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Choosing a location-based entertainment designer

Over the many years we've published our Leisure eNewsletter, we have discussed many aspects and considerations about the physical design of location-based entertainment facilities (LBEs), including family entertainment centers (FECs). The design of the physical facility has a profound impact on the quality of the guest experience and revenues and the cost efficiency of operating the business. In other words, design directly affects:

• whether your guests enjoy the experience of visiting
• how much they spend
• whether and how often they return
• what it costs to operate the business

Most design decisions are permanent or, at the least, very costly to correct. In most cases, the cost of developing a center with a less profitable design differs little from creating one with a highly profitable design. So, getting the design right in the beginning is very important to initial development and long-term success.

Yet, as critical as good design is to success, many owners continue to make multiple errors that permanently handicap their opportunity for profitability and, in some cases, their survival.

In most cases, the problem is not intentional. In fact, the owners are following what they believe to be the correct process: hiring a local architect to handle the design. Unfortunately, this choice is the root cause of the problem -- the result of a myth created and perpetuated by the architecture profession. The myth is that any architect is qualified to design any type of facility. This is equivalent to the idea that any doctor is qualified to treat any ailment or disease or perform any kind of operation. Just as medicine has its specializations, so is specialization required for designing business facilities such as LBEs. It's about not only understanding physical design but also understanding the business and the implications the physical design will have on it. Other specialized facilities requiring specialized expertise include restaurants, sports stadiums, hospitals, childcare centers, and airports. Before we have architects writing to us about this statement, we want to acknowledge that some architects are exceptions. Although in the minority, there are ethical architects who will not take on an assignment from a client for a specialized building type they do not have the required experience and expertise to design.

Unfortunately, most architects will accept any design assignment despite lacking training, experience, and expertise in the building type and its business. When it comes to offices or warehouse space, the required expertise is minimal, as these are buildings, not businesses. However, when it comes to specialized facilities like LBEs, the design is much more than just the design of a building; it is the design of a business. If you don't have an in-depth understanding of the business, you can't correctly design the facility to house it.

What typically happens in the development process is that an entrepreneur LBE developer will find an architect in the local area and hire that individual to handle the design. And the architect rarely says, "Sorry, but I am not qualified to do this for you. This is a very specialized type of building and interior, and I don't have the expertise to do a good job for you." Imagine going to your general practitioner doctor or internist and asking them to perform cataract surgery on you. Yet most LBE developers do the equivalent when they hire their local architects.

Architects, especially younger firms trying to get established and gain business, have a marketing ploy that helps reel in the unsuspecting entrepreneur. They offer to do some initial preliminary design work for FREE. This is known in the industry as doing work on the come. Most entrepreneurs want to minimize their upfront expenditures until they get the required zoning and financing, so getting design work for free has great appeal. However, because the work is unpaid, the architect may very well not invest the amount of time and effort that would go into paid work. So, the entrepreneur ends up with a preliminary design for an LBE by an architect who doesn't know what good LBE design is and who probably has expended only minimum effort. It's back to the old maxim: you only get what you pay for.

What happens next is the fatal pitfall. The entrepreneur gets the required zoning and financing and proceeds with the project design, which is now cast in stone. And, of course, the entrepreneur hires the same architect, feeling obligated for all the "great work" that was done for free (oh, if they only knew!).

It's not over yet, though. The architect is now in charge of the design. Because architects tend to have large egos when it comes to their designs, any suggestions on how to correct the design falls on deaf ears (the architect's) - even if entertainment specialists who know the industry are brought in. Furthermore, because the zoning approvals and financing were based upon the original preliminary design, changing any basics in the design becomes very difficult, if not impossible.

Another sales pitch technique architects sometimes use to seduce LBE entrepreneurs into their fold is to tout how "creative" their designs are. They will show the entrepreneur great-looking photos of their projects and brag about the awards they have won for their creative designs. This all sounds great on the surface, but in our experience, "We are very creative" typically translates to: "We don't know anything about your project type, but we are sure we can find a creative design solution that is neither based on experience, what has been proven to work in the industry, or will generate the most business for you. But with the right photographer, we can win a design award with it." Whenever you hear an architect or other designer bragging about their creativity, run for the hills, as creativity doesn't usually translate into business success and profits.

So, what's the solution for entrepreneurs planning to develop an LBE? The answer is not all that complicated. Hire any of the number of design firms specializing in the design and development of LBEs. No, none of these firms will do upfront work for free in hopes that the project will move forward and the firm will get the entire design contract. As specialists, their services are in demand. They deliver value, and they will charge you for their work. The bottom line is if you hire a specialist, you will get a project that can maximize profits rather than one with built-in handicaps.

With 35 years of experience, our firm, the White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group, takes the approach of producing LBE businesses rather than just designing the facility. All aspects of the business and the facility's design are interdependent, which is why we use a coordinated process to design a facility that supports the entire business rather than just design the building.

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