Badlands. Why is it just getting more expensive?

[Anonymous]

Maybe so, but you have to expect an increase in your cost when their is an increase in their cost. Everything is getting more expensive, not just Badlands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That will increase the cost of advertising. An increase in wages will cause an increase in consumer prices.

The reason they don't sell out more often is because of their pricing. Not for lack of advertising.

There are parents who are willing to pay more for a place that isn't packed like a can of sardines. If they can charge more and have fewer kids, that makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That will increase the cost of advertising. An increase in wages will cause an increase in consumer prices.

The reason they don't sell out more often is because of their pricing. Not for lack of advertising.

There are parents who are willing to pay more for a place that isn't packed like a can of sardines. If they can charge more and have fewer kids, that makes sense.

They have time slots and limit capacity. They used to nearly sell out every weekend. But recently, I've been able to have a pick of slots even on rainy weekends. Their booking system has been all green even the morning of the last few months (they have green, yellow, and red to indicate how many slots are left at a given time). We'll see if it is sustainable. But there seems to be something off with their metrics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That will increase the cost of advertising. An increase in wages will cause an increase in consumer prices.

The reason they don't sell out more often is because of their pricing. Not for lack of advertising.

There are parents who are willing to pay more for a place that isn't packed like a can of sardines. If they can charge more and have fewer kids, that makes sense.

They have time slots and limit capacity. They used to nearly sell out every weekend. But recently, I've been able to have a pick of slots even on rainy weekends. Their booking system has been all green even the morning of the last few months (they have green, yellow, and red to indicate how many slots are left at a given time). We'll see if it is sustainable. But there seems to be something off with their metrics.

How do you know? You don't have access to their books. For example, if they have 100 slots in the AM and sell 95 now at the higher price instead of selling out completely, they're probably doing better plus they have fewer kids/parents to deal with who probably enjoy the lesser crowded place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That will increase the cost of advertising. An increase in wages will cause an increase in consumer prices.

The reason they don't sell out more often is because of their pricing. Not for lack of advertising.

There are parents who are willing to pay more for a place that isn't packed like a can of sardines. If they can charge more and have fewer kids, that makes sense.

They have time slots and limit capacity. They used to nearly sell out every weekend. But recently, I've been able to have a pick of slots even on rainy weekends. Their booking system has been all green even the morning of the last few months (they have green, yellow, and red to indicate how many slots are left at a given time). We'll see if it is sustainable. But there seems to be something off with their metrics.

How do you know? You don't have access to their books. For example, if they have 100 slots in the AM and sell 95 now at the higher price instead of selling out completely, they're probably doing better plus they have fewer kids/parents to deal with who probably enjoy the lesser crowded place.

They certainly aren't at 95% capacity whenever I've looked. Not anywhere close (based on their online booking tools). Like I said, in time we'll see if it is sustainable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That will increase the cost of advertising. An increase in wages will cause an increase in consumer prices.

The reason they don't sell out more often is because of their pricing. Not for lack of advertising.

There are parents who are willing to pay more for a place that isn't packed like a can of sardines. If they can charge more and have fewer kids, that makes sense.

They have time slots and limit capacity. They used to nearly sell out every weekend. But recently, I've been able to have a pick of slots even on rainy weekends. Their booking system has been all green even the morning of the last few months (they have green, yellow, and red to indicate how many slots are left at a given time). We'll see if it is sustainable. But there seems to be something off with their metrics.

How do you know? You don't have access to their books. For example, if they have 100 slots in the AM and sell 95 now at the higher price instead of selling out completely, they're probably doing better plus they have fewer kids/parents to deal with who probably enjoy the lesser crowded place.

They certainly aren't at 95% capacity whenever I've looked. Not anywhere close (based on their online booking tools). Like I said, in time we'll see if it is sustainable.

I said "for example." I don't have access to their books. Sorry the price is too high for you now, but it's not your decision, and if it were that problematic to most people, they'll change it.

[Anonymous]

It's a rip off and I will not be going. There's plenty of other things to do---not worth it if I have to pay as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That will increase the cost of advertising. An increase in wages will cause an increase in consumer prices.

The reason they don't sell out more often is because of their pricing. Not for lack of advertising.

They don't advertise. I think they are seeing if people are willing to pay. Its a huge space so that lease plus insurance must be crazy expensive. I don't like it looks run down already and they are not replacing things regularly like the indoor grass which is now bare in spots. We went twice. Not worth the money at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That will increase the cost of advertising. An increase in wages will cause an increase in consumer prices.

The reason they don't sell out more often is because of their pricing. Not for lack of advertising.

There are parents who are willing to pay more for a place that isn't packed like a can of sardines. If they can charge more and have fewer kids, that makes sense.

They have time slots and limit capacity. They used to nearly sell out every weekend. But recently, I've been able to have a pick of slots even on rainy weekends. Their booking system has been all green even the morning of the last few months (they have green, yellow, and red to indicate how many slots are left at a given time). We'll see if it is sustainable. But there seems to be something off with their metrics.

How do you know? You don't have access to their books. For example, if they have 100 slots in the AM and sell 95 now at the higher price instead of selling out completely, they're probably doing better plus they have fewer kids/parents to deal with who probably enjoy the lesser crowded place.

They certainly aren't at 95% capacity whenever I've looked. Not anywhere close (based on their online booking tools). Like I said, in time we'll see if it is sustainable.

I said "for example." I don't have access to their books. Sorry the price is too high for you now, but it's not your decision, and if it were that problematic to most people, they'll change it.

If they were nearly sold out every weekend, that's a sign that they could increase their price without too much trouble...

[Anonymous]

Wait, parents have to pay now to watch their kids? I guess we won’t be going back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That will increase the cost of advertising. An increase in wages will cause an increase in consumer prices.

The reason they don't sell out more often is because of their pricing. Not for lack of advertising.

There are parents who are willing to pay more for a place that isn't packed like a can of sardines. If they can charge more and have fewer kids, that makes sense.

They have time slots and limit capacity. They used to nearly sell out every weekend. But recently, I've been able to have a pick of slots even on rainy weekends. Their booking system has been all green even the morning of the last few months (they have green, yellow, and red to indicate how many slots are left at a given time). We'll see if it is sustainable. But there seems to be something off with their metrics.

How do you know? You don't have access to their books. For example, if they have 100 slots in the AM and sell 95 now at the higher price instead of selling out completely, they're probably doing better plus they have fewer kids/parents to deal with who probably enjoy the lesser crowded place.

They certainly aren't at 95% capacity whenever I've looked. Not anywhere close (based on their online booking tools). Like I said, in time we'll see if it is sustainable.

I said "for example." I don't have access to their books. Sorry the price is too high for you now, but it's not your decision, and if it were that problematic to most people, they'll change it.

You like making assumptions, don't you? The price isn't too high for me, as I obviously have been on their booking site often and I'm familiar with how busy they have been in the past and currently. But a lot of these places end up closing and that would be disappointing because I think it has a lot of potential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That will increase the cost of advertising. An increase in wages will cause an increase in consumer prices.

The reason they don't sell out more often is because of their pricing. Not for lack of advertising.

There are parents who are willing to pay more for a place that isn't packed like a can of sardines. If they can charge more and have fewer kids, that makes sense.

They have time slots and limit capacity. They used to nearly sell out every weekend. But recently, I've been able to have a pick of slots even on rainy weekends. Their booking system has been all green even the morning of the last few months (they have green, yellow, and red to indicate how many slots are left at a given time). We'll see if it is sustainable. But there seems to be something off with their metrics.

How do you know? You don't have access to their books. For example, if they have 100 slots in the AM and sell 95 now at the higher price instead of selling out completely, they're probably doing better plus they have fewer kids/parents to deal with who probably enjoy the lesser crowded place.

They certainly aren't at 95% capacity whenever I've looked. Not anywhere close (based on their online booking tools). Like I said, in time we'll see if it is sustainable.

I said "for example." I don't have access to their books. Sorry the price is too high for you now, but it's not your decision, and if it were that problematic to most people, they'll change it.

If they were nearly sold out every weekend, that's a sign that they could increase their price without too much trouble...

That was well over a year ago. They've changed their prices at least twice since then. Hopefully, they will (or have) found the right price point to stay open.

[Anonymous]

A friend and I (who both run businesses) looked at the finances of play places in general because we were asked to invest in one. Badlands is owned by the wife of David Blair, who ran for MoCo county exec in the last election and lost to Elrich in the primary by only 77 votes. He is a successful businessman, and I know he has his hands in Badlands since I've seen him there.

Their lease probably isn't too bad since that mall is sort of dying, and they spot there were in was vacant for a while, They did have a lot of expenses on build-out -- my guess would be $500k-1mln but I don't know how much it costs to bring in and assemble all that rock stuff.

They are making money on weekends and do a brisk birthday party buisness. The issue is mid-week. Take a day like today, right now (ok, tomrrow.. they're closed on Mondays). They are open 10am-2pm, but I bet the place is nearly empty. Only kids not in preschool/school yet would go, yet they need a certain minimum of staff there to keep it running. I bet the'yre lucky to bring in $200/day in revenue on a day like that. Summer is better -- they contract with camps and the kids come in during the day, but that's only 2.5 months of the year.

So they make nearly all their money on the weekends, and there's a limit to how many people can be in there at once. I guess they are having revenue issues, so they raise the prices since they can't raise the number of people who can be in there.. so get more money without increasing who is in there, since they have no more space. I bet they didn't count on how very cyclical this business is - -you make nearly all your money for the week during just 2 days with a little revenue boost during the 2.5 months of summer due to summer camps. Also since they have in-house food service and all that crazy rock stuff, they have higher staffing needs than most play places. You need some spotters for the rock stuff, and 1-2 people to run the cafe (and at least one must be a certified food handler).

If I were getting into this business, I'd do it like BounceU in Rockville, which any parent of a MoCo K-2nd grader knows well. They paid < $100k for all the bounce houses, and they are in a warehouse in the industrial district on Gude Drive = cheap rent. They are pretty much only open on weekends, and only when they have birthday parties. Most of the staff is high schoolers. Very low costs, and fairly stable revenue (kids always have birthdays).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A friend and I (who both run businesses) looked at the finances of play places in general because we were asked to invest in one. Badlands is owned by the wife of David Blair, who ran for MoCo county exec in the last election and lost to Elrich in the primary by only 77 votes. He is a successful businessman, and I know he has his hands in Badlands since I've seen him there.

Their lease probably isn't too bad since that mall is sort of dying, and they spot there were in was vacant for a while, They did have a lot of expenses on build-out -- my guess would be $500k-1mln but I don't know how much it costs to bring in and assemble all that rock stuff.

They are making money on weekends and do a brisk birthday party buisness. The issue is mid-week. Take a day like today, right now (ok, tomrrow.. they're closed on Mondays). They are open 10am-2pm, but I bet the place is nearly empty. Only kids not in preschool/school yet would go, yet they need a certain minimum of staff there to keep it running. I bet the'yre lucky to bring in $200/day in revenue on a day like that. Summer is better -- they contract with camps and the kids come in during the day, but that's only 2.5 months of the year.

So they make nearly all their money on the weekends, and there's a limit to how many people can be in there at once. I guess they are having revenue issues, so they raise the prices since they can't raise the number of people who can be in there.. so get more money without increasing who is in there, since they have no more space. I bet they didn't count on how very cyclical this business is - -you make nearly all your money for the week during just 2 days with a little revenue boost during the 2.5 months of summer due to summer camps. Also since they have in-house food service and all that crazy rock stuff, they have higher staffing needs than most play places. You need some spotters for the rock stuff, and 1-2 people to run the cafe (and at least one must be a certified food handler).

If I were getting into this business, I'd do it like BounceU in Rockville, which any parent of a MoCo K-2nd grader knows well. They paid < $100k for all the bounce houses, and they are in a warehouse in the industrial district on Gude Drive = cheap rent. They are pretty much only open on weekends, and only when they have birthday parties. Most of the staff is high schoolers. Very low costs, and fairly stable revenue (kids always have birthdays).

The issues you're talking about are applicable to literally any play place anywhere. If they didn't know about the cyclical nature of their business, that would mean they wouldn't have done the MOST basic research into the space -- or sat and thought about how this would work for 15 minutes.

[Anonymous]

I like the idea of Badlands and have been a few times. Most places like that have a "toddler hour" in the week which has a lower price in order to get people in the door.

I don't like the prices but it's comparable to Climb Zone or some the National Aquarium in Baltimore or the Science Center.

I did find it to be a little expensive, but they do have a variety of activities while many place only have one.