Quest business is exciting and profitable

Quest rooms (guestrooms) are a popular trend in the modern entertainment business. This is an actual option for spending leisure time in both small and large cities. A feature of this type of entrepreneurial activity is that competition for beginners only benefits. When visitors have visited one interesting quest room, they will definitely want to visit at least one more, but with a different theme. So such an unusual business idea can bring a good income.

How to open a quest room?

In order to open your own business in the field of quest entertainment, you first need to think over a certain concept. There are several main areas in questrooms:

• A quest in reality is a type of quest in which the player is in a closed room. Its main task is to complete certain tasks, to achieve the final goal. During the entire passage of the quest, the player will be accompanied by various visual and sound effects that will help to quickly solve the riddle.
• Escape the room style quest – in order to solve all the riddles and unravel the puzzles, players have only 60 minutes. If they manage to do this, they will be able to get out of the room as winners.
• Quest around the city is a kind of games that are not limited to indoors. Tasks and riddles are scattered around a certain area.

After the future entrepreneur decides on the concept of the quest room, he needs to write an interesting and original script. Such a task is similar to creating a plot for a movie or a book. If we are talking about opening a whole network of quest rooms, then in this case they often use the help of professional scriptwriters.

For several quest rooms, you can invite a person who works for himself and has experience in this field of activity. If the quest room is opened under a franchise, then the franchisor comes up with a scenario.

The basis of the scenario is an unusual and complex puzzle that must be solved step by step.

When they come up with a script and concept, they are developed for a specific audience (children, adults, etc.).

Children’s quest rooms

Quest rooms can also be opened for children over the age of 6 years. The theme of horror and detective stories is not suitable for them, but puzzles and riddles are the most suitable option for such an audience. Quests in the style of Harry Potter or Indiana Jones are the most ideal option for visitors of this age. They can come to such entertainment with their parents.

What room should I choose for a closed quest room?

To organize a closed quest room, 50 sq.m. will be enough. Two quests can be accommodated on an area of ​​90 sq.m. It is better to choose rooms whose area can be increased in the future.

In choosing a location for such a business, you should not become attached to crowded places. The more mysterious and unusual the location, the more interesting the quest itself.

How to create an effective advertisement for a quest room?

The main audience of such entertainment are people aged 14 to 40 years. But, you can open a similar room for younger / older clients.

The most effective place for advertising in this case will be the Internet. It is worth creating your own website, several pages in different social networks. Launching targeted advertising will help attract a large audience of visitors. Through traditional flyers on the street, people can be lured with additional discounts and bonuses.

You can also hang advertising banners throughout the city. It is optimal to place them near the quest room itself.

Be sure to create a few commercials. They can be placed on a website, a page on social networks, etc. Bright and catchy visual advertising, with epic music, is best remembered by an ordinary client.

It is imperative to ensure a good image for such a business. In this area of ​​\u200b\u200bactivity, word of mouth works perfectly. Only real comments and feedback from visitors can truly describe all the advantages of this particular quest, thereby attracting new interested visitors.

How much do you need to invest to open an escape room?

The size of the initial investment in such a business will depend on the region in which it is opened. The approximate costs for opening such an enterprise in Russia will be as follows:

• The cost of decoration and decor – about 400 thousand rubles.
• The cost of major repairs is about 200 thousand rubles.
• The cost of rent is about 70 thousand rubles per month.
• Salary for employees (3-4 people) – about 100 thousand rubles / month.
• Payment of taxes – about 10 thousand rubles / month.
• Reserve – about 30 thousand rubles / month.

All costs are indicative. Their final amount will depend on the location of the guest room, its size, concept and other things.

If the institution becomes popular and interesting, then its attendance can be 4 people / day on weekdays, and 10-12 people / day on weekends. Estimated profit from such a visit will be about 368 thousand rubles per month. With such indicators, the initial investment will pay off within 5-6 months.

It is important to consider that in the warm season, outdoor quest rooms will become a popular and visited option. For closed quests, autumn and wintertime are ideal.

What equipment is needed to open a quest room?

The basis of a cool quest room is impressive scenery and interesting design. Here you need to decently invest in repairs and various technologies that will help create impressive special effects. If the main theme of the quest is horror, then the dark basement will become the basis of all the scenery. But for intricate and intellectual entertainment, it is necessary to provide high-quality inventory.

Quest room staff

The working staff will depend on the size and number of escape rooms. The main staff should include the following vacancies:

• a couple of actors
• a person who will deal with advertising (in this case, it is important to hire a separate professional marketing specialist);
• a coordinator who will monitor the order of completion of all tasks for visitors;
• screenwriter and director (you can use the one-time services of third parties);
• administrator who will maintain communication with customers and maintain their database.

How to register such a business?

To register such a business, you must:

• Decide on the organizational and legal form. When filling out an application for registration, you must specify the codes for OKVED.
• Decide on a suitable taxation system. The best option would be a simplified taxation system. For example, the simplified tax system “Income minus expenses” 6-15% or the simplified tax system “Income” – 6%. Most often, for this type of entrepreneurial activity, the second method of taxation is used.
• To pay for services, you need to purchase a cash desk. You can connect various acquiring services or provide cashless payments. To do this, you need to open a bank account.
• There is no need to coordinate scenarios and issue licenses.
• A formal lease agreement is required.

What are the risks associated with starting such a business?

There are several points that will determine the success of the new quest room:

• originality of the script;
• reputation;
• level of competitors.

In this area of ​​business, competition is good, but you also need to be able to cope with it. In order for the mainstream of novice clients not to be directed to competitors, you need to create a quest more interesting and original than theirs. It is easier for high-quality entertainment to earn a good reputation, which means a larger influx of guests.

Market analysis of competitors

The largest number of quest rooms in Russia today is open in Moscow. To start, it is better to open such an entertainment zone in cities where the population is from 400 thousand people. In such an area, people usually have a large income, which means they are ready to spend extra money to diversify their free time.

The competitive environment in such a business is of particular importance. If you use it correctly, then thanks to competitors you can attract more visitors. Such guests will always want something more, something new.

Who can be a dangerous competitor in such a market?

• Network quest rooms. It is difficult to get around such competitors, as they have a well-established system of working with customers and staff. They perfectly feel their segment and know how to pamper their sophisticated tastes. In this case, it is better to choose a niche in which there are no such large-scale competitors.
• Small firms do not pose a particular threat. They can be easily fought with the right marketing. If you carefully study their offer, you can try to bypass such competitors and lure their customers for yourself.

swot analysis

Before opening a business in such an area, it is necessary to study all the weaknesses and strengths of such a business, its opportunities, and the most real threats. Such an analysis will help determine whether it is worth contacting such a case at all and whether it can give the expected result.

Opportunities for an entrepreneur who opened a quest room:

• Unlimited in actions and manifestation of fantasy.
• There are practically no limits and norms. The more unusual, the better.
• A small level of salary expenses.
• Regionally low level of competition.
• Easy market entry.
• High profitability.
• Consumer interest in this area of ​​entertainment.

Threats that a novice entrepreneur may face:

• Unstable demand.
• Constant changes in the requirements and tastes of customers.
• A very sensitive business to the external environment.
• High dependence on purchasing power.
• The risk of introducing restrictive legislation regarding this type of activity.
• Be sure to ensure a reliable level of security.
• High chance of new strong competitors.

Weaknesses of opening a quest room are as follows:

• Dependence on existing connections, lack of distribution channels.
• Lack of one common ready-made strategy.
• Lack of experience in this field.

The strengths of such a business are manifested in the following:

• High level of motivation to develop and expand your business.
• The ability to use a variety of marketing methods with high efficiency.
• The uniqueness of the offer.
• The ability to easily identify a specific audience of consumers.

Features of opening a franchise business

One of the options for opening a quest room is to buy a franchise for it. Today, there are about 61 franchise options for such a business on the Russian market. Here is what an entrepreneur gains by buying a franchise for such a business:

• ready details;
• full technical support;
• finished script;
• trained personnel;
• ready brand;
• a well-developed system of reporting and maintaining a customer base;
• consulting support from the franchisor;
• advice on the design of the room itself;
• ready plan for the room;
• complete software for such a room.

The franchise can be redeemed immediately, or the holder must pay the owner a certain percentage of income every month.