How do you ensure that guests are choosing your aquatic facility over others? And when they do visit, what is encouraging them to extend their stay? The simple answer to this question is to provide elements they aren’t able to receive elsewhere - it’s a key principle of competitive advantage. On a very basic level, visitors need to feel comfortable and excited about amenities. While location weighs into the convenience factor of which facility a visitor may choose, other factors such as superior safety, cleaner surfaces, level of shade, and play features can all sway decisions.
Ultimately, guests are looking for the best possible experiences they can give their families. Parents want to ensure their kids have fun over summer vacation and want to fill their childhoods with positive memories of fun. They’re going to choose to visit environments that support these good experiences and they’re going to choose locations based on perceived value.
Curious about how you can increase your facility’s perceived value? Keep reading for our top 10 tips:
1. Cleanliness of Facilities
Maintaining a clean facility is more important now than ever during the midst of COVID-19. As facilities begin to reopen, parents want to ensure their children are avoiding coming into contact with viruses and bacteria. One or two bad reviews online can be enough to sway parents into choosing another facility, so consistent cleaning practices are important.
2. Superior Safety Features
Safety is at the forefront of many parents' minds. For those with toddlers, child-proofing their homes is a familiar task. However, ensuring their children’s safety at splash pads and pools is full of uncertainties. Is the surface cushioned? Is there a lifeguard on duty? Are water shoes needed to give children better traction or to protect against abrasive or hot surfaces? Many questions play into decision making.
One way to ensure the safety of your facility is to walk through your features like a child would or ask visitors how they feel about your facility. It may sound unusual, but get down on your hands and knees or walk around it barefoot. Is the surface abrasive and uncomfortable? Does it feel too hot? Is it slippery? Consider all aspects of play in your analysis to find areas that could be improved.
3. Appropriate Shade Levels and Seating Options
Consider all of your guests and know their demographics. Are grandparents bringing their grandchildren to your splash pad? Is there a shady area that allows them to sit and watch without being uncomfortable? Are there picnic tables so that families can eat lunch together and then resume play or do they have to leave the park for food with the chance of not being able to return? Making sure your guests stay cool, comfortable, and well-accommodated will encourage them to stay longer. By knowing the demographics of your visitors or creating ideal demographics of who you wish would visit your facility, you make the space more welcoming to more people.
4. Exciting and Interesting Play Features
Play features add to the overall play value of a facility. Play features include water jets, sprayers, climbable features, and unique flooring patterns like hopscotch or theming. Having a good balance of engaging features per square foot is important to provide guests with more options of play. Using a safety surface like Life Floor in conjunction with spray features allows your facility to maximize this utilization while providing superior safety. With a surface like Life Floor, you can create engaging designs that work with your existing play features and give parents another draw for visiting your facility. Ultimately, safer play features result in more positive experiences and memories.
5. Keep Accessibility in Mind
Accessibility is often overlooked when designing facilities. Even one concrete step could mean someone’s experience could be prevented entirely. To analyze all aspects of making your facility accessible, we recommend fully immersing yourself in the task - ride a wheelchair from the moment you enter the parking lot all the way to the final destination and utilize different features such as drinking fountains, bathrooms, and play features along the way. It helps you realize firsthand the shortcomings and/or benefits of your facility design.
6. Drinking Fountains
Having one or more drinking fountains on location is important because a lack of potable water means visits can get disrupted and end if guests are thirsty and either forgot to bring water or assumed it would be present at the facility. It is equally important to ensure these fountains are consistently clean and free of contaminants such as gum or other foreign objects that may contain bacteria or viruses.
7. Accessible and Clean Bathroom Options
For smaller facilities, bathrooms are a luxury; however, offering a bathroom or suggesting one nearby can prolong visits and ensure the cleanliness of facilities. In some cases, learning that they have to leave and go home to use a bathroom may result in children having otherwise avoidable “accidents” in or around the facility. This can cause issues for facility operators that then need to shock the system and eliminate traces of the contaminant. If bathrooms are present, it is also important to ensure that they are clean and maintained since a dirty bathroom can have the same impact as not having one at all.
8. On-site Parking or Free Street Parking
Offering a free parking option can encourage guests to visit your facility that may not have otherwise due to location convenience. By offering parking, you are signaling to your visitors that you value their time and are offering them an amenity to encourage their patronage. Keep in mind that parking should still be accessible to all people and include ramps or valleys in curbs so that people riding wheelchairs can enjoy the facilities as well.
9. Cost
Cost can be a barrier to entry for some guests. Often, having a paid facility can help support other costs such as on-site food, bathrooms, lifeguards, and other luxuries. However, free facilities can encourage guests to visit more often and develop location loyalty. It’s ultimately up to your brand model to decide which option you want to offer and which features are most important for you to provide your guests.
10. Have Fun with It!
Get excited about your facility! Your guests can tell how much effort was put into it, so have some fun with it. Whether it’s getting creative with your signage or introducing a mascot for your city or even installing a unique and engaging floor - your guests will thank you and become champions for your city if they fall in love with your special park. Be proud of the work you’ve accomplished and never stop having fun!
If you’d like to learn more about how to incorporate fun surfacing designs into your facility, send us an email at solutions@lifefloor.com or give us a call at 612-567-2813. We’d love to help you increase your facility’s competitive advantage!