CenterEdge Software Blog

Even though you may not be ready to holding events in your FEC, your sales staff need to stay sharp at managing birthday booking calls. 

Birthday parties and events have no doubt been a huge part of your business. Even if you’re not open or not currently holding events, your phone staff still need to be sales-ready.

In my experience secret shopping and training many family entertainment centers over the years, I’ve found that a lot of sales people fall short of winning the business. But that can change with your next phone call! Practice a few of these 10 do’s and don’ts and watch the shift from “I’ll call you back” to “I’ll book now.” 

Just as they have been a vital part of your pre-COVID-19 overall revenue strategy, group events and birthday parties will likely be a critical component of your recovery strategy.

While you may not be able to recoup all that your facility lost during your time closed, these seven tips can help you set up, manage, market, and sell your events once you’re ready to offer them. 

As you consider the facility management systems that you will need to adapt to meet new operational guidelines, one of the most important considerations is how you will manage capacity.

Many indoor and outdoor attractions are already leveraging capacity ticketing for unique attractions, admissions - even for locker rentals and parking. Here are five new ways to use capacity controls that you may want to consider. 

The world changes daily during the COVID-19 pandemic and entertainment and leisure businesses need to be ready to meet new standards and manage evolving guest expectations.

But even with so much uncertainty right now, one thing is certain: Our industry has always been reimagining itself, with every new attraction, every unique experience.

That hasn’t changed and it never will.  

The question is, then, how can your business evolve faster than ever before, with a landscape that appears to have changed overnight?  Our varied amusement industry experience tells us that each amusement sector, from water park to FEC to adventure attraction, has already unearthed unique facility management needs in their everyday operation. It’s time now to bring those insights together and develop your newly imagined operational plan.

Whether you need to implement first-time capacity management systems or expand your recently discovered takeout business niche, CenterEdge is here to help. Read on for some of the ways to rethink your facility management approach in the days and weeks to come. 

Last week, the CenterEdge team met with clients from all over North America to share best practices, challenges and ideas with each other during our first-ever user conference, Edge 2020.

Our team is busy digesting all the feedback and key takeaways from the event, which we will use to help us develop, deliver and communicate with you for the rest of 2020 and beyond, so be sure to subscribe to the blog so you never miss an update.

With the holidays in full swing, you have a lot on your plate. And if you run an indoor facility, you're most likely gearing up for the peak birthday party season.

During this busy season, it can be easy to let service level standards slip, but doing so can cost your facility a lot of missed upsells and lost bookings if your team's not operating at the right level. That's why we brought back this popular post about the pitfalls many inbound sales teams succumb to – and how to avoid them.

Due to the upcoming Birthday University event in Atlanta, GA, we have birthdays on the brain – and we’re thinking about best practices to make your party teams as efficient as possible.

From selling your package to serving the cake, it’s essential that every part of the process is top-notch. But one point of stress that we often hear about is in the party check-in process; so, we decided to update this popular blog to help you manage your check-in better.

You work hard to run your business and offer your guests a safe, clean and exciting place to have fun; naturally, you want it to thrive.

One important tool that successful businesses have in common is a well-performing online purchase experience.

Some of the benefits include receiving revenue in advance, shorter wait times and “sales while you sleep” – but if implemented ineffectively, your online store could be working against your business.

In our experience, there are a handful of common pitfalls many FECs, trampoline parks, and amusement and water parks still succumb to … and they could be costing your business money. Here are the top five:

Coin pushers and other redemption games with added bonus point potential can be much more attractive to guests.

Are you looking for an easy way to increase guest engagement with your coin pusher games?

I recently attended a birthday party for a friend’s child at a new indoor climbing center. The facility had recently opened and there was a lot of hype surrounding its unique climbing structures and offerings.

When you’re the new entertainment venue in town, your facility will naturally get a lot of attention and new bookings of people who are eager to try out your offerings. But all the best attractions won’t bring guests back if you don’t live up to the hype with the right guest experience. Read on for five tips I developed from my recent visit so that you can deliver a better birthday party experience every time.