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planning a parents night out at your sports facility

Planning a Parents’ Night Out at Your Sports Facility

August 1, 2017 by Sports Facility Expert

You need to keep your space full for as many hours of the week as possible. That’s one of the pillars of running a profitable sports facility.

And for many boutique-type sports academies, it’s easy enough to do during after-school hours and weekend days. What’s left is to fill in the gaps — such as weekend nights.

We’ve already highlighted a few ways that eSoft Planner clients tackle this, such as a family fun night and an open-gym style event for kids.

However, another great option is to spin this type of event as a “parents’ night out” or “parents’ date night.”

Why a Parents’ Night Out Works

If you’re like most sports academies, the parents in your target market probably need a babysitter if they want any time alone with their partners.

However, hiring a babysitter isn’t always simple, as many of you know firsthand.

Even if you already have a babysitter you trust, there’s always the question of their availability, and there’s always a chance of last-minute cancellation. Plus, these days parents are often expected to pay $10/hour or more for a babysitter in their home, which can make them hesitate before scheduling a date.

Your sports facility is in the perfect position to rescue these weary parents.

Most of the ballpark figures I’ve seen for a Parents’ Night Out are $20 or so per family for 4-ish hours. That makes them a lucrative option for you to use during a slow period, but an affordable option for parents.

They’re even more affordable for parents considering what’s included, which is typically a pizza dinner (meaning parents don’t have to cook it or clean it up) and full use of your facility and professional staff, which would cost significantly more otherwise.

In addition, a Parent’s Night Out may attract new potential clients. It also gives you a chance to show them your programs.

Planning for a Parents’ Night Out

If you’re in the majority of sports facilities that already host birthday parties, planning your Parent’s Night Out should be fairly simple.

  • That’s because birthday parties often include many of the typical components of a Parents’ Night Out:
    a simple meal (usually pizza)
  • organized games
  • free play

If your birthday party packages have several theme or game options, you might simply include two of them to fill the extra time.

If you’re going four hours, that could mean:

  • 30 minutes for pizza, drinks, and sign-in
  • 90 minutes of a game (dodgeball, capture the flag, Nerf wars, etc.)
  • 30 minutes of free play or “stations” that let kids try your programs or instructors
  • Another 90-minute game, OR a kids’ movie if you you want the kids calmer as the night goes on.

Marketing the Event

Once you’ve chosen a date (or dates — a regular event is even better for letting parents plan), scheduled the staff and figured out a basic itinerary, you can get started on marketing.

Use your typical event promotion schedule (mine is detailed here) to get the word out.

However, don’t forget to use the event itself to promote your other services. Make sure your staff is primed and ready to help parents sign their kids up for future services at your facility.

You can give parents an extra incentive by offering to apply the cost of the Parents’ Night Out toward any other services they sign up for that night.

With that in mind, here’s what to list in your marketing materials:

  • the night’s itinerary (including drop-off and pickup times)
  • details on the food and drinks you’ll serve
  • the age range you’ll accept
  • a list of facility amenities for people who haven’t been to your facility before
  • any discounts, cross promotions, or special opportunities available during the event (example: “Use of the HitTrax cage included!”)

Good luck planning your event, and please leave a comment with any other ideas.

Also, if you’re ready to start using a software that can handle the enrollment and scheduling for events like this, check out eSoft Planner, my company built it just for sports facilities.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Sports Facility Programming

investing in a sports facility

Before You Invest Money in a Sports Facility, Read This

June 8, 2017 by Sports Facility Expert

Lots of aspiring sports facility owners lack the cash to get started. If they want their own space, they start out small, or seek funding from banks or partners. A second group of aspiring owners, however, already has the cash. These owners often don’t have experience training athletes. They’re just looking for a good financial… [Read More]

Filed Under: Sports Facility Start Up

Creating Sports Facility Sponsorship Packages

How to Create Sports Facility Sponsorship Packages

May 10, 2017 by Sports Facility Expert

We sports facility owners are always looking for ways to boost our profits. So if local businesses partner with us by sponsoring our teams, players or programs, it can be a big win. There many ways to structure sponsorship packages successfully. However, there are also lots of ways to let sponsorships distract from your mission… [Read More]

Filed Under: Indoor Sports Facilities Best Practices, Sports Facility Marketing

market research for sports academies

Marketing Research Basics for Sports Facilities

April 14, 2017 by Sports Facility Expert

Every potential business starts with a great idea — or at least what seems like one. Getting market data for your sports academy is one way to test whether your idea will hold up. Detailed market research is essential if you’re seeking investors or plan to purchase a big piece of physical property. However, it’s… [Read More]

Filed Under: Sports Facility Start Up

how you can focus on sports facility customers

To Fix Your Programming, Focus on Your Ideal Customer

March 24, 2017 by Sports Facility Expert

When it comes to creating sports academy programming, we often get it backwards. First, we get excited about a new technique or idea to help our athletes. Then, we try to convince our customers how cool it is. We should start by focusing on our customers’ problems instead. When we package programs as tailored solutions… [Read More]

Filed Under: Sports Facility Marketing, Sports Facility Start Up

Cash flow management for sports facilities

Cash Flow Can Kill. Protect Your Sports Facility

March 9, 2017 by Sports Facility Expert

There are lots of factors that go into opening a sports facility, but just one truly determines your business fate. That factor is cash. If you have enough on any given day to cover your expenses, you can stay open. If not, you’ll shut down. Keeping enough cash on hand trips up a lot of… [Read More]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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Hi, I'm Mike. I successfully sold my indoor sports facility in 2015 to focus on running a software company that produces eSoft Planner, a scheduling system for sports facilities. Click here to contact me directly.

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