8-Step Family Entertainment Center Design Guide

Creating a Family Entertainment Center (FEC) business? You will need to consider the following points carefully:

• Target demographics

• Attractions & Games

• Available budget

• Atmosphere

Family Entertainment Centers (FECs) operate on a square-foot business model, meaning you will need expansive spaces to generate significant revenue. Typically, FECs are located outside city centers, making it essential to consider transportation options available to your target audience.

Various factors, including your guests' age, preferences, and spending habits, influence the design of an FEC. In this article, we provide expert tips and insights based on our experiences at Shuffly working with industry leaders in the leisure sector.

1. Understanding Your Target Audience

Target Audience Tip: Conduct thorough research of the local market potential: analyze the size of the population within a certain radius, their demographics, and their spending habits.

Family entertainment centers (FECs) are not solely for young children and families. In fact, many FECs target primarily adults and older teenagers offering competitive socializing games like shuffleboard, AR darts, or Axe Throwing.

According to industry insights, around 95% of FECs target the 18+ or 12-14 age groups rather than young children.

To make your family entertainment center profitable, you have to understand the local market and target audience. Demographics, spending power, and potential guests' preferences will help you plan and design the best entertainment activities.

Social gaming for FECs: Read Our Guide

2. Choose the best attractions, activities and games

FEC Attractions Tip: You do not want your guests to occupy space only - negative dwell time, you want them to consume while being at your venue - positive dwell time. You need to add multiple games, activities, drinks, and food.

For example, complementary games like shuffleboards and AR darts pair well together: once guests are done with one activity they can jump into the next. Drinks count for a large percentage of cross-selling at your venue so make sure you offer a wide range of beverages for your guests.

Here an some examples of the best attractions, activities, and games for family entertainment centers that complement well to each other:

Competitive Socializing Games:

• Shuffleboard: The competitive social game with the best returns per square foot. Easy to play, addictive, competitive, and high turnover. Games last between 15-20 mins which facilitates the guests' movement. Easy to play “The Last One”.

• AR Darts: the traditional dart games with a digital twist to create unique themes and keep guests entertained for longer.

Traditional Attractions:

• Bowling: A staple in many FECs, bowling remains popular due to its popularity and ability to generate substantial revenue.

• Mini-Golf: Classic mini-golf is always a hit, particularly in themed or creatively designed courses.

High-Tech Experiences:

• VR Games: Virtual Reality (VR) games will immerse your guests in another world. They attract a specific audience so make sure it fits your business goals. VR Games might cause negative dwell time, as gamers cannot do anything else when playing, which is not great for profitability.

• Interactive Mini-Golf: This is a modern version of mini-golf. It can get as crazy as you want. For example, a pinball theme, a golf road with drums, or a beer pong. Interactive mini-gold allows guests to drink and eat, before, during, and after the game.

The best competitive social games for FEC

Family-Friendly Activities:

• Trampoline Parks or Indoor Playgrounds: ideal for children and teens. Remember to add games or activities that are appealing to your audience and when possible, do not target different audiences within the same venue.

3. Facility Location and Layout Planning

Choosing the right location and planning the layout effectively are crucial steps in designing a successful family entertainment center (FEC). Here are key considerations based on expert insights:

Facility Location

The transcript discusses the importance of location for a family entertainment center. Some key points:

Facility Location Tip: aim for a large potential market. For example, have a large catchment area, with people willing to travel a certain distance to visit your family entertainment center.

• Catchment Area: Ensure your location has a large enough catchment area with potential customers and low competition. Analyze the demographics, spending power, and preferences of the local population to determine suitability.

• Accessibility and Visibility: While accessibility and visibility are important, they are less critical for destination-based FECs compared to high-street locations. However, convenient access and sufficient parking can enhance guest satisfaction.

• Check the competition: Do not build a center next to each other if they are not complementary, for example, do not start a bowling center if there is another one a few minutes away by car. One of them will fail soon.

Layout Planning

 
Layout Planning Tip: Strategically position less familiar or new unknown activities close to the entrance to increase visibility and interest. The most known games and activities can be placed at the very back as guests will go there regardless.

• Old games vs new activities: Strategically place activities to maximize engagement and ease of movement. Ensure that popular attractions are easily accessible and that there is a logical flow between different areas.

• Food and Beverage Placement: The placement of food and beverage offerings is critical. Position them in areas where guests are likely to take breaks, allowing longer stays and increased spending.

The best social games for FEC

4. Concept Design

Concept Design Tip: Incorporate elements of gamification and interactivity. Follow market trends. For example, add traditional games in your venue to lower risks but with a twist to make them more engaging and immersive. Innovation can become your unique selling point.

Your FEC concept concept will be fundamental to differentiate your venue from your competitors. Below you can find the most successful concepts we encountered while working with leisure entrepreneurs:

• Multi-Model Approach: also known as an all-in-one leisure center. For example, combining a sports bar, restaurant, and arcade under one roof. Your venue can host different customer segments and revenue streams, boosting profitability.

• Combining Similar Activities: as a multi-model approach can be quite capital-intensive, you can still broaden your audience by integrating a few extra similar activities in your venue. For example, shuffleboards and VR darts work well together. Avoid combining activities that serve completely different audiences, for example never mix a trampoline park, or a children's activity with shuffleboards, which is more an adults' game.

• Themed Centers: Themed-focused venues also play a fundamental role in the profits and success of family entertainment centers. Think of a themed interior design as a way to make your venue as unique as possible and differentiate you from competitors. Designing rooms and different areas to be comfortable and cozy will make customers repeat visits. Revenue per visitor will increase just because of the right theme design. You will need experts and master planners to create an effective themed center layout.

• Urban Focus: For smaller, city-based family centers, focus on the 18+ demographic with competitive socializing activities like shuffleboards. Competitive socializing activities are quite popular among adults and older teens which is the most common audience to encounter in urban centers, which will ensure a steady flow of visitors.

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5. Entrance, Interior Design and First Impressions

Expert tip: The entrance is the first point of contact guests have with your FEC. A well-designed entrance and layout will set your venue for profitability as it will determine how comfortable guests will feel: the more cozy guests are the longer they stay.

Key Elements of a Welcoming Entrance:

• Attractive Design: Design an entrance that is visually appealing and welcoming. Bright colors and themed design will set your venue apart from the competition.

• Straightforward Signage: Provide clear and visible signage to guide guests from the moment they arrive. Helping your guests to find their way will ease “foot traffic” allowing your venue to effectively host many customers at once.

• Catch the trend: Place popular and engaging activities right at the entrance. This immediately captures guests’ attention and draws them further into the center.

Get Design Experts on board:

• Professional Planning: Work with experts in interior design and master planning to create an entrance that easily flows into the rest of the FEC.

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6. Technology Integration

Expert tip: analog traditional games are being digitized and integrated with technology like cameras, sensors, and software to enhance the experience. Your venue needs to adapt and upgrade its technology. Otherwise, you will lose appeal as an entertainment center.

Digital and Interactive Elements:

• Gamifying Traditional Games: Traditional games won’t be sufficient despite being popular. Using cameras, sensors, and software, you can track scores automatically, create interactive game elements, and offer various game modes. Younger generations have grown, and they are used to different experiences. Some examples of highly advanced games and activities for FECs:
• Electric or Supercharged shuffleboards
• Augmented Reality (AR) darts
• Virtual Reality (VR) games
• Interactive Mini-Golf

Read this: Tech-advanced activities for FEC.

Online Booking Systems:

• Reservations on autopilot: guests can easily reserve activities in advance when you implement online booking systems. Also, making profit estimations becomes a lot easier when automated processes are in place: you get all your venue's data in one place.

• Personalize experience: Allow guests to create profiles for each activity, save their favorite games, and receive personalized recommendations. Personalization encourages repeat visits as guests make their experience unique to them.

Operational Efficiency:

• Facilitate Self-Service with QR Codes: guests should be able to help themselves. The benefits of self-service solutions such as QR codes are fewer waiting times and higher service efficiency.

• Automation: Reduce manual labor by implementing automated systems for inventory management, order processing, guest services, etc. Venue profits increase with less manual work.

Partnering with Reliable Technology Providers:

• Expert Support: Collaborate with established technology providers to ensure your activities, games, and systems are reliable and well-maintained. A good partner can set you up for success.

7. Seasonal design

Expert tip: Most family entertainment centers’ have their peak season from October through the winter months. During these times, people prefer indoor activities. Prepare your venue for higher guest volumes by ensuring all attractions and services are fully operational and staffed during peak seasons.

Seasonal Considerations:

• Year-Round Appeal: To attract customers during summer months, successful FECs offer outdoor options or activities. This could include go-karting, bumper boats, or outdoor playgrounds. You must diversify your activity mix to ensure a steady flow of guests regardless of the season.

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8. Optimize Design for Operational Challenges

Expert tip: With all new technological upgrades of your venue, maintaining and repairing the technology and equipment becomes more challenging, as all gear can break down over time. Partner up with great vendors that offer the best maintenance.

• Technology and Equipment Maintenance: Regular maintenance is crucial as technology and equipment can often break down. Partner with reliable service providers to ensure quick and efficient repairs. Real-time maintenance alerts can help address issues before they affect the guest experience.

• Staffing and Retention: Finding and keeping good employees is essential for providing excellent customer service. Invest in proper staff training programs and create a positive work environment to retain staff. Happy employees are more likely to deliver great service, which translates into happy customers.

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