In This Issue

…in our 58th year!
Birthday stack up.......9
In This Issue
Want to see how your
rink’s birthday and other
party offerings compare to
popular national franchises
known for their birthday
bashes? Well, read on.
Is your website working
for you?…..................23
Most of today’s rinks and
entertainment
centers
have a website. Whether
it is actively working to
bring you the customers
and profits you seek is
another question. Two
Web marketing experts
and a rink operator with a
very successful site share
their experiences and tips.
Major renovations.....25
PRSRT. STD.
U.S. Postage
Paid
Pontiac, IL
Permit No. 592
While some may hear the
word “renovation” and start
to get dizzy and hear the
repeated “cha-ching” of a
cash register, most highly
successful operators know
that to keep ‘em coming in,
one must keep up with the
times. One Florida couple
tells us how spending the
big bucks was worth every
penny.
May-June 2011
Rink birthday parties snowball
with right offerings
By Connie Evener
H
PFJ
ow can your skate center
make sure every birthday
party is memorable for Mom
and Dad, and has the birthday child
glowing while her guests say, “I
want my party here, too!”
To find out, The Rinksider contacted three birthday party specialists: Jenny Nash of Simply Profitable Marketing (SimplyProfitableMarketing.com), Joseph Nazarro of
Rebecca’s Wholesale Party Supplies
(rebeccas.com), and Luther Bernstein, owner of InterSkate Roller
Rink in Lewisville, Texas, where a
weekend with fewer than 60 parties
is considered pretty slow.
Turning a rink or family entertainment center into everybody’s
favorite birthday destination can’t
be accomplished in a week or a
month. “You’ve got to cycle through
the whole year,” said Bernstein. “It
just so happened that we had a big
boom in skating starting last summer,
and with everything we were doing, all
of a sudden, it all came together.”
The
process, he said, is like a snow6:09 PM Page 1
ball that keeps rolling and growing.
4/26/07
SAY CHEESE!
(334)
678-PLAY
Rink operators
Lisa and
Rocky McIlwain (pictured
www.FunZoneSkateCenter.com
above)
of Fun Zone Skate Center in Dothan, Ala.,
use photo frames such as this “Say Cheese” frame
from Simply Profitable Marketing to enhance
their birthday and other party package offerings.
continued on page 38
Virginia couple finds success under one
roof with skating, fitness and…haircuts
By Catherine Meidell
to leave with a fresh hair cut, toned body,
full stomach and quality family time.
n the tight-knit community of WoodDebbie Warner, the owner and general
stock, Va., Debbie and Michael Warner manager of Stoney Creek Roller Rink,
bring their city closer together with a worked with her husband and parents to
roller rink facility that allows its customers create a mega-center that caters to all ages.
After more than
58 years in busiStoney Creek Roller Rink in Woodstock, Va.,
ness, their buildfeatures a variety of offerings including a rock
ing also houses a
wall and bumper cars.
salon and fitness
center; however,
these businesses
are separate.
Why does
Stoney Creek
Roller Rink share
its roof with
seemingly unrelated companies?
It pays the bills.
It doesn’t hurt,
I
Rinksider_MAY_JUN_11.indd 1
Bernstein believes InterSkate’s
success is due to the entire package,
with each component connected to
one another. For instance, InterSkate’s Skate
Trainers (a mini-walker-type frame
that supports novice skaters while
they learn), make parents more comfortable because they don’t have
to hover over their children all the
time. And their kids get to “skate”
and have fun with their friends from
the get-go. InterSkate also offers
skating lessons, and dazzles customers with “the ultimate light show.”
Birthday parties range from
$99 to $295, promising “You bring
the cake, candles and kids – and
we’ll do the rest.” And “the rest” is
an extravaganza that has every kid
in the rink envisioning their own
upcoming birthday.
When the birthday child arrives,
he gets a session in the “Party
Machine,” a telephone booth-type
enclosure with air jets that circulate
paper money and coupons to catch – and
though, that the rink has become a diverse
location where everyone in Woodstock can
find something to participate in.
“My husband is from Waldorf, a large
area in Maryland, and when we got married
he moved here, and the first thing he said is
‘Where is your YMCA?’” Debbie Warner
said. “Unfortunately, in rural areas they
can’t really afford that.”
The Warner’s ventured to Las Vegas
and Disneyland to observe majorly successful profit centers for ideas to make
their vision of a multi-faceted roller rink
a realistic goal. They took home notes
about what they saw working, and what
wasn’t, as well as the things that would
appeal to the people living in and around
Woodstock.
Rink owners know that paying the
bills for a large facility is no easy task, so
continued on page 38
4/12/11 6:00:30 PM
38
Birthday parties (cont'd from page 1)
keep. Then the party hostess escorts
the child to the center of the rink,
where he is flanked by floor guards,
everyone sings the InterSkate Happy
Birthday song, then they do the
Hokey Pokey before going back to
the snack bar area for the party
proper. The birthday child is also
presented with a tee shirt (I HAD
MY BIRTHDAY PARTY AT INTERSKATE ROLLER RINK!)
Each birthday party guest gets a
“goodie bag,” the contents of which
include an InterSkate schedule, a
free pass and a coupon for a free
skating lesson. They get a coupon
for a discount on a pair of skates, and
if they or their parents fill out the
drawing slip, a chance to win a free
popcorn party at InterSkate.
It’s the names, addresses and
birthdates of the guests gleaned during and after the party, then added to
InterSkate’s database, that help keep
the birthday party snowball rolling
faster and faster.
Everyone will have a birthday
at some point over the next 365
days. “So, if you have twenty kids at
the rink (for the party), you’ll have
twenty potential parties,” said Jenny
Nash of Simply Profitable Marketing. “Even in the electronic age of
e-mail and texting and tweets, kids
love to get mail. Snail mail. They
love something that’s addressed to
them.”
When the rink sends a card six
weeks before a child’s birthday, said
Nash, it serves as a reminder for
Mom to book the party. And if the
card includes an irresistible offer or
two – like a free skate session or gift
– even if Mom can’t book a party,
chances are the child will come to
the rink to redeem the offer.
Some of Nash’s clients award
the birthday child a pass that allows
him to skate free once a month,
while each of his guests gets a onetime free pass. Kids don’t go skating
alone, so when you consider revenue
from their friends, plus concession
and other sales – not to mention the
opportunity to grow your customer
base - those free passes are a great
RINKSIDER
Independent Voice of the Industry
investment.
Nash hears from a lot of rinks
that their birthday party business is
growing because they provide bookmarks or certificates of achievement
(with free passes) to the schools.
Some also provide summer skate
passes that allow kids to skate free
once a week during their summer
and tell.
“Moms and dads love photos
of their kids, and the kids love photos of themselves,” said Nash. So
while photo frames are inexpensive,
the perceived value is very high.
“They’re a really nice thank you,”
said Nash. “Oftentimes, rinks present mom with a framed photo when
May-June 2011
vacation.
“It keeps the kids active in the
summer and brings them to the rink
when things tend to be slow,” said
Nash. Some schools, she noted, use
the passes as a fundraiser, buying
them at a nominal price, then selling
them at a profit.
When kids see their pictures,
framed, on the rink’s “Wall of
Fame,” they’ll remember their birthday parties – and their friends will be
reminded, too. And framed birthday
photos can go to aunts and uncles,
grandparents, or to school for show
they give her the bill.”
Catering to mom or dad or
whoever books the party is smart
business, noted Joseph Nazarro of
Rebecca’s Wholesale Party Supplies.
Birthday place settings, for example,
come in a range of designs, including one with a skate theme. “Kids
don’t really care much about what
the plate or napkin or cup has on
it,” said Nazarro, “but the parents
like to have everything match. It
makes them feel they’re dealing with
an establishment that cares and has
gone to some effort to make things
look good for them.”
As for the “goodie” or “loot”
or “favor” bag, Nazarro has many to
choose from, several of which have a
roller skating theme that matches the
place settings. The bags, all ready to
go, are a convenience for busy parents and rink staff, and cost less than
$1.00 each.
A roll of plastic table cover is
inexpensive, too. “You just roll it
out, cut it off, and you have a nice
looking table for each party,” said
Nazarro. “When the party’s over,
you just roll it up and toss it out.”
Rebecca’s also offers “fast light
candles,” which are connected by a
wick-type string. Light one end and
the flame travels all the way around
lighting each candle. Kids love inexpensive party favors, and Nazarro’s
company has many to choose from.
For skating centers that like balloons, but don’t like using helium,
his company offers balloon sticks
and cups. Glow sticks are always
popular. But their number one seller
is the Flashing LED Mouthpiece,
which kids turn on and off with their
tongues.
Nazarro works with lots of
schools and churches, so his company offers products for many different party themes. He thinks it
would be great if skating centers
offered parents some options. These
days, thanks to the popularity of the
Pirates of the Caribbean movies, one
of the best selling theme packages
includes pirate hats and eye patches.
Ahoy, me hearties!
Whether people are celebrating
a birthday or the 4th of July, a family
reunion or a graduation, two factors
are sure to affect whether they opt
for an encore at your facility – as
individuals or as a group: Did everyone attending feel like a VIP? Was
the celebration easy and trouble free
for whoever organized it?
And if so, did your skating center take advantage of every opportunity to collect names, addresses and
birthdates? If so, look out! There’s
a snowball gaining speed, getting
bigger, and heading your way.
handful of events including carnivals.
Warner makes every inch of her
rink a productive space. A large indoor
playground was built to satisfy children
who want to take a break from roller
skating. Rather than create permanent
play structures, Warner uses play units
that are easy to move, and some of these
things include inflatable attractions and
a motorized rock wall. This way her
customers can always look forward to
an upcoming amusement. Older kids
may find interest in the bumper cars or
laser tag.
“We’ve had laser tag ever since
the day we opened this building,” she
said. “It’s always been a very popular
attraction.”
Stoney Creek Roller Rink also has
been noted for its massive arcade area
with more than 70 video games from the
classics to those recently manufactured.
The amount of games Warner owns is
due to smart buying, she said. Most of
her games are second-hand, and she
said this has made all the difference in
providing variety to her customers.
When the customers are winding
down from an afternoon of fun and start
to feel the rumble in their stomachs,
they can head over to Piccadilly Pizzeria, which is a full restaurant Warner
implemented into her facility. She chose
this particular company because the
only costs include purchasing the Piccadilly Pizzeria’s products.
What is Warner’s next project? She
said she is looking into renting rooms out
for energetic teens planning a dance party or
those organizing a reception.
Though Stoney Creek Roller Rink
gives a variety of individuals an excuse to
use their services, roller skating has not been
forgotten.
“Our core is still the rink and it brings
in the most dollars,” Warner said. “These
other things help us to cover the overall
costs, but the roller skating is a huge draw.”
Novelty and party products like these Fast Light Candles from Rebecca’s
can make your party packages look more attractive and create less work for
the party-planning parent.
Fitness and haircuts (cont'd from page 1)
Warner has found a method that makes
it less stressful for her company. The
fitness center rents their portion of the
rink from Warner, and each hair dresser
rents the chair they use in the salon.
“Some people call to book the rink
for a party early in the morning, and
are usually surprised someone is here
to answer the phone at 7 a.m.,” Warner
said. “Because of all the things we offer,
we are always open. We do all of this
because electric bills are very much
present 365 days a year.”
Not only does Warner rent the
space inside the building, but rents
the 8-acre lot the building sits on for a
Rinksider_MAY_JUN_11.indd 38
4/12/11 6:09:35 PM