How much to charge for a laser tag ticket

 Pricing anything, your laser tag sessions included, is something that Battlefield Operators need to consider carefully. 

Especially when starting up your new laser tag business. Your business needs to be sustainable.

Your goal is to price your tickets based on what you think people will be willing to pay, given what they expect to get from your event. 

Key things to consider when pricing your tickets are:  

Set your ticket prices to represent value. 

But cover your costs.

Remember, you are creating one of their best memories, so that's priceless!

Price in your market

Research what other similar entertainment businesses are charging.

If you are running a press day (aka media day or influencers' day) as part of your grand opening, you don't charge anything. Rather, the journalists and bloggers expect to be looked after.

Price on Value

Price for the Affluent

Back to Basics: Avoiding No-Shows

If someone has prepaid for their ticket, it dramatically increases the chances they will turn up.

The laser tag industry standard for ticket prices is approximately $1 per minute of gaming in an indoor arena and $0.50 (50 cents per minute) of gaming in an outdoor battlefield. Our standard public session lasts 2 hours, with gamers getting 4 x 15 minutes of gaming.

        If we get a "walk-on," i.e., someone who has not pre-paid, the ticket price is $50 per person for four games during a 2-hour session. However, if a gamer pre-pays at least 48 hours before their event, the price drops to $43 per person.

Or even less for big group discounts.

There is a sliding scale of discounts. The bigger the group, the bigger the discount.

We offer group discounts for large groups (30+ players), so the price can go as low as $ 35 per player. We also offer a shorter experience option. 

For a Junior Session - for players 10 and under (2 games over 1 hour), pre-paid tickets start from $24pp.

How did we get to this price?

Then you can say, market testing! We went out to the market, adjusting our prices yearly until we reached the ideal rate. If it were too much, no one would book; too little, and we wouldn't make any money.

 Of course, this price is subject to change. We make minor tweaks every 1 to 2 years to ensure we stay ahead of the market.

Price in Your Market

Ticketleap, an online ticket tool, found that (before covid), of the millions of tickets sold online in the last year, the median price for an event up to 3 hours was $20pp (United States Dollars). Since then, however, just about everything's gone up. 

To some people, this may seem like a lot or too little. Every market has a different price point - often determined by wealth and competition in the local area. 

If you are running a special event, however, such as the Friday the 13th "Operation: Zombie Destruction" at Fear Factory Salt Lake City, USA, then you can afford to charge a premium. 

Tickets for that event were $15 for a 30-minute experience.

Locally, we have run a special LARP experience, "Scarlett Hollow 2," which is $25pp for a 30-minute experience or $33pp at the door.      

 According to attractions entrepreneur Lynton V. Harris, the average ticket price for the long-running Disney on Ice was, back in the day, $24.50 per person. Whereas the limited-season Ice Age on Ice was $ 80 per person a few years ago. According to TicketSmarter the average price you'll pay to see a live performance of Disney On Ice now is $131.88. Ticket prices top at $908.00 for premium views of the show. 

Consider, too, that the average price of Taylor Swift concert tickets in Canada was $1,500 each. Not bad!

 If you are pricing an event that is for a mobile event, there are additional price drivers to consider:

•  How many miles do you need to travel to the venue? 
• How long will it take to set up / pack down? 
• How many gaming guns do you want to book out? 

 Likewise, if you have a specific market segment you want to encourage, you might offer a special discount. For example, you might offer a 5% discount for students or first responders. 

 Or if you have VIP customers (customers who have booked, say, three or more times previously), you might like to offer them a special discount. Or a special up-sell, like a camo outfit rental.  While selling tickets online is popular, not all battlefields have Internet access.

So, offering an over-the-phone purchase is a good option. 

The "Battlefield HQ" software (available in the online Battlefield Sports University) has a module where you can set prices, including packages, inclusions, and discounts. In other words, you can set up your own business rules or policies in the software reference table. If someone is on the phone asking for a price, you can give them an answer just a few clicks away. You can give your customers an answer then and there. 

To find out more about Battlefield HQ Software, contact your local consultant.

How Do The Numbers Stack Up?

For example, if you use our local fields, we can say that our average ticket price customers pay is $40pp for a 2-hour event.

Here's how the numbers pan out for an outdoor laser tag operation:

10 players = $400.

A session like this might be seen as marginal, often only covering expenses. 20 players = $800.

A 20-player session can be run with one staff member; that extra $400 goes straight into your pocket.

50 players = $1,500.

One or two staff members can run a session of 50 players, and you will turn a profit.

80 players = $2,400.

With the same number of staff (one or two) you can entertain bigger groups and that means you can trigger bigger profits.

Our average group size is 60 people.

Conclusion

Pricing your laser tag events needs careful consideration.

 Key considerations when determining how much to charge for a laser tag ticket are:

• to price on value, and 
• price to suit your local market.

Whatever ticket price Operators choose, you need to ensure it is sustainable for your laser tag business.