Cover Story
Taking Aim at
LASER TAG Is a new attraction in your center’s crosshairs? By Mike Fernandez
C
enter operators around the globe are reinvesting in their businesses, adding new attractions to draw fresh faces and stay relevant in the ever-evolving competition for people’s recreational dollars. Proven to boost both traffic and revenue, laser tag is one of the strongest-performing attractions you can confidently add to your center.
GUESTS LOVE IT, AND OPERATORS DO, TOO!
Laser tag caters to families and thrill-seekers; it attracts players of varying ages who want to win by outsmarting the enemy. Innovative lighting, special sound effects, and state-of-the-art vests create an invigorating experience that immerses guests in the adventure and gets them talking and sharing on social media.
Laser tag has been around for nearly 40 years as a staple in family entertainment, and consumers aren’t showing signs of retreat. More people than ever are participating, and at an average rate of around $8-$10 per guest for a 10-15 minute game, operators are happy too. While guest prices and promotional offers vary by location, demographics, and individual facilities, the latest trends with respect to play time are leaning toward quicker games of 8-10 minutes. 8 Amusement Alley February 2023
Laser tag options are endless. An ever-changing variety of weapons, gear, arenas, layouts, leaderboards, and special effects offer timeless replayability for guests but open a can of worms for operators to tackle without some professional direction. This month, we talked to the laser tag professionals at Laserforce for insight on what to consider when evaluating adding laser tag to your entertainment mix. Potential revenue, space, cost, ROI, and marketing strategies are frequent questions that proprietors want answers to.
REVENUE
The big question: is laser tag a profitable enough attraction to add to your center? Offering a solid mix of entertainment options is essential when staying competitive in your community. Laser tag has piqued the interest of many operators partially due to its profitability and replayability. “We see operators who offer both bowling and laser tag generally run around 750-800 player games per week, with top sites up putting through more than 2,800 player games. The average cost per game is in the $8-a-game range. This puts us at around $315,000 a year in additional revenue at sites that offer both bowling and laser tag,” said Chris Epstein, business development officer from Laserforce.