script development
First of all, you need to develop an idea and script for an quest room. This is what your business will be built on. It is desirable that the idea be original: for example, a couple of years ago quests with live actors appeared, which created even more excitement in this area. Such projects are very popular, because in addition to solving logical riddles, the team needs to interact with a specially trained person (as a rule, actors scare the team and create the appropriate atmosphere, give tips, etc.). Often ideas for quest rooms are drawn from famous books, films, stories - Freddy Krueger, Harry Potter, Treasure Island, James Bond. To make the task exciting, it is desirable that it is based on a mystery that the participants need to solve. It is also necessary to conduct an analysis of competitors in your city in order to offer potential clients something new and original.
If you do not have experience in creating scripts, it is better to hire a specialist, because the success of your business project directly depends on the originality of the idea. To minimize costs, you can invite students from the desired faculty. Before the script is implemented, it is necessary to test it on friends, eliminate shortcomings, remove or add interior details and any characters. If there is a franchisee, the script can be provided to you free of charge or for an additional fee.
2. Search for premises and repairs
The minimum size of the room for the quest is 40 sq.m. It is necessary that the premises have the necessary communications - electricity, water. You need to be prepared for the fact that you will have to renovate the room, because for the atmosphere of the location, the design of the room must correspond to the history and scenario of your quest. It is advisable that there is parking near your location, because the fact that there is no parking for a car can lead to an outflow of customers who are not ready to get to you on foot. The rental price varies depending on the city, distance from the center and many other factors. The average rental price is 400-700 rubles/sq.m. m., cosmetic repairs will cost approximately 70,000 rubles.
3. Purchase of necessary equipment
Equipment plays an important role. This includes a reception desk, a sofa for visitors, a wardrobe, chairs and armchairs, and the necessary decorations. It is not always necessary to purchase and create new decorations, if this does not contradict the idea of the quest, you can bring old props from home or ask your friends. Audio and video surveillance systems are also required. Audio accompaniment is an integral element of the location, since clients will not receive the desired effect without the necessary music accompanying them during the quest. Through a video surveillance system, the room administrator monitors the actions of the participants and controls the process. It is mandatory to install an audio communication system through which the administrator gives tips to the team. It is desirable to have a sign to attract additional traffic and orientate arriving clients, but not all quest rooms use them. The total cost of the equipment will be 190,000 rubles.
4. Search for frames
Escape rooms are a type of business that does not require a large team of qualified specialists. You can start this business with two administrative employees per location. The easiest way to find staff is to search through friends. You can also use groups specialized in this on social networks. The basic requirements for quest room administrators are integrity, communication skills, and responsibility.
5. Marketing policy
6. Organizational structure
The staff consists of you as a project manager, room administrators, and an accountant. If the volume of your locations is small, it is not advisable to include a screenwriter on the staff, since his work is more of a project nature than permanent.
Since the location operates 7 days a week for 15 hours, two administrators are required. An administrator is an employee whose responsibilities include meeting clients, monitoring their actions during the quest, maintaining cleanliness in the location, receiving Money, upselling quest room services (if there are several locations, the administrator, after completing the quest, invites the team to visit the next one), monitors the serviceability of equipment and props. Wage fixed and amounts to 20,000 rubles per person. Usually 1,300 rubles per day is included, including a taxi for an employee, since there are often late bookings.
The project manager makes decisions about the appropriateness of certain decorations and the filling of the location. It is the responsibility of the manager to approve the script and interact with the screenwriter. He also makes decisions on increasing or reducing staff and on staff salaries. In addition, it is the manager who distributes the company’s profits, draws up a cash flow budget, and makes decisions regarding certain costs. Marketing policy also depends on the decisions of the manager: he organizes promotions, participates in events, interacts with the media and SMM and CEO specialists, and develops the brand. The manager's salary is 30,000 rubles, it is reduced if the project is not working efficiently.
An accountant is responsible for recording transactions in accounting registers, preparing reports, and interacting with tax and extra-budgetary funds. It is advisable to search for an accountant on a remote basis without hiring him on the staff of the organization.
General payroll |
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Staff | The number of employees | Salary per 1 employee (RUB) | Total salary (RUB) |
Supervisor | |||
Administrator | |||
Accountant | |||
General salary fund | |||
7. Financial plan
Investments in opening an quest room look like this:
Name | Amount | Cost of 1 piece, rub. | Total amount, rub. |
Redecorating | |||
Storage compartments | |||
Adaptation of the design of the common area | |||
Decoration (paintings, games and other paraphernalia) | |||
Computer + additional monitor | |||
Video surveillance system (recorder + camera in the common area) |
* The calculations use average data for Russia
1. PROJECT SUMMARY
The goal of the project is to organize a quest room in Rostov-on-Don. Price segment- average. The target audience is children from 12 years old, as well as men and women under the age of 35 with an average income.
A quest room is a new format of entertainment that combines the advantages of a computer game and shared leisure time with friends. The essence of the game is for a team of 2 to 6 people to escape from a closed room by solving riddles selected in accordance with the scenario. Participation in quests allows participants to have fun with friends, lifts their spirits, tickles their nerves, and strengthens team spirit (which is useful for corporate clients during team building); Participation in quests for children allows them to develop communication skills, logical thinking, attentiveness and a number of other useful skills.
Quest rooms are a fairly new type of entertainment, both for Russia and for the world as a whole. Today, there are players on the market of both regional and federal scale (franchise). The competition is not yet very strong, but it is growing every year.
The basis of the project’s competitiveness is unique original programs developed together with an experienced theater and film scriptwriter, high-quality decorations, and the special atmosphere of all rooms.
The project is investment attractive and cost-effective, as evidenced by simple and integral performance indicators (Table 1).
Table 1. Key project performance indicators
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPANY AND INDUSTRY
Quest in reality is a relatively new type of team entertainment (games), which involves solving riddles in accordance with a set scenario in order to get out of a closed room. As a rule, a team of 2 to 6-8 people takes part in the game. The first quest rooms appeared in Japan and the USA around 2011-2012, then they began to spread throughout other countries of the world. This area gained the greatest development in Budapest, where a large number of quest rooms were created, and where those who wanted to play a new type of team games began to gather.
Since the industry is new and, at the same time, quite specific, regular statistics and market analysis are not carried out. However, according to experts, at the end of 2015 there were about 200 companies in Russia, of which 170 were Moscow-based, owning 400 rooms. About 450 more rooms were being built outside Moscow at that time. The revenue of Moscow rooms alone was estimated at 1.5 billion rubles per year. Today, according to expert estimates, we can talk about an increase of no less than 30%, which is about 2.0 billion rubles in Moscow alone. Together with the regions, total revenue can reach 4.0 – 4.5 billion rubles.
Due to the emergence of new players and the saturation of the market, customers’ demands for quest rooms are increasing: the complexity of puzzles, technical execution, design, and so on. Such an increase in demands inevitably leads to an increase in investment costs, however, it also increases public interest, attracting more and more new clients. A distinctive feature of this type of game is that one person, having completed the quest, does not return to it, but looks for more and more games and puzzles.
The average load of quest rooms, according to experts, is 80-85% of the maximum possible. The share of corporate customers who either organize holidays for their employees or invite clients to promote their own services or products is increasing.
A large market share is occupied by franchise companies that are pioneers in this segment. It is estimated that they account for more than 60% of the market. The big disadvantage of such a system is the standardization of programs (games, scripts). Given the reluctance of customers to play the same games, more favorable conditions at the expense of city guests. Given the small remoteness of cities in the Southern Federal District, as well as a large number of migrant workers, students, and so on, the uniqueness of the program is a serious advantage for the project.
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To understand the potential level of demand for entertainment services, it is necessary to analyze the general economic situation in the country. Analysis of macroeconomic indicators indicates negative GDP growth starting from the first quarter of 2015, which means a transition from stagnation to crisis.
The prerequisites for this decline were several obvious factors: sanctions from the EU and the United States, the weakening of the national currency, falling oil prices and, as a consequence, a decrease in the well-being and solvency of most of the country's population. There was also a significant increase in the price of imported products – both food and non-food products. According to Rosstat, in 2014 alone, prices for goods and services increased by an average of 11.4% compared to 2013. Prices for food products increased by 15.4%, for non-food products - by 8.1%.
Figure 1. Consumer price index, % compared to the previous year (forecast until 2018)
The fall in real disposable income of the population, according to the Ministry of Economic Development, amounted to 1% in 2014, and in 2015 – already 7.8%. However, according to some estimates, after summing up the results of 2016, positive dynamics are quite likely. According to RBC.Quote forecasts, growth could reach 1%.
Despite the rather positive forecasts of experts regarding rising oil prices, a decrease in inflation and consumer prices, in the coming years we should expect a continued decline in purchasing activity - consumers will approach purchases carefully and carefully. One of the reasons is the high level of debt among the population and lack of consumer confidence.
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As a result of these processes, many sectors of the economy may suffer. According to the Ministry economic development, retail trade turnover in Russia in 2015 decreased by 8.2% compared to the previous year.
Based on the data presented, we can say that, with a reduction in expenses, the population will shift their focus from more expensive entertainment, such as tourist trips, towards more economical ones. One of such economical types of entertainment can be considered quest rooms.
As part of the project, a new enterprise is being organized in Rostov-on-Don. Rostov-on-Don is the administrative center of the Southern Federal District and Rostov region, the largest economic, cultural and industrial center of the South of Russia. The population of the city is 1.1 million people, the population of the urban agglomeration is 2.16 million people. There are 39 higher education institutions in the city educational institutions, which is important for the project, since students are the basis of the target audience. In addition, the city is visited by a large number of residents of other cities of the federal district - Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories.
The quest room is located in the city center, in the basement of the former shoe factory, which creates a special, unique atmosphere. A total of five rooms with different themes are planned. Since a distinctive feature of quests in reality is the lack of repeat visitors to the same game, over time it will be necessary to redesign the gaming space and create new scenarios.
3. DESCRIPTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES
The project involves the provision of entertainment services - so-called reality quests. The essence of the game is for a team to find a way out of a closed room within a limited time, solving puzzles in accordance with a certain plot.
A professional screenwriter with experience in theater and cinema is involved in writing scripts. The scenery is designed and produced by professional decorative artists collaborating with the Drama Theater named after. Gorky (Rostov-on-Don).
Teams from 2 to 6 people can participate in the game. The duration of one game session is 60 minutes. Taking into account the preparation for the game of the next group, sessions are held every hour and a half. The project provides for the creation of five rooms with different themes. Descriptions of the plots are given in Table. 2. The cost of one game is 470 rubles per person.
Table 2. Game plots
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Name |
Description |
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The Mystery of the Aztec Pyramid |
Immersion in the atmosphere ancient civilization in order to find a sacred totem that will open the exit from the pyramid. Genre: adventure. Difficulty: Medium |
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A voodoo doll |
Professor Zilberman disappears under mysterious circumstances. A strange doll that looks like a professor is found in his apartment. The professor's students need to find a connection between his disappearance and the doll. Genre: mysticism. Difficulty: Medium |
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One-Eyed Willie |
Unravel the mystery of the pirate treasure and get out of the cave full of dangers. Genre: adventure. Difficulty is low, suitable for beginners and children over 12 years old |
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Silent Hill |
Find out the secret of the disappearance of all the inhabitants of the foggy town. Additional task: find a mysterious artifact and receive a bonus - a certificate for a discount on your next visits. Genre: horror. Difficulty is high |
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Growling Dead |
Save your team from the zombie invasion and get out of the locked house. Additional task: find a mysterious artifact and receive a bonus - a certificate for a discount on your next visits. Genre: horror/fantasy. Difficulty is high |
As an additional service, the project offers the organization of corporate events and celebrations (birthdays, special occasions), including the services of a host, catering and others. The service is paid separately in accordance with the cost estimate.
4. SALES AND MARKETING
Target audience of the project - The target audience is children from 12 years old, as well as men and women under the age of 35 with an average income. The most active part of the audience is young people aged 18 to 30 years. Main advertising campaign aimed at this segment of the target audience.
Promotion is carried out using both offline and online tools. Moreover, preference is given to the latter. Offline tools include the following:
Periodic articles in the local press describing quests in reality as a new form of leisure
Loyalty program - bonuses and discounts for regular visitors, corporate clients, gift cards; incentives for new visits also occur during games - for completing additional tasks in the game, participants receive discounts on their next visits to the quest room
The following online tools are used:
Own website containing information about the project, a list of games with text descriptions and promotional videos, a game schedule; You can book a room on the website for any available time; website promotion is carried out using contextual advertising in search engines
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Prices for the project's services are at the average market level, while the quality of plots and decorations is significantly above average. Comparison with main competitors is given in Table. 3. The assessment of the plot and scenery is carried out using an expert method based on a market analysis on a ten-point scale, where 10 is the maximum value.
Table 3. Competitive analysis
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Name |
price, rub. per person |
Plot |
Scenery |
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Locked |
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Rostov-quest |
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Horror City |
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Quest city |
Demand for the project’s services has no pronounced seasonality. Some decline occurs during the summer holidays, when a significant part of the population leaves the city. However, due to the decrease in tourist flow due to the unfavorable economic situation, this decrease may be leveled out in the near future. Peaks occur during various public holidays, especially the New Year holidays. Planned sales volumes are given in Table. 4.
Table 4. Planned sales volumes
Achieving planned volumes is planned by the end of the first year of the project.
5. PRODUCTION PLAN
The quest room is located on rented space in the basement of a former shoe factory, which provides an additional mysterious atmosphere. The total area of the premises is 400 m2. This includes games rooms, a waiting room, as well as staff areas (operator room, equipment room, etc.). There are all necessary communications. The premises meet all requirements of supervisory authorities.
The scenery is developed by a specialized enterprise located in Rostov-on-Don, according to the sketches of decorative artists. The company has experience in creating sets for domestic television films. Manufacturing and installation time is three months.
The necessary computer equipment with software and electronics are purchased from a supplier in Moscow. The supplier delivers, installs and commissions equipment, and also conducts training for project personnel.
Reservations are accepted by phone or through a form on the project website. To clarify and confirm the information specified by the client on the website, the administrator contacts the customer by phone within 20 minutes after registering the application. The client then receives email a letter confirming the reservation, date and time of the game, as well as the administrator’s contact information. One day before the game, the client receives an email reminder of the time and location of the game, which will avoid no-shows.
6. ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN
In order to implement the project, a new enterprise is created. Individual entrepreneur was chosen as the legal form. Based on a comparison of several options (according to financial results) the chosen form of taxation is the simplified tax system, the object of taxation is income; rate – 6%.
The entire project implementation process can be divided into three main stages: the preparatory stage, the growth stage and the operational stage. During the preparatory stage, the necessary equipment is produced and purchased, it is installed, and employees are recruited and trained. The duration of the preparatory stage is three months. Rooms are opened one by one as they are ready. Open rooms can receive clients while repairs and finishing work are being carried out in closed ones. The growth stage involves active promotion of the project’s services and reaching planned sales volumes. The approximate duration of this stage is from seven to twelve months. After this, the stage of operating activities begins within the framework of planned financial results.
The project team has the necessary key skills and knowledge necessary for the successful implementation of the project. Of the entire team, only the project initiator is directly involved in the project, who performs all management and administrative functions. To achieve this, he has successful experience in doing business.
The project team also includes a screenwriter, set designers and a consultant. They are not involved in the project on an ongoing basis, but provide high quality and high priority services. The consultant has experience in launching and developing quest rooms in various cities of Russia and provides support to the project in the form of free organizational consulting.
The organizational structure of the project is simple - all employees are directly subordinate to the project initiator. The staffing table and wage fund are shown in Table. 5.
Table 5. Staffing and wage fund
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Job title |
Salary, rub. |
Number, persons |
Payroll, rub. |
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Administrative |
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Accountant |
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Administrator |
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Industrial |
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Game space operator |
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Trade |
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Content manager |
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Auxiliary |
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Cleaning woman |
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Total: |
RUB 157,000.00 |
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Social Security contributions: |
RUB 47,100.00 |
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Total with deductions: |
RUB 204,100.00 |
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7. FINANCIAL PLAN
The financial plan has a planning horizon of five years and takes into account all income and expenses of the project. Revenue refers to revenue from operating activities; income from investment activities and sale of assets is not provided for by the project. The revenue of the first year of sales is 16.6 million rubles, net profit (after taxes) is 9.6 million rubles. Revenue for the second year and subsequent years (after reaching planned sales volumes) is 20.9 million rubles, net profit is 13.5 million rubles.
Investment costs – 3,105,000 rubles. The bulk of the funds are spent on the preparation and equipment of premises, the development and promotion of an Internet site, as well as on the formation of a working capital fund, from which the project’s losses will be covered until it reaches payback (Table 6). The project initiator’s own funds are 1.7 million rubles. The lack of funds is planned to be covered by attracting a bank loan for a period of 36 months at a rate of 18% per annum. Loan repayment is carried out in annuity payments, credit holidays are 3 months.
Table 6. Investment costs
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NAME |
AMOUNT, rub. |
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Real estate |
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Preparing the premises |
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Equipment |
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Computer equipment, video equipment |
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Intangible assets |
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Website development |
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Working capital |
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Total: |
RUB 3,105,000 |
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Own funds: |
RUB 1,700,000.00 |
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Required borrowings: |
1,405,000 RUR |
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Bid: |
18,00% |
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Duration, months: |
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Determining variable costs in the cost structure of a project is problematic; all costs are classified as fixed. The main item of fixed costs is rent of premises; they also include advertising costs, communal payments and other expenses, including depreciation charges (Table 7). The amount of depreciation charges is determined by the linear method based on the period beneficial use fixed assets and intangible assets in five years.
Table 7. Fixed costs
A detailed financial plan is given in Appendix. 1.
8. EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVENESS
Efficiency assessment is carried out based on analysis financial plan project, cash flows, as well as simple and integral performance indicators (Table 1). To account for changes in the value of money over time, the discounted cash flow method is used. The discount rate for the project is 12%.
Simple (PP) and discounted (DPP) payback period is 6 months. Net present value (NPV) – 3.3 million rubles. Internal rate of return (IRR) – 21.6%. Profitability index (PI) – 1.05. All these indicators indicate the effectiveness and investment attractiveness of the project.
9. WARRANTY AND RISKS
To assess all risks associated with the implementation of the project, an analysis of internal and external factors is carried out. The data from the analysis and proposed measures to neutralize risks and develop opportunities are presented in the form of SWOT (Table 8).
Table 8. SWOT analysis of the project
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Strengths High quality plot and scenery Having an experienced content manager on staff who is also involved in online promotion Convenient location in the city center (there is parking and public transport stops within a 3-minute walk) |
Weak sides Lack of established client base |
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Possibilities Growing interest from the population in reality quests Shift in demand towards more budget-friendly leisure options |
Active online promotion and attracting even that part of the target audience that has not previously played quests in reality, through engaging events (competitions, sweepstakes) |
A self-growing market will allow you to quickly increase your customer base using existing resources |
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Threats Emergence of new players on the market Price struggle from existing players |
Price struggle is unacceptable for the project; the high quality of the plot and scenery makes the project one of the best in the city, which will allow the formation of a loyal audience even with relatively high level prices |
It is necessary to implement a maximum of advertising activities in a short time, to increase brand awareness of the project, even if the demand for the project’s services is deferred |
10.APPLICATIONS
ANNEX 1
Financial plan
Denis Miroshnichenko
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Quest rooms are a relatively new type of intellectual entertainment, where players solve logical problems, puzzles limited by time, space or other conditions.
Most often, games in quest rooms are built around the task of “getting out of the room within a certain time” in various variations.
Quest room (escape room, escape room)– transferred to real life computer games, where the classic gameplay was based on solving problems of finding a way out of the room. It is generally accepted that the first real quest - getting out of a room - appeared in 2006 in Silicon Valley. The next impetus to the popularity of escape rooms was made by the Japanese Takao Kato, who created the quest “Real Escape Game” in 2008; the quest became very popular in Asian countries. In Russia, the organization of quest rooms as a business began in 2013 with the quest from the company “Claustrophobia”
Since 2013, Russia has seen a boom in the opening and popularity of quest rooms. In large cities, provinces, villages with original ideas and playing conditions.
The main thing in organizing a quest in reality is the idea, let’s not be afraid of this phrase – the idea of a quest room business. Around which you can organize an escape room. It could be original script, history, mechanical or electronic puzzles, role-playing games(not to be confused with). The game should be designed for 1-6 people, completed in 60 minutes, have an atmosphere and a clear script. If you don’t have your own idea, you can purchase and open an quest room under the franchise of any major organizer from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Perm and others.
Organization of a quest room, business plan
After creating or purchasing an escape room scenario, a room and decorations for it are selected. We would like to note that this business has the advantage of being independent of the area of the premises. As a rule, quests are “scalable” - they can fit into rooms of almost any size. Even on an area of 1 m² you can organize a quest (we would look at this quest with pleasure).
When choosing a room Special attention make sure that the rooms are not located in close proximity to residential apartments, since your room must “work” around the clock, so your late visitors should not interfere with the night’s rest of citizens, in order to avoid complaints from them about your business.
An excellent placement for your room would be to be located in some area or close to an entertainment center. This way you will be in the flow of “potential clients”. Because your target audience (from 18 to 45 years old) is always looking for somewhere to go on the weekend.
The organization and arrangement of the escape room must comply with the requirements of the SES, Fire Inspectorate, Rospotrebsoyuz (room layout, organization of the administrator’s workplace, etc.). “Reality quest” does not require any special licenses. It is enough to register a business under the activity “Entertainment Services”. To relieve yourself of various types of responsibility, all clients must be given safety instructions with a personal signature “acquainted” and sign a waiver of possible claims.
Types of quests in reality
In addition to the obvious advantages - entertainment, mental and physical work, team work, quest rooms have a significant drawback - monotony– only a few will go to your room again, since no one is interested in going through what has been done.
Therefore, quest organizers have several scenarios and types of quests in stock that can be implemented in one room.
Currently the most popular types are:
Escaperoom- a classic quest, where solving puzzles, tasks and various thematic inclusions moves the team towards solving the search for a way out of the room in a limited time.
Questroom– extended quest. The basis of the scenario is not leaving the room, but going through the plot, searching for something or receiving a reward, along the path of which tasks and puzzles are solved.
Performance– expansion of the first two types. Animators-actors are added to the game, who interfere or help, act out scenes, and influence the gameplay in every possible way. The inclusion of actors can be unexpected during the game (a wow effect is achieved) or according to the script. Expansion of this type of quests - participation large number actors in large areas. Such a quest does not require a closed space, and immersion in the atmosphere can be created in the square of the entire city by acting out scenes in front of the participants and giving them clues for the search. From the outside it looks like a children's party for adults.
Action-escaperoom– extended classic quest. The game adds an emphasis on the physical participation of players. Playing “hide and seek” from the participants in the game, crawling through ventilation, moving heavy objects, “shooting” (usually using laser-tag light guns) and other physical exercises that may occur during the game.
Quest “in a dream”- all of the above, but blindfolded or tight headphones that do not allow sound to pass through, or all together. But a popular one is blindfolding until the end of the game. Actors and sound (in the case of headphones, visual) help create immersion in the atmosphere.
Demo orPromoQuest/escaperoom – short scripts, which can be solved in 10-20 minutes in a very limited area. They are very popular at events, holidays, shopping centers and more. You can invite them to your home, to your birthday.
In addition to the above types of quest rooms, there are other, no less interesting, other typesescape-room.
Angerroom– as the name suggests, the quest is based on anger. The scenario is based on a destructible interior. Break the TV? Break a chair on a table? Drop the refrigerator? Easily. When looking for a way out, don't forget to break the dishes. The first types of such rooms appeared in 2011 in the USA.
Questinbox (Quest in a box)– a box with instructions and items for the game is delivered to your home (usually a set of puzzles, the solution of which will be the key to the next puzzle). The quest is played out at home, in your company. Good mood as a gift, guaranteed.
- It's better to play indoors. If you don’t have premises, you can use empty offices, an apartment, a garage,... a morgue on weekends.
- Your script should contain interesting but solvable problems. Moreover, solving problems should captivate all participants in the game. A situation where 1 person solves the problem, and the rest are bored while waiting, negatively affects the popularity of your room.
- Before launching the room, test it on yourself, your friends and volunteers. The scenario must be completed within the allotted time. Without additional conditions and references to the fact that all people are different. People are different, but they should complete your quest equally well and quickly.
- Be polite and attentive. Create for people full terms and conditions comfortable completion of the quest. If they need meat grinders during the game, warn them about it in advance... well, not meat grinders, but flashlights or handkerchiefs. Provide tea, coffee, and wet wipes for the game participants so they can rest and take a breath.
- Prizes and gifts. Prizes and gifts are part of the PR of your business. Remember that this is an additional incentive and “word of mouth” for your audience, if the team wins a prize for being the fastest in completing the quest and receives memorable awards, tomorrow they will tell all their family and friends about it.
- PR. Invite bloggers, journalists, famous personalities. Organize themed parties and competitions. All this helps promote your business.
- Stay on trend. Look for new and original ideas from colleagues, competitors and Western projects, and develop them.
These small tips will help you organize a profitable quest room business.
In the last few years, quests have become one of the most favorite and most visited entertainment for many people.
The first stage is searching for premises
The quest room has some special features.
No matter where
Since people purposefully go to a quest from an advertisement or from a website by appointment, it does not matter for the quest where exactly the entrance is located (like, say, to a store). If the entrance to it is from the yard or somewhere on the edge of the house (for example, in the basement / ground floor) - this is even good, as it allows you to choose the most profitable room for rent.
For two quests you will need about 100 sq. meters. For four 180–200 sq. meters, depending on the layout. There is no point in taking a small room for one quest, since you will spend a lot of money, since in any case you need to make a waiting room and a leader’s room, which can be used for several quests at once.
It is much more effective to immediately invest in a room for several quests, even if you do one first, thereby you will have:
- Firstly, savings in rental rates (a square meter will be cheaper), square meters (the total areas will “work” for several quests at once).
- Secondly, savings on personnel (fewer employees will be required than if the quests are in different places), savings on repairs (you won’t have to build the same thing twice).
Very good fit basements/ basement with a minimum rental rate. But keep in mind that a destroyed basement will require either large investments or a specific theme (horror films). And children's / family quests (and, in general, all quests) require a clean / good room - it will be more pleasant for the players to come to you.
Be more serious with rent
Rent is the only significant fixed expense, so it's important to control it. Since opening a quest takes time, you can (and should) ask for a vacation for construction. Also transfer part of the costs to the landlord (related to pipes, toilets, ventilation, heating - those that improve the premises and will remain with the landlord forever)
It is more profitable to place several quests in one location, this way you save on:
- Rental rate per square meter;
- Arrangement of the area (repair);
- Square meters (one entrance group, toilet, leader’s room - all this for several quests);
- Salary: one person can simultaneously conduct several quests. During the day, one person is enough for several quests, the staff helps each other, while one collects, others meet clients and tell the legend.
- Other expenses: internet, receptionist, cleaning - divided among all quests.
Payback
At the moment, even if the area is large (3-5 quests), one unpromoted quest with average profitability, with fierce competition, can cover the current rental costs, so the second quest will cover salaries, advertising and operating expenses, and subsequent will bring net profit. This is at the start of a business.
The area per quest is usually about 30–40 square meters. meters, maybe larger 60–70 sq. meters. Minimum quest - 25 sq. meters. If there is a scary but large room, you can implement a performance (quest with an actor from 150 sq. meters), which can be opened quickly enough with small investments, but this is a horror film and with an actor, due to this a wow effect is achieved.
A good option is a quest for two, it can be implemented on 10 square meters. meters - this is a prison cell or an elevator, or “buried alive”, or a laboratory (in breaking bad style).
Among the new formats, it is now profitable to open “Hide and Seek in the Dark”. A minimum of cash investment is required, and construction can be completed in three to four weeks. The format is ideal for family visits, children's birthdays, team building events, large groups. Unlike a quest, it can be completed many times. Over the past few months, we have opened 9 hide and seek and 9 more are being built across Russia.
Some other features to look out for when searching for premises:
- Room layout. It is necessary to make the most efficient use of space. If the toilet is located at the other end of the room, then keep in mind that there must be free access to it, which can “eat” squares that could go on quests.
- Ceiling height. Low ceilings will put pressure and do not allow the installation of additional engineering. High ceilings(3–4 sq. meters) require significant effort and funds to use.
- Humidity, traces of flooding, accidents (especially in the basement). Sewerage is a very common problem, it should be check valve, preventing “breakthroughs” of the toilet. If it is not there, you need to supply it at the landlord's expense.
- Ability to work evenings, nights and weekends. If you have a base, it is better to have them above you non-residential premises, otherwise gaming in the evening hours may be limited. With neighbors “above”, games must end before 10–12 pm.
Stage two - choosing a scenario
Your city influences the strategy for opening quests.
Main factors:
- Population
- Competitors
Depending on the population, we distinguish two types: million-plus cities and small cities. A separate conversation - the capitals (Moscow and St. Petersburg).
We classify all cities with a population of less than 500 thousand as small towns and we recommend starting with opening quests based on adapted scenarios. These scenarios are optimized for opening without experience in quests or even entrepreneurship, they open in the shortest possible time and involve a minimum number of specialists (engineers / prop makers), the cost of their implementation is from 350 thousand rubles. But in case of strong competition, you can immediately start with environmental and engineering quests.
The quest industry is already three years old and the level of competition at the moment leaves virtually no opportunity to open a quality quest on your own. Previously, it was possible to make simple repairs, hide notes, keys and lock people up. Now everything has changed.
Creating a script and adapting it to reality requires time and significant investment. The value of the scenario tends to zero, since the main importance is set of items, engineering, and the implementation of riddles. It is on this component of the quest that most of the time and money is spent. This is where the quest opening stage is where the maximum value from the franchise is achieved. It will protect you from mistakes and help you save time and money at every stage from selecting a room to opening the quest.
The third stage - advertising and attracting customers
For many, at this stage, franchise assistance ends with the provision of a reservation system on the website. We went further by creating a marketing agency for quests: our staff includes specialists in Yandex.Direct, Google Adwords, VKontakte targeting, a copywriter, an email specialist, and content specialists.
We understand that traffic is one of the most important stages, so a designer and a programmer work on website conversions, we have written our own analytics system.
Since most clients call rather than sign up on the website (up to 90% in the regions), we are the only ones who have introduced a single call center for all our partners, which provides daily online service from morning to night, without holidays and weekends.
To improve the quality of processing applications, we were forced to write a separate one for processing applications with elements of tips, since it is very difficult to remember 150 quests in 40 cities, but with such a system, information on each reservation, for each client, for each quest is presented conveniently to increase the number of entries .
The introduction of a call center shows an increase in bookings by 30% due to the quality of application processing, scripts and the application processing system.
Types of advertising
We divide advertising into two categories: online advertising and offline advertising in the city. We provide detailed information about offline advertising in the training. But we take care of setting up and maintaining online advertising. This is contextual advertising in search engines: Yandex and Google. Social networks: VKontakte (targeting), Instagram (again, we won’t list the rest, but there are significantly more sources of Internet traffic than just search networks).
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Quest rooms are a rapidly developing entertainment industry. People of any background want to “tickle” their nerves, get new impressions and just have fun in the company. And for a business idea, creating a quest room is good source income. After all, the demand is high and at the same time the initial investment for the purchase of inventory and promotion is minimal.
The article builds step by step detailed business plan quest rooms with calculations.
Important: this business plan - similar to other projects from the Business Plans catalog - is developed on the basis of average expenses and income from open sources. The numbers may vary for your project! Make individual calculations based on the current exchange rate and the situation on the industry market in your city.
Project Summary
The business plan was drawn up for a company that organizes quests in reality - intellectual role-playing games in special rooms. For each room, a game scenario and thematic equipment is developed, which includes various secrets, tasks, tips and special effects.
The task of the players (clients) is to get out of the room in a limited time. Along the way, players work together to solve puzzles, find hidden clues, and use objects and technical devices in the room. In some games, according to the script, players play a fictional role.
Objective of the project- Creation small business for 4 quest rooms. The main income of the enterprise is payment for completing rooms. Number of participants - 2-6 people. Entrance price - 2,000 rubles for a company of 2-6 people. The average time to complete a room is 75 minutes.
Schedule dictated by the entertainment nature of the services, peak loads are from 18:00 until closing. Usually by this time all locations are booked.
Approximate schedule for registering for quests:
Monday 11:00 - 21:00 → 10 h
Tuesday 11:00 - 21:00 → 10 h
Wednesday 11:00 - 21:00 → 10 h
Thursday 11:00 - 21:00 → 10 h
Friday 11:00 - 22:00 → 11 h
Saturday 10:00 - 23:00 → 13 h
Sunday 10:00 - 23:00 → 13 h
Number of working hours per week: 77, per month: 308. Lunch break time is “floating” when the load on quests is minimal.
The entertainment industry involves working seven days a week, that is, 7 days a week and even on holidays. From Friday to Sunday are the most profitable days. For weekdays, it is reasonable to set discounts for visiting quests during hours when clients usually do not come.
Primary Audience- young people from 18 to 40 years old.
The reason for visiting can be any significant date: national holidays, birthdays, graduations, family outings, romantic dates, or just looking for fun for the weekend.
It is worth considering an audience with above-average income, because, if you compare the average bills for the entertainment services market, entertainment is not cheap (from 1,500 rubles).
A separate type of customers are corporate clients. These are the people who come to relax with work colleagues. Corporate parties in 9 out of 10 cases include visits to escape rooms for the sake of a group game (both HR personnel and business leaders themselves insist on this). People come from offices, departments, just friendly groups - for any reason or no reason. This is a very grateful audience, which provides a significant share of income with virtually no promotion costs. A far-sighted step at the start is to notify about yourself and offer a discount to all possible companies in the city.
Market analysis
Modern quest rooms are extremely popular both in Russia and in other countries of the world. According to Wikipedia, the first quests appeared in 2007 in parallel in Europe and Asia. Abroad they are called “escape rooms” (English: Real-life room escape). The first such quests in Russia arose in 2018 in Yekaterinburg; today similar projects are presented in all major cities of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
According to LiveQuests (an independent aggregator of escape rooms), at the beginning of 2018, over 1,000 quest rooms were opened in Russia. According to the Quests in Moscow section, 116 rooms are registered in the capital. In St. Petersburg - 67. Check the website for information on your city.
In large cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, such businesses are widespread, which means the organizer of a new business will face fierce competition and significant start-up costs. However, there is also an established demand, which will simplify the task of attracting customers and speeding up payback.
It is optimal to open a project in a city with a population of 300,000 or more people. The larger the city, the more solvent the population, the higher the demand for entertainment services. Business activity and the number of “young companies” in the city play a role, because quest rooms are favorite places for corporate parties.
The first step in creating your business plan is to research your competitors. The search for quest rooms in the city can be done through Yandex; all companies (and their rooms) are presented on the Internet, because this is the main sales channel.
Competitors are divided into 2 types:
- Network companies operating under a franchise of a well-known brand. An example is “Claustrophobia”. Such companies have a number of advantages, such as brand awareness, a proven sales model, their own technical developments, franchisee training, well-established sales channels, and tools for attracting and retaining customers. However, this does not guarantee that the local franchise owner will make good use of all this wealth. Competition is possible - small company mobile in terms of strategy, can focus on nuances and make decisions faster than a large, centralized network.
- Local organizations that independently opened a project in the city. Their resources, capital investments, knowledge and experience are inferior to network companies. The number of rooms does not exceed 2-4. Competition with local companies will not cause difficulties, because their offerings, budgets and sales channels are significantly limited.
We recommend that you get to know each local competing organization personally, exchange contacts, offer mutual advertising or another way of cooperation. The demand for quest rooms significantly exceeds supply, so cooperation is beneficial for both parties.
Example: the client completed all the quests in one company, he is ready to pay for new rooms, but there are none. Then the administrator can recommend a competitor. Depending on the agreements, the competitor pays a reward for each recommendation or similarly recommends you.
In Russia, there is still an increase in demand for quest rooms; over the 6 years of the existence of the event business, taking into account the crisis years, the trend has not lost its relevance, as evidenced by data from new escape rooms from open sources of franchisees.
Renting premises
When searching for a location, it is important to be guided by the high traffic volume of potential clients who may be interested in quests.
When choosing a premises, it is wise to focus on local shopping centers, which are located even outside the city; the main criterion is the number of potential customers who come for shopping and in search of entertainment.
Rental space for quests can be a creative space in the city where various exhibitions and youth events are held. Often, quests fit organically into the atmosphere unique offers similar spaces.
The best option is local shopping mall in a residential area of the city with high traffic, where the rental price will not be excessively high. It is a dubious idea to place quests in large chain shopping centers (MEGA, etc.), high rents will most likely make the project unprofitable.
After you have decided on the room where the quests will take place, we solve the issue of locations. The best option is 2-4 rooms for a new project in conditions of scarcity of resources. Footage - from 100 m2 excluding the bathroom and the room where the guests will be met and briefed.
In this business plan, we take as an example the placement of quest rooms in a local shopping center of a millionaire city (with a population of over a million people) with an area of 120 m2. The rent for the premises is 80,000 rubles.
Staff
To operate the project you will need 1 person, who is also an administrator, instructor and operator game rooms. For the first few months, it is best to assign this role to the founder of the company, which will give an understanding of the “internal kitchen”.
It is important to plan the time for completing quests correctly:
Short briefing - 5-10 min.
The game itself lasts 60 minutes.
Preparing the room for new players - 5-10 minutes.
Session duration is up to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Purchase of equipment
The main production work is the development of scenarios and the preparation of play areas. In such projects, the theme and interestingness of the plot play an important role. Common mistake aspiring entrepreneurs - self-creation games without regard to competitors and the involvement of a screenwriter. In 80% of cases with this approach, the game has low demand.
Be sure to analyze the games of large online brands and involve screenwriters and writers to create a plot. As for the latter, we recommend looking for science fiction writers who have at least several printed books published by the EKSMO publishing house (the largest publishing house in Russia).
| Name | Price | ||
| Game rooms | |||
| Game items (interior) | 20 000 | ||
| Furniture | 40 000 | ||
| CCTV | 20 000 | ||
| Voice communication with operator | 15 000 | ||
| Location management system for the operator | 20 000 | ||
| Special effects | 25 000 | ||
| Customer service area | |||
| Wardrobe | 7 000 | ||
| Sofa | 17 000 | ||
| Telephone | 12 000 | ||
| Computer | 25 000 | ||
| Table | 13 000 | ||
| Chairs | 8 000 | ||
| Expenses 222,000 | |||
To finish the locations, you need to assemble a team that will include an electrical engineer, a sound and video surveillance specialist, an inventory buyer, and a finishing and remodeling specialist. It could be just 2-3 people who will work under the guidance of a screenwriter for a month.
Legal registration, taxes, accounting
The work will require legal registration of activities. The choice is to register a company (LLC - limited liability company) or an individual entrepreneur (IP) represented by the founder of the project. The option with an individual entrepreneur is cheaper, faster and easier to register, but an individual entrepreneur is an individual, and physical persons are liable with their property.
When registering an individual entrepreneur, you will need to indicate OKVED (all-Russian classifier of species economic activity) - numeric code activities of the enterprise. Such codes are created for each activity. Suitable OKVED codes for quests:
- “Creative activities, activities in the field of art and entertainment”
- “Activities of multi-purpose centers and similar institutions with a predominance of cultural services”
- "Activities in the field of sports, recreation and entertainment"
- "Activities in the field of recreation and entertainment"
Also, when registering, you must select a taxation system. For individual entrepreneurs with entertainment services, the so-called simplified taxation system - simplified taxation system - is suitable. There are 2 formats to choose from: “Income minus expenses” (more for production, catering, goods) and simply “Income” - fixed 6% taxes on all income. Latest format for business with minimal costs- the best choice.
After registering an enterprise, it is important to open an account for a legal entity in one of the banks in the city. For example, in Sberbank. You will need to pay a fee to open and maintain an account. An account is required when concluding a rental agreement for premises, accepting payments from cards, as well as any settlements with other companies. Officially: all funds must go through a bank account.
To accept cash, a cash register (KKM) is required. We recommend immediately connecting the possibility of making non-cash payments via credit and debit cards to your bank account.
Make sure to connect payment systems on the site in advance. To do this, you will need to enter into an agreement with one of the service companies (for example, Robokassa, Payanyway, Assist) and implement their technical solutions for accepting payments. For its services, the service will take a small percentage of the commission from each transaction, the remaining funds will go to your bank account.
When renting premises for gaming locations, an agreement will also be required. In 99% of cases, payment is by bank transfer, i.e. through the transfer of funds from a current account. Payment for electricity, heating and other fees - separately.
This business format does not require a license. Game scenarios, genre and themes of games do not need approval. The only thing is that the organization’s activities should not violate the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Marketing plan
The main work of any entertainment enterprise is based on finding the best sales channels. For different niches - they work different channels. Internet advertising works ideally for a quest project. These include (in order of importance):
Website creation and promotion. This should be a separate website with which customers can find you on the Internet.
Creation and development of the VKontakte community. In the community, it is necessary to publish photos of quest locations and guests, inform about news and promotions, organize competitions, answer questions, and make reservations through personal messages. The VK group is a live communication between the company and clients and endless opportunities for attracting new audiences.
Creation and development of an Instagram account. Similar to VKontakte, this social network is today the second most effective in terms of advertising opportunities.
Coupon and discount services. This is the most effective channel for sales and growth of brand awareness. However, the conditions of the services are such that you will have to work with a very small margin - on the verge of profitability. For new projects, this makes sense to increase awareness and start word of mouth. Read more: Free advertising on the Internet on coupon and discount sites.
Addition to well-known quest catalogs. Large directories invest significant resources and knowledge into attracting customers, so the opportunity to be present on their site is good idea. You will have to pay to be added to directories, but the costs are worth it.
"Traditional advertising" City media, radio, street banners, leaflets, participation in events - all this can produce results. However, it is necessary to test each advertising channel and identify profitable promotion tools. Still, as practice shows, most clients are on the Internet.
Calculation of projected income
- Duration of the quest is 1 hour 15 minutes.
- Number of quests 4 pcs.
- Working hours per month 308 hours.
- The cost of the quest is 4,000 rubles.
- Average workload 40%
308 working hours per month = 18,480 min. Time of one session - 75 minutes.
Gaming sessions per month: 18,480/75 = 246.
Calculation of the number of sessions for 4 locations per month: 246 × 4 = 984 sessions at full capacity.
The average cost of a gaming session is 2,000 rubles.
Revenue per month with 4 locations fully occupied will be: 984 × 2,000 = 1,968,000 rubles - Average occupancy of locations - 30%. 1,968,000 × 0.30 = 590,400 rubles - monthly revenue with an average load of 4 locations.
Monthly income will be ≈ 590,400 rubles.
Start-up costs and payback
The starting investment amount is:
- Legal registration persons (IP) - 800 rub.
- Opening a bank account - 2,000 rub.
- Location renovation - 300,000 rub.
- Location development - RUB 222,000
- Scenario - 100,000 rub.
- Renting premises - 80,000 rub.
- Site development - 100,000 rub.
- Advertising for the launch of the project - 50,000 rub.
Initial investment 854,800 rub.
When planning expenses, it is important to consider periodic updating of scenarios and locations. This is specific to the project. Over time, the demand for any quest decreases, so it is necessary to update the assortment every 6-12 months. Take into account the costs of refurbishment of locations - allocate 100,000 rubles from the revenue every month. for future content updates.
Let's consider the monthly expenses when opening an quest room:
- Rent for premises + utilities - 90,000 rub.;
- Staff salaries - 70 000 rub.;
- Tax and social contributions - 21,000 rub.;
- Location updates and scenario - 20,000 rub.;
- Advertising and promotion - 20,000 rub.;
Total: 221,000 rubles.
Profit before taxes: 590,400 – 221,000 = 369,400 rubles.
Calculation of taxes according to the simplified taxation system (STS) 6%: 369,400 × 0.06 = 22,164 rubles.
Net profit after taxes: 369,400 – 22,164 = 347,236 rubles.
Project profitability: 347,236/590,400 = 0.59%
Return on initial investment: 854,800/347,236 = 2.4 months with stable average demand.
SWOT analysis
The primary task of an entrepreneur creating new business based on quest room services, is a SWOT analysis that determines the external internal factors of the enterprise. The founder of the company cannot influence external factors, but their analysis will help to create a competent strategy: in some places to minimize risks, and in others - even turn them into benefits. External factors include:
Potential Opportunities:
Low startup costs, low entry threshold (≈ RUB 900,000).
High profitability, quick return on business - 3-4 months.
Insignificant competition in cities with a population of up to 1 million people.
Low competition due to a limited number of offers.
Unmet demand, limited supply on the industry market. Clients visit rooms once and then contact other companies.
Wide scope for creative work by scriptwriters and designers, great opportunities for experimentation in the entertainment industry
Opportunity for exponential growth in demand through the introduction of innovative ideas (example: playing in the dark).
Risks and threats:
Falling demand for specific rooms. This happens when most clients have already completed the game. Once every six months or a year, it is necessary to re-equip the “used” premises: develop a new scenario, organize redevelopment, change the surroundings and launch new advertising campaigns.
The difficulty in forecasting demand for game themes is the lack of experience. To minimize risks at the start, we recommend borrowing successful ideas from major market players in Moscow and St. Petersburg, after first making sure that there are no analogues in your city.
Dependence of demand on many factors. They must be taken into account: seasonality, weather, holidays, weekends and weekdays, beginning and end of training sessions, etc.
Decrease in solvency (purchasing power) of the population due to crisis situation in the country - rising prices, the value of the ruble. A clear impact on demand in any entertainment and leisure industry. Exception - big cities with a population of 1 million people.
Safety when completing quests. The organizer is obliged to take care to eliminate risks to the health and life of clients when participating in the game ( Fire safety, protection against electric shock, hazardous areas, etc.). All responsibility, including financial and criminal, falls on the organizer.
Periodic repairs of premises due to wear and tear. Games involve the interaction of players with the room and its objects; there are frequent cases when the client breaks some finishing elements or game equipment. Prudently include periodic repairs into your expenses.
Internal factors directly depend on business qualities founder and well-structured processes within the organization. These are the advantages of your specific offer compared to competitors in the city. Internal factors include:
Strengths:
A unique offer on the market, no analogues in the city.
Using the most popular sales channels on the Internet: organic promotion in search engines, contextual and targeted advertising, announcements on social networks, use of discount services, etc.
Competent brand positioning, which includes a well-thought-out policy of interaction with customers, brand design, and pricing.
High level of services, expert assessment game scenarios and locations, mandatory split testing.
Exclusivity of the offer, for example, in pricing policy and/or special conditions for companies from 4 people.
Potential weaknesses:
Absence practical experience in the creation and development of similar projects.
Difficulties in finishing the first premises, purchasing gaming equipment, developing scenarios, training staff, etc.
Lack of knowledge about your own audience, difficulties in identifying profitable sales channels.
Lack of knowledge about the pitfalls, ignorance of the nuances of doing business in this niche. Risks and threats, as we know, lie in the details.
A SWOT analysis will help determine the main objectives and methods for translating them into reality. Main objectives of the project:
- Search for a convenient location of the premises that meets 3 criteria: be located within the city, have high public traffic and low rental costs. The ideal option is a shopping center or an independent facility located within walking distance from the central streets.
- Finding the optimal premises for gaming locations. Minimum requirements: square footage of 100 m2 (excluding reception) and the possibility of redevelopment.
- Development of scenarios (for 2-4 locations), based on the capabilities of the rented premises. It makes sense to hire a screenwriter for a fee.
- Carrying out finishing works, electrical and location design tasks.
- Search and purchase of game props, according to the requirements of the script.
- Split testing of games on different audience groups, subsequent refinement.
It is important to approach problem solving with particular scrupulousness, because... the level of demand will directly depend on the original quest plots, convenience of location, unique features of the location and the rest of the list.
Risks
The main risks in entertainment projects are a decrease or lack of demand. Main risks:
- Lack of demand for a specific quest. A case where the game developer misinterprets the interests of the audience. As a result, the room remains unattended by the audience and customers do not book games. The reasons can be very different: a problem with the script, genre, poor technical performance, lack of original ideas quest rooms, special effects, weak team component, etc. To avoid risk, always analyze your competitors and their proposals, and in your work - this is important - involve real screenwriters and writers..
- Poor quality of the room. Today, clients are spoiled by high-quality locations of large network companies that invest large resources in development. Therefore, new companies are obliged to do at least no worse. Customers will definitely compare and tell their friends about the new game - whether this is a recommendation or not depends on the quality of the location. bad reviews. The quality and coolness of games is what attracts customers.
- Negative reviews. Word of mouth is extremely relevant for this type of activity, reviews of games are almost always a reason to visit. This also applies to reviews on the Internet. However, the opposite is also true - negative customer impressions immediately affect the level of demand.