Family Entertainment Centers (FECs) are found in a wide variety of settings in the Netherlands. They focus on a bundled offering of games combined with hospitality. This sector is becoming increasingly professional, and several leading companies in this segment shared their knowledge during Pleisureworld's VIP-FEC tour on Tuesday, September 30th. Pretwerk traveled with the tour to seven locations and summarized the lessons learned.
1. Hospitality as a full-fledged component of the total concept
In the early years of FEC development, the added value lay primarily in bundling activities. An event center that could offer multiple options in a single location could differentiate itself from standalone activities. At the time, hospitality was primarily seen as a supporting service model and was often outsourced to an external operator. During this study trip, it became clear that hospitality/food service plays a very prominent role in the overall concept. Operators in the recreation sector often struggled to establish their hospitality as a profitable business. These days, pioneers in this sector have acquired this knowledge, and the restaurant is often even becoming the central component of the overall concept.
Kok Experience in Lelystad is a fine example of a company that has mastered the hospitality side of things. The restaurant, bar, and terrace are attractive places to spend time in their own right. This appeal is only further enhanced by the presence of a cinema, bowling, laser tag, VR rooms, and more. They give revenue an extra boost by creating packages, which attract, among others, 75% of cinema guests.
2. Social Entertainment replaces the term 'FEC'
The strong development of the hospitality component has also led to a subtly different design of the overall concept. Now that food and drink are becoming more central, the activities are taking on a role as social entertainment between snacks and drinks. The term 'Social Entertainment' has been coined for this purpose. It also aligns well with the core value of an FEC: "Undertaking fun activities together in a family environment." (by Hans van Leeuwen, Pleisureworld).
This aspect is particularly prominent in the overall concept at The City Food & Fun ('s Gravezande) and Hollywood Entertainment Center (Rotterdam). At both establishments, food and drink are central and there is a direct link to the activities; this is also visible from the hospitality areas and integrated into the strongly themed overall concept.
The rise of social entertainment also entails the introduction of somewhat smaller activities (in footprint/area) that fit within the space of hospitality venues. Examples include Shuffly (interactive shuffleboard with integrated bar table) and Pong.
3. Self-service accelerates your turnover
Like many hospitality businesses, companies in the FEC sector often face the challenge of finding sufficient staff. Moreover, good staff is also a significant expense, which you want to utilize carefully. Note: these companies understand the added value of hospitality and personal attention! For starting a game or placing an order in the hospitality industry, the general public is now accustomed to arranging this themselves via a terminal or online. This speeds up the process. The younger generation, in particular, is less willing to wait (long periods).
We saw great examples of self-service at Fun Village in Rotterdam (primarily aimed at group outings). Their flagship 'Prison Island', a franchise activity from Sweden, accounts for 70% of the group outing revenue. It is a concept featuring various game formats offered in 'cells'. Through a fully automated system, groups gain access to the cells and their scores are also tallied. As a result, staff can be deployed almost entirely in hospitality and in a role as host/hostess.
A fine Dutch product was also presented: the X-cube , from a Rotterdam-based developer. It can be found, among other places, in the Hollywood Entertainment Center. This is essentially an automated escape room where various game modes can be played. Thanks to digital technology, the X-cube is highly adaptable and can, for example, also serve as a karaoke room.
4. Total experience around a central theme
Another area that's undergoing significant development is the consistent application of a central theme. While this has been a part of the FEC concept for some time, in practice it proves difficult to consistently choose between components/activities that do and do not fit within the concept. The new generation of FECs is much stricter in this regard, resulting in clearly defined centers with a recognizable and strong theme.
A company that has made a very sharp choice in this regard is The Ruff in Utrecht (The Wall). Everything here revolves around the sport of golf. (see also: Indoor Golf Experience RUFF has European growth plans ) They position themselves, among other things, as an alternative to the golf course. There are various sporting, golf-related challenges, and you can watch the major golf tournaments again on the screens in the bar area.
Akiba District has also chosen a unique theme: Japanese arcade games. (See also our earlier report on Pretwerk.nl )
There are also strong concepts that have established a strong and consistent overall concept in terms of corporate identity (e.g. Kok Experience) or total experience (e.g. Hollywood Experience and The City ).
5. Survival of the Traditionals; Low Tech on the Rise
It seems like some activities survive all trends and developments. Traditional options like bowling, karting, darts, soft play (Monkey Town), pool, mini golf, cinema, and laser tag remain a popular part of the overall concept. Sometimes, however, technological enhancements are added, such as projections, automatic scorekeeping, or interactive game modes. These can help companies differentiate themselves from others. However, we're also seeing a resurgence of low-tech games.
At The Team Building in Utrecht, they have developed their own addition to a go-kart track: Fusion Drift Karting. It is no longer about the fastest time; instead, a game mode has been added to the track, allowing you to play essentially like in a video game. The modified wheels make steering more challenging, which provides an extra element of fun. Fusion Drift Karting is also offered as a franchise concept. Incidentally, this also applies to the low-tech attraction The Nox Room.
Develop yourself or purchase
In this article, we explored recognizable new developments emerging at several progressive companies. What makes this sector (FEC) so inspiring is precisely the creative, individual interpretations, which result in unique concepts. What we are currently seeing is that successful activities are being copied (purchased) and sometimes incorporated as franchises across multiple companies. A good balance between "in-house development" (especially the overall concept) and "purchasing a successful product" is certainly a topic that concerns entrepreneurs in this segment. Purchasing is becoming increasingly common because several good products are also appearing on the market.
Thanks to (organizer of this VIP FEC tour):
Hans van Leeuwen of Pleisureworld and the various entrepreneurs who provided a behind-the-scenes look at their businesses. Pleisureworld regularly organizes meetings for entrepreneurs in the FEC sector.
More information: www.familyentertainmentcenters.nl