Funworld April 2011

From packages to payment plans and everything in between, a wide-ranging look at pricing strategies throughout the industry

Gustave Flaubert, a French novelist who lived and wrote in the early 19th century, observed, “Le bon Dieu est dans la detail”—God is in the details. About a century later, German architect Mies van der Rohe was often quoted as saying, “The devil is in the details,” reflecting the realization that, in architecture as in life, details can drive successful construction. Certainly for amusement parks and attractions trying to set pricing strategy, the task can be devilish. Here are some suggestions for ticket pricing and execution that can help make your results heavenly.

Pricing Strategy
When it comes to pricing strategy, Accesso CEO Steve Brown advocates a “good, better, best” approach; that is, a three-tiered structure that helps frame your attraction’s price for the consumer. “Some people always tend to go for the best,” Brown explains. “If you don’t offer them a premium option, you’re leaving money on the table.”

Remember that you’re pricing your primary offering, the experience of your park or attraction. That helps you focus on value for the consumer, says Joni Newkirk, CEO of Orlandobased consultancy Integrated Insight. “Don’t hesitate to put strong pricing on the experience itself. That’s where your investment is going. The value is in the experience, not in food, lockers, or parking,” she says.

Regard your attraction’s experience as the premium product it is, and price it accordingly. Studies suggest consumers expect high-value products to carry round prices (ending in double zero), Brown reports. Adopt this pricing approach to position your park among luxury consumer goods.

Promotions and Discounts
Set prices for promotions to signal great deals. JulieDion handles marketing for Adventure Landing, which operates 10 family entertainment centers in Florida, New York, Texas, and North Carolina. Attractions such as miniature golf, laser tag, go-karts, and bumper boats cost $7.25 each on an a la carte basis. However, a package of three attractions costs $16.99, and a package of five costs $26.99. “We use that 99 at the end to give the impression of a sale,” says Dion.

Be careful with your discounts, advises Brown, such as those for affinity organizations and travel clubs. “Many discounts are inherent but nonperforming. They aren’t promoted or marketed and do nothing to drive attendance,” he says. Customers standing at the gate may inquire about a AAA discount, but that 5 percent isn’t likely to influence the sale. Rather, round up all those discounts and transform them into something you can market, he says. Offer bigger discounts on products you are trying to sell, such as season passes.

Payment Plans
Although many big park chains such as SeaWorld, Universal, and Cedar Fair have been offering season-pass payment plans for years, they’re still not a widespread strategy. “Certainly, if a guest has three kids it’s a big chunk of change to purchase five season passes all at once,” says Brown. “Splitting up the payments makes it more affordable from a cash-flow perspective.”

Darien Lake Theme Park in upstate New York offered payment plans for the first time this year, with great success. Customers who purchased season passes online in December could opt to be charged in two or three credit-card installments; the last is due before the park opens in May. “We saw it as a great gesture, away to show that we are putting our best foot forward in servicing the needs of our guests,” says General Manager Chris Thorpe. The plan was marketed to returning season-pass holders; 14 percent took advantage of the plan.

Segmented Pricing
Why do attractions charge the same price on a super-busy Saturday as they do on a slow Tuesday? In years past, there was no feasible way to manage varying prices. But with advances in technology and consumer adoption of online purchasing, it’s much easier. “This is a way to drive attendance on slower days and maximize revenue from those who want to visit on peak demand days,” Brown says.

Segmentation is critical, and even a small business can implement this strategy, says Newkirk. For example, by offering a student discount, you might attract local college students to fill in slow attendance times when families aren’t coming. “The key is to go deep in order to attract people who aren’t going to visit your attraction anyway,” she says.

Bundling
Bundling, or packaging, is a key approach for Adventure Landing. “A lot of strategy goes into packaging our attractions together to increase per capita revenue,” says Dion. Packages are designed to be as user friendly as possible, and Adventure Landing offers multiple choices and combinations. Try to have as few disclaimers and restrictions as possible, Dion advises.

The language you use to describe your offer is important. Adventure Landing had been calling its three-attraction package a “Quest Pass” for years. When it changed the name to a “3-Attraction Pass” last year, sales literally doubled.

With bundling and prepurchase options, it’s all about convenience; no discount is necessary, says Debbie Evans, a marketing consultant based in Severna Park, Maryland. “Use the website as a revenue driver and to get guests to plan their visit in advance,” she says.

Riverbanks Zoo and Garden recently began offering a wristband that provides the wearer unlimited access to the zoo’s four rides and two feeding opportunities. The wristband is bundled with the admission ticket and costs $20, the same as it would cost to do each thing once. “For our guests, the benefit is the convenience,” says Tommy Stringfellow, the zoo’s director of marketing.

Convenience can really be a revenue driver, says Brown: “We are seeing more clients adding basic items to their online stores, allowing guests to pay in advance for parking, rentals, and meals.” That allows consumers to charge those purchases and save their precious cash for in-park spending, and offers operators an opportunity to maximize that spending on games and other impulse buys.

Execution
Execution of your pricing strategy is equally as important as its design. Parks and attractions continue to struggle with online sales execution, but it’s the place to invest, says Evans. “Make it easy for visitors to price and purchase tickets,” she says. “It is really worth investing in the e-commerce portion of your website.” The simplest tactic many parks overlook is strategic placement of the link to the e-commerce landing page. The upper right corner is common to many online retailers, and where consumers are accustomed to seeing their shopping carts.

Ensure prominent, visible placement of that link on every page, but especially on your Hours and Directions page— probably the most visited page on your site, according to Brown. He also recommends placing a ticket-purchase button in the header or navigation bar of every page on your site.

Third parties such as corporate benefit programs also have to be managed successfully. Remind them frequently of your existence and leverage your relationship as a way to market to their employees or members. Take these relationships to the next level by offering electronic third-party distribution—basically, just a special link for employees to buy tickets. This frees everyone from the burden of counting and reconciling paper tickets and decreases the risk of loss or theft.

So sweat the small stuff. By assigning the appropriate value to the experience your attraction offers; giving guests options in terms of price, payment, and add-ons; and ensuring effective execution whether online or in person, you can drive the devil out of the details.

Jennifer J. Salopek is a freelance writer in McLean, Virginia. She can be reached at jjsalopek@cox.net.