What Makes a Great Trampoline Park?

Whether you run a play centre, aqua park or trampoline park, the competition within the family entertainment business is fierce. Having worked with family entertainment centres of all shapes and sizes, we have learned a few things along the way. In this series of articles, we will share with you how to make your venue stand out from the crowd.

You don’t have to drive far nowadays to find a Trampoline Park to take the kids to. And with all these parks popping up all over the place, the competition between venues in this industry is bigger than ever. It may feel like you must go above and beyond to make your Trampoline Park a family favourite, but in reality, a few simple tweaks could place your venue at the top of the list.

Top tips to make your Trampoline Park the best in the business

Great equipment at your trampoline park

It isn’t enough to just have a few standard trampolines. The best trampoline parks have a variety of different equipment to entertain their guests such as foam pits, angled trampolines, duelling, climbing, gamification, aerial rides and dodgeball courts. With a wider range of equipment, it is more likely that your trampoline park will appeal to a wider audience and keep them coming back for more. We have also started noticing a trend of venues installing slides where customers surf down, get launched into the air and land into a large airbag or cushion. This new installation has proven to be a great success for Trampoline Parks. Our partial gel grip socks are the perfect option for parks implementing these slides as they have no gel on the heel of the sock which does not inhibit sliding. Take a look at our customer AirHop Bristol who has been the first in the UK to add this equipment.

Moreover, with more to do, your guests will plan a longer stay with you, which can only mean one thing: more spending on refreshments (we will come back to this later).

Challenges and games

Older kids love something with a competitive edge. Introducing a few areas into your trampoline park where kids can go up against each other is going to be a sure hit with customers. A wipe-out area, duelling beams and ball games are all classic additions to trampoline parks. You might also think about implementing Gamification, which is a more recent trend and is revolutionising the active entertainment industry. These digital products provide a variety of interactive games that can be played alone or with a team and are sure to appeal to all of your customers.

We can supply you with plenty of products for your guests who love a challenge, including custom dodgeballs and ninja gloves.

Exercise classes

Have you ever spent five minutes on a trampoline? It is more tiring than it looks but it is a fantastic workout. Bouncercise is an amazing cardiovascular workout that has the element of fun making exercise less of a chore. Running exercise classes at your trampoline park will be an additional source of income, but also encourage loyalty as the adults that attend classes are more likely to bring their family for a visit and vice versa. You can either rent out your space or run classes yourself.

Host events

A great way to improve your trampoline park’s ratings is by hosting discos, parties or ticketed events. Turn the lights down, turn the music up, get some UV clothing and accessories and party! When you advertise a party or event it will be far-reaching as people share and show their interest. Create an event on Facebook and the word will spread quickly as people click the “interested” button and it shows in their feeds.

You can take it a step further and rent your venue out for private events such as hen and stag parties, adult birthday parties and work events (minus the alcohol of course) to get on board with the kidulting trend.

Health and Safety at your trampoline park

It goes without saying that any indoor entertainment venue needs safety to be its number one priority. Maintaining equipment and replacing any that has become damaged is crucial. First aiders should be on hand at all times should an accident occur. Your guests may have signed a waiver, however, there is peace of mind in knowing that your staff are able to help in an emergency. Communicating this to guests will increase their confidence in your venue.

There must always be a safety briefing to ensure that you communicate clearly the rules of your venue. There should also be adequate staff on hand to enforce the rules. Trampoline socks must be worn at all times for safety reasons. Most trampoline parks insist that guests wear their socks so that they are certain of the quality. If guests bring their own, there is no way of knowing if they are any good. You should always have a good stock level to ensure that all customers can purchase your trampoline socks for their visit.

The pandemic has brought to the forefront of everyone’s mind cleanliness and hygiene. A trampoline park is no exception. It should be kept clean and tidy at all times to make it a pleasant place for people to visit.

Party time

Hosting a party at your trampoline park is about delivering a special experience to your guests, not only to create a memorable experience but also to encourage repeat happy customers and the resulting recommendations online and via word of mouth. Make it that bit more unforgettable by offering an exciting party pack. Not only is a party pack a fantastic revenue stream, but it will also help market your brand when the kids take their products home or into school.

Something for preschoolers

Trampolining can be dangerous for small children if they are bouncing with bigger kids. Although the rules state that there is only one person per trampoline, it is a very real possibility that a small child gets bounced off by a big kid. Toddler and preschool sessions in term time are great but what about the times when they are visiting with older family or friends? Specific areas for the little ones are essential to make your trampoline park a desirable day out for all the family.

Make sure your trampoline park is good value for money

The price of everything is going up around us and finding affordable things to do with the kids is increasingly difficult. Parents are looking for good value for money. Some of the easiest ways to add value are by including food in entry prices. You could also add a second activity for a discounted price – for example, trampolining plus clip and climb. This is of huge benefit to you since the longer you can keep your guests the more likely they are to spend money on refreshments and custom merchandise.

Another way to add value is to offer discounted or free gifts that are useful, bottles, drawstring bags etc. A loyalty scheme will keep customers coming back as they will receive a free visit after so many. Throw in a free coffee for adults and you are onto a winner. This brings us to our final point…

Refreshments

When you are positioning yourself as a family day out then refreshments are a fundamental part of your offer. A nice area is important so that non-trampolining participants can sit down and relax with a drink and a snack. Trampolining is hard work so drinks need to be offered in abundance. Jugs of squash are ideal so parents can keep their kids hydrated without paying a premium. Refillable drinks are another excellent choice. Purchasing a branded cup with free refills is a great option and good value since the cup or bottle can be used elsewhere for that all-important marketing opportunity and it is superb for your profit margins.

All food you offer should be quick and easy to prepare. No one will expect to pay through the nose for gourmet food at your trampoline park, however, ingredients should be fresh, quality and prepared appropriately. You should obtain a food safety hygiene rating and display it with pride.

Follow these tips and you will keep your customers bouncing back to your trampoline park!

Our world-leading expertise is trusted by some of the most recognisable active entertainment brands in the world. With businesses in the UK, US and the Netherlands, we offer an unrivalled custom-branded product service for our clients including grip socks, party packs, custom clothing, retail products and accessories to active entertainment centres across the globe. We provide a complete end-to-end solution to our clients which include trampoline parks, inflatable venues, aqua and water parks, soft play and indoor playgrounds, ninja courses, FECs and more. Whatever your branded product needs, Samurai does it all!

If you’re interested in boosting your revenue with some of our amazing products and making your Trampoline Park stand out from the crowd, get in touch now.