What separates a two-star haunted house from a five-star haunt?
It’s the “X” factor. But in this case, the “X” stands for experience. The guest experience is a key factor to determining your haunt’s success. And it’s a multifaceted strategy that confuses a lot of haunt owners.
If you want to take your haunt from average to amazing, here are five ways you can enhance the guest experience.
1. Increase Anticipation
Immersing guests in your haunt’s story is one of the best ways to enhance their overall experience. But many visitors don’t know anything about a given attraction before they show up at your front gates.
You and your team spend months building incredible characters, storylines, and sets. When guests know the backstory and are familiar with the characters…when they understand how truly dark and sinister they are…the fear builds. It’s not just a nameless monster laughing at cackling at them in the dark.
So how do you increase anticipation before a guest visits? Including a description on your website or ticketing page helps, but a lot of guests might have let a friend buy tickets for their whole group, in which case some people might be coming in cold. They have no idea what your haunt is about.
Help them get familiar with your story and characters when they arrive on site. Use your check-in and queue areas to build the story. Or use TVs and video screens to introduce the characters. Have a wall of photos and bios for each of the monsters inside your haunt. Guests will be looking for them during their visit, and will get excited when they see one of the characters they recognize.
You could even hand out a playbill to guests when they arrive, so they also have a take-home piece to build anticipation for their next visit.
2. Reward Repeat Guests
It feels great to walk into a business and be remembered. Rewarding repeat guests is a smart way to build loyalty and encourage return visits to your haunted attraction. There are several different ways you can make repeat visitors feel special:
- Points System: Implement a points system where guests earn points for each visit, which can be redeemed for discounts, exclusive merchandise, or special perks. Lots of other industries use this strategy with great success, from cruises to hotels.
- Custom Scares: Allow repeat guests to request personalized scares or elements based on their past visits to make their experience unique each time. The ability to customize their experience each visit will give your biggest fans a reason to keep coming back again and again.
- Recognition: Use their name or past visit details to tailor the experience, making them feel valued and remembered.
- Limited-Edition Items: Create limited-edition merchandise or collectibles that are only available to repeat visitors or loyalty program members.
3. Optimize the Check-in Process
Start each guest’s visit on a positive note by making the arrival and check-in process smooth. This is easy to do with HauntPay, which offers lightning-fast ticket scanning. But you can also enhance the check-in process by posting clear signage near the entrance to each attraction, as well as near your ticket booth.
Nothing spoils your visit like standing in a long line only to realize…you’re in the wrong line. Simple signage that separates where to queue if you already have tickets, or which line is for VIPs only, will enhance your guest’s check-in experience and set the tone for a fun night.
4. Listen to Guest Preferences
Have you ever given feedback to a business and actually seen them implement the changes? It feels amazing! And it’s a rarity these days, so it’s a sure way to blow your guests’ minds.
Obviously, you can’t take every suggestion from every guest who visits your haunt. But you can ask for their feedback!
At HauntPay, some of our most popular features came from suggestions made by haunters like you. Sending a survey to the people who are using your service or experiencing your haunt can be a gold mine for great ideas. Especially when you’re looking for ways to enhance the guest experience.
It’s relatively simple to do: Send a short survey to each guest who purchases and redeems a ticket to your haunt. At the end of each week, look through the survey responses to see if there are suggestions you can implement without making any major changes to your haunt operations. Then, at the end of the season, review all the survey results and consider which changes you think should be implemented next year.
Finally, if you do make a change that was suggested by a guest, let them know! You can thank the guest(s) individually with a short email. And share the changes you’re making on social media, your website, and email list. Even though all changes and suggestions can’t be implemented, all guests will appreciate that you’re listening to them and trying to improve.
5. Celebrate Special Occasions
There’s nothing quite like having a monster sing “happy birthday” to you, or hearing a ghost whisper “congratulations” when you’re not expecting it.
With HauntPay, you can ask custom questions right in the checkout process. Including a form field for a guest’s birthday or simply asking “are you celebrating anything special?” gives you the information you need to enhance their experience.
You could also send out a short survey to each guest who purchases tickets in advance of their visit. That gives you more opportunity to ask about any birthdays, milestones, or other special occasions they may be celebrating.
Another simple way to accomplish this is to check in with guests when they arrive at your haunt. Train your ticket booth staff to ask about special occasions when scanning tickets. Then, hand out buttons to guests who are celebrating so the rest of your staff (including monsters) can recognize them.
Final Thoughts
By implementing these strategies, you can create a sense of community and appreciation among repeat guests and first-time visitors at your haunt, encouraging them to return and enjoy new experiences each season.
