For the past three years, if you asked a haunt owner what was keeping them up at night, the answer was almost always the same: Staffing.
But a surprising plot twist has emerged in the 2026 Haunt Industry Report. Staffing dropped to the third-highest concern, cited by 32.6% of haunt owners. Today, the most pressing headaches are entirely marketing-focused.
Let’s take a look at why this shift is happening, the economic pressures compounding the issue, and how your haunt can fight back.
The Top 4 Challenges Haunters are Facing in 2026
Based on the survey data, here is the new hierarchy of hurdles keeping operators up at night:
- Promoting Your Haunt (46.7%)
- Finding New Customers (33.7%)
- Staffing (32.6%)
- Overhead Costs (30.4%)
“Promoting your haunt” has taken the crown as the number one challenge, keeping 46.7% of haunters awake at night, followed closely by the related struggle of “Finding new customers” at 33.7%.
When you look at these top two challenges together, a clear picture emerges from the fog: top-of-funnel marketing…simply getting eyes on your event and driving new foot traffic…is the industry’s true nightmare right now. But why? I have a few thoughts…
The Search Gap and the AI Shift
Consumer behavior is evolving faster than many small businesses (including haunts!) can adapt. According to the National Retail Federation, 38% of consumers now use online searches as their leading source of Halloween inspiration. But it’s not just that they are searching; it’s how they are searching.
Folks are increasingly turning to Large Language Models (LLMs) and conversational search features to answer queries like, “What are some fun, Halloweeny things to do near me this weekend?”
If your haunt doesn’t have an online presence that is specifically optimized for AI search, you might be missing out on new customers.
The Economic Squeeze
It is not just search algorithms making marketing harder; it is the broader economic climate. While overall spending on live entertainment continues to grow, people are heavily scrutinizing their discretionary budgets.
Instead of spreading their entertainment budget across three or four mid-tier local events throughout the season, many folks are consolidating their spending into one or two premium, high-demand experiences. You are no longer just competing with the haunt the next town over; you are fighting against major immersive festivals, stadium concerts, and professional sports for a highly protected share of the consumer’s wallet.
While battling for this consolidated spend, haunt owners are simultaneously fighting a war on the bottom line. Overhead Costs remain a top-tier challenge. Rent, utilities, and labor have spiked, aggressive double-digit hikes in insurance premiums have hit the 2026 season hard, and volatile material costs continue to devastate build budgets. Despite these immense financial and marketing pressures, the haunt community’s generous spirit remains intact. More than a third (37%) of haunters still donate at least some portion of their proceeds to a nonprofit.
Why Staffing is Still Tormenting Haunts
While it may have dropped from the number one spot, staffing remains a huge operational headache for nearly a third of all haunts. Finding and retaining reliable help is difficult because haunt work is uniquely demanding. Operators continually battle high turnover and last-minute no-shows due to the grueling, irregular late-night weekend shifts that define the season.
Additionally, the physical toll of scare acting…enduring cold temperatures, wearing heavy, vision-restricting masks, and maintaining high energy for sustained scares…leads to quick burnout. The skill gap between an enthusiastic fan and an actor who can stay in character while managing safety and crowd control means that truly great staff members are incredibly hard to replace mid-season.
Why Overhead Costs are Surging
Rounding out the top four challenges, overhead costs are squeezing operators tightly. We talked about this recently in our post “Why Haunt Ticket Prices are Rising” but it’s worth revisiting here.
Baseline rent and facility utility costs are up significantly, while aggressive double-digit hikes in insurance premiums have hit the 2026 season hard.
On top of that, volatile material costs (hello, lumber prices!), international shipping rates, and tariffs on high-tech animatronics continue to devastate haunt budgets. Minimum wage increases and heavy competition for seasonal workers mean operators are also paying a premium just to keep their attractions adequately staffed.
How to Position Your Haunt as a Must-See Experience
To make your haunt successful in 2026, you need to position your attraction as a premium, unmissable event:
- Lean Into Immersive Storytelling: Guests today demand more than plywood walls and jump scares; they want narrative-driven environments that feel like stepping into a high-budget video game or sci-fi thriller. Build rich lore around your attraction and use your marketing to tell that story before they even buy a ticket.
- Manufacture Exclusivity: Introduce scarcity. Promote limited-run themed nights, exclusive behind-the-scenes “lights on” tours, or ultra-premium VIP experiences. When guests feel an experience is scarce, its perceived value skyrockets.
- Design for Social Currency: Younger audiences view live entertainment as a core part of their social identity. Build highly stylized, designated photo-op areas outside the main haunt (where cameras are allowed) so guests can prove they survived your attraction. Their user-generated content becomes your most valuable marketing asset.
How HauntPay Can Help
We saw this marketing headache coming for more and more haunters even before the numbers flipped in the survey. That is why our team has spent the past few years building out features that help haunters reach more customers and sell more tickets.
We don’t just process transactions; we actively address your most pressing promotional issues:
- Built-In Audience Exposure: HauntPay reaches more than 6 million fans searching for haunted attractions each year, and when they’re searching in your area…we send them directly to you. This directly addresses the “Finding New Customers” hurdle by putting you in front of people actively searching for tickets, bridging the gap for haunts struggling with their own search visibility.
- Local Event Promotion: Right on your HauntPay admin dashboard, you can submit your haunt’s information once and push your details out to dozens of local online directories and publications.
- Advanced Marketing Automation: We built email marketing and automation right into your HauntPay dashboard. Whether you’re looking to send a blood-curdling announcement or set up a series of automatic follow-ups, everything you need is now under the “Promote” tab in your admin area.
- Optimized Checkout & Upsells: Online transactions average 54% higher than in-person gate sales. Our mobile-optimized checkout allows you to offer add-ons and upsells for VIP fast-passes, merchandise bundles, or just about anything else to maximize the revenue from every new customer you acquire, helping offset those rising overhead costs.
- Referral Codes and Ad Tracking: HauntPay makes it simple to track exactly which of your marketing campaigns are the most effective, so you can focus your dollars where they are having the biggest impact.
- Dynamic Pricing: Maximize the value of every ticket and gamify your sales with pricing that automatically changes as demand rises or opening day approaches.
Your haunt is terrifying, but your marketing strategy doesn’t have to be. By leaning into premium experiences and leveraging the right promotional tools, you can turn these industry challenges into your competitive advantage.
Need some help getting your tickets live before opening night? Schedule a call with a haunt expert and we’ll do all the heavy lifting for you!
