From Topgolf to EMERGING.
During my 8 years at Topgolf, where I helped scale their indoor business from inception to 200+ locations, the blending of hospitality and entertainment was accelerating.
To go all-in on this convergence, I joined EMERGING, the industry-leading Fund that invests at the intersection of Hospitality and Entertainment – Puttshack, F1 Arcade, Flight Club and others.
The best entertainment concepts should be a revenue engine for a property with high-ROI.
This 2-minute video further outlines my perspective.
Key Factors to Look For:
- Property Impact (i.e. incremental Group sales)
- Concept Revenue (rental + f&b sales)
- Indirect Revenue (i.e. adjacent bar sales)
- Marketability
- Tech Stability
Where Hospitality Meets Entertainment:
Every hospitality sector is adding entertainment to keep guests longer and spending more. The challenge is the process itself – where do you even start? How do you evaluate technology and ROI?
EMERGING largely consists of industry-leading Hospitality Operators who have solved these questions.
Learned Insights:
When speaking with Owners and Operators, one thing is clear – their plate is full at all times.
To outsource an important task requires trust, which isn’t easy for Operators, as they know their property better than anyone.
The beauty of working at EMERGING, which again, consists largely consists of industry-leading Hospitality Operators – we understand the challenges Operators must deal with.
Lessons from the Hunt: Basic vs. Premium Entertainment
Over the past decade, I’ve come across two types of entertainment – Basic (i.e. arcade games) and Premium (i.e. immersive experience).
Basic entertainment, like arcade games, will always be around. There’s an endless supply of manufactures debuting new games at IAAPA each year, sold through distributors like Betson or Shaffer. Some games offer solid ROI, but when you pack 50+ into one room, they start cannibalizing each other.
FECs rarely spotlight specific arcade attractions on their website because they are interchangeable commodities that lack the draw to drive repeat visits.
Premium Entertainment, when programmed strategically, has game-changing abilities. They are immersive, tech-driven experiences that are marketable, create a wow factor and drive incremental revenue.
Our Breakthrough: Securing 8 High-ROI Premium Concepts
After vetting hundreds of concepts, focusing on the key factors listed above (Property Impact, Concept Revenue, Indirect Revenue, Marketability, Tech Stability) we’ve secured Licensing partnerships with eight (8) best-in-class concepts.
The categories include:
- Racing: insanely realistic, global IP, proven Operators – now licensing.
- Baseball: think batting cage on tech steroids with game modes for all skill levels.
- Golf: the largest indoor golf Operator in America – now licensing.
- Social VR Arena: we’ve never seen anything like this, nor have you.
- Darts: the best licensor of augmented darts.
- Interactive Rooms: the most immersive and best IP we’ve seen in a box.
- Karaoke: turnkey pod, 45k songs, completely soundproof and beautifully designed.
- Bowling: the coolest lane content overlay we’ve seen.
Ready for EMERGING to Elevate Your Property?
We want to speak with every Hospitality Owner and Operator exploring entertainment for their property.
Visit our Licensing Page https://emerging.com/licensing
Or email me at PK@EMERGING.com
