Adding Some Spice to a Stale Relationship
Plus 6 tips for better abs, and 7 great ideas for holiday gifts!
We are so conditioned to look for a time saving fix or an easy upgrade to fix anything in our lives that is feeling tired or old or used or outdated - and yet we content ourselves with our current facilities because any change seems too hard, too expensive, or too out of reach.
But have no fear - there may be hope. in 2009 and 2011 our agency completely renovated two swimming pools - and I mean completely. We tore out everything down to the hole in the ground - pools, bath houses, utilities...everything. And we rebuilt. And the new facilities were a smashing success. Revenues and attendance more than doubled, and the pools became operationally self-sustaining. Yay! We met our goals!
But that was, like, so 8 years ago. The honeymoon is over. Our community, which used to be super excited at the new pools, is now conditioned to expect that level of entertainment. So what's next? Well, as much as we'd love to spend another $1 million on a flowrider surf machine, that's just waaaaay outside of the budget picture.
So how can we add some spice to this stale relationship that the public is having with our facility? Lucky for me we live in PA and have this thing called 'Winter' that lets me do some research and admin work to find solutions.1. Toys. Toys are fun. They cost money - but they can be an easy way to immediately change the recreation atmosphere at a facility. For the pools, we added a climbing wall and a floating obstacle course (ours is a Wibit, but there are others out there). We're also looking at giant hamster balls, log rolling, zip lines, noodle jousting on inflatable ducks - and lots of other ideas. We had instant success with purchasing these items for public use. Indoor facilities have many similar features available - just do some research.
2. Programs. We regularly try new programs at the pools. Three years ago we worked with our high school diving coach to add springboard diving lessons to go along with our already robust swim lesson program. Last year we borrowed the Start Smart program concept and ran swim lessons where our instructor-led parents through a course teaching their own kids to swim.
3. Events. Disco night? Maybe a little outdated, but what about a dance night with a DJ or live band? Cardboard boat races? Dog swim? Fishing Derby after the season? Pool-o-Ween? There are lots of ideas already out there - or you can combine some and make your own!
Those are just a few ideas, but really here are the key points:- Make the time to regularly evaluate your facilities and operations. Get rid of stale programs or events. Create new ones to replace them.
- Budget for some new items, even if you have to spread the purchases over a few years. They can make an immediate impact.
- Do some research. Thanks to the internet there are tons of ideas out there already. You often don't have to reinvent the wheel, just borrow ideas from other successful facilities! You can also get a lot of great ideas from conferences and expos.
1. Eat Less
2. Eat Better
3. Exercise more
4. Repeat
And the 7 holiday gift ideas?1. Ask them what they want. 7 times.