Laser tag is one of the most profitable attractions for family entertainment centers and location-based entertainment venues. If you are looking for a laser tag arena design vendor, this article will provide some helpful research tips.

Ask How Big Your Laser Tag Should Be

You might already be constrained to a specific square footage, but ask this question anyway. You want to see how they respond. Do they immediately try to force you into a size recommendation? Or do they ask follow up questions to understand your entire venue operation and goals?

Sure, there are some common industry best practices for sizing (more on that in a moment). But if your venue only really needs 3,000 square feet based on your traffic and goals, you don’t want a vendor trying to force you into building a 4,500 square foot attraction.

As a rule of thumb, most laser tag attractions built today are about 3,500 square feet for 24 players. This allows you to maximize your capacity on the busy weekends with the ability to run 2 birthday parties simultaneously (since average parties are 10-12 kids). Your specific arena may be bigger, or smaller, depending on your needs.

Ask For Client Referrals

First, find out how many laser tag attractions the vendor has installed in the last few years. They might have a ton of experience with theme work or mini golf. But if they are new to laser tag arena design, you may not want to be their guinea pig as they go through the learning curve for laser tag specific design.

Next, ask for client referrals that you can talk to. You want to understand their experience working with this vendor: discovery, design, fabrication, installation, and post-install support. 

And it’s extremely helpful to ask for referrals who have been operating the attraction for at least 5 years. Why? Because any attraction can look great and operate well when they first open. But you want to find out how the attraction holds up after years of customer wear and tear. 

And if you really want to do your research, go to these venues and see the attractions with your own eyes. It’s one thing to see pictures right after an installation was completed, but it’s helpful to see for yourself how the attraction held up over time.

Ask How They Fabricate And Install

This will help you understand a couple things. First, you can understand their overall timeline expectations to deliver an attraction. But more specifically, you can learn whether or not they have to fabricate the entire attraction at your venue.

If the vendor has their own production facility, they can fabricate the props and pieces at the same time that you’re doing your site build out. With both happening simultaneously, this means you can open the attraction faster. If they have to fabricate everything at your venue, you first have to finish your build out. And then a multi-week fabrication/installation process can start. It’s not simultaneous, which means it takes longer from start to finish.

If the vendor does have their own production facility, ask to visit and take a tour. Then you can meet the team and see exactly how the attractions are made. Do they have a professional process and flow? Or does it seem more like a garage start-up environment where they figure it out as they go?

Choose Who You Trust

This is a big investment with huge profit potential, and you don’t want to make the decision on a whim. And you probably don’t want to make it solely on who can build it at the cheapest price.

All of these research tips are designed to help you discover and choose a laser tag arena design vendor that you can trust. Trust is important because you’re going to have this attraction in your venue for 8-10+ years. And you likely don’t want a decade-long relationship with a vendor that you don’t actually trust.

Let’s Start Now!

This seems like the perfect time for you to start your research. Request a Quote below and our team can answer your questions and review your goals to see if we might be the right vendor for you. If you want additional education to build a more profitable entertainment venue, check out the Amusement 360 event.