Escape Room Innovation in Hostels: A Revenue Stream Worth Exploring
Serial entrepreneur Daniele Colombo has been known to take his X Hostel brand to the next level, but his latest venture to build another revenue stream for his Bucharest hostels could create ripples in the industry. He took his worst-selling rooms and transformed them into escape rooms, allowing customers to pay to try to escape. This concept has become a huge success. Escape room games tie in perfectly with hostels, catering to both tourism and local markets and attracting customers year-round. The season doesn't really matter; the challenges sell themselves.
Not long after opening, they found themselves ranked #1 in fun and games on TripAdvisor, and the press continues to pour in. From an operational standpoint, running an escape room is a breeze compared to running a hostel. You set up, monitor, and reset after each event for the next group. You open the doors, close them, and then head home to sleep well at night.
Similar to a receptionist, the quiz master must be attentive to the patrons, offering clues if needed, and ensuring everyone has a good time. They can also manage future reservations and upload photos for social media accounts, but I wouldn't recommend having them handle reception tasks as well.
Another plus is that you have a group of patrons either excited for their upcoming challenge or celebrating their recent triumph—or even dealing with their failures—with drinks in hand and newfound friends by their side.
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Escape room games not only exist but thrive in spaces that might often be neglected. When considering your property, think about utilizing basements, storage closets, hallways, alleyways, and more. If you're on the lookout for a new property, search for those that others might overlook. The more obscure and unconventional, the better.
When you consider the possibility of theming each room, the options are limitless; just remember that location does matter. The easier it is to find and reach, the more customers you can serve. Just about a year ago, Daniele's Escape Room in Bucharest was only the second of its kind in the city, opening a week after the first. Its immediate success went viral within the local community and among tourists. This success inspired him to take it to the next level by creating a franchise through www.escaperoomfranchise.com and expanding to open more escape rooms in Sofia, Brașov, Kaliningrad, Golden Sands, Athens, Suceava, Ankara, Beirut, and now into the U.S.
He is not alone; escape rooms are popping up all over the place. His success has led to 75 more opening to compete with him in Bucharest alone. Entering this market should only be considered by those who embrace new competition and aim to outdo it. Due to the low overhead and high customer turnover rate, competition will continually emerge, but only the strong will survive.
Escape games can be successful anywhere, but they really seem to thrive in large cities, with or without hostels. This way, there is a sufficient population to support everyone. So perhaps that empty room at your hostel could turn into a lucrative opportunity.