Own A
FranchiseOwning a Trampoline Park:
The Ultimate Guide
Opening a Trampoline Park: The Ultimate Guide
When you’re looking at opening a trampoline park, it can be easy to get immersed in the fun of it all! At Altitude Trampoline Parks, we totally understand that and it’s something we love about being in this business. However, this is a commercial venture and there is important foundation work that goes into a successful launch and long-term viability of a trampoline park.
This ultimate guide to opening a trampoline park is based on what we have learned as a growing company that is already a top-ranked franchise in this developing industry.
Business Plan Essentials
If you plan to obtain financing, you will need a business plan for the lender. The business plan must go beyond the average cost to open a trampoline park and provide valuable information that supports the business concept as a long-term, viable, and financially responsible opportunity.
While it will take some work, every bit of information you gather toward opening a trampoline park helps mold the business toward a profitable venture.
Today, Altitude provides this information to future franchise owners, but we still had to go through this process years ago when we first imagined the concept. We also review our business model annually to ensure we are staying on top of the industry and our competition and best supporting our franchisee network.
About the Industry
Learn as much as you can about the leisure entertainment industry; including trampoline parks and other ways in which Americans spend their leisure time. Here are some figures to get you started:
- This is an increase of 6.5% from 2022.
- The number of businesses in the industry in the U.S. has grown 6.5% per year on average between 2018 - 2023.
One organization that can help you understand the trampoline park industry is the Indoor Adventure & Trampoline Park Association. Members are primarily startups, facilities, and suppliers serving the industry.
What Do Other Parks Offer?
You need to do a deep dive into your direct and indirect competition.
Your direct competition is other trampoline parks, not only those currently operating but parks that could emerge in your area with enough interest and the right businesspeople to lead them. To help decide what your park will offer, look at other parks in similar population areas or communities as a starting point.
Your indirect competition is other entertainment venues in the area that can compete for your customers. Look at both indoor and outdoor facilities that could be an alternative for your customer.
When researching your competition for opening a trampoline park, be sure to note:
- What do they offer?
- How much do they charge?
- In what ways are they recruiting customers?
Don’t forget to browse the social media profiles and websites of your competition in gathering this information.
Who’s Coming to the Park?
Now it’s time to narrow down the types of customers that will be most attracted to coming to your park. Research compiled by Regiondo noted the following:
- 35% of trampoline customers are 6–10-year olds
- 26% of trampoline customers are 11–15-year olds
- 13% of trampoline customers are toddlers
Altitude Trampoline Parks also cater to adults, but not every park will be formatted to do that. Deciding who you will target as key customer groups will be important in developing the park plan and marketing.
Designing Your Park
Now you start pulling your park vision together! The key groups you target will determine the spaces you create, decide if your park will be indoor or outdoor, and lead you to your real estate needs. As a guide, Altitude Trampoline Parks recommends 20,000-100,000 square feet of space for an indoor park.
In designing your park, be sure to actively highlight its value proposition to appeal to customers and give you a clearcut marketing plan. It might be worth spending more to offer a more appealing experience. You also need a list of suppliers for your park and business requirements including:
- Trampoline and other equipment suppliers
- Furniture, televisions, and office equipment
- Music player, sound system, lighting system and security
- Indoor and outdoor signage
- Point of sale system, accounting program, and other software
Tip: have a primary and a backup supplier in case the one you choose goes out of business or is not able to meet your needs as your business evolves.
How Will You Attract Customers?
A marketing plan lays out the strategy for how you will entice customers to come to your trampoline park. You will want to research both paid and organic (non-paid) marketing options. It is unlikely that a fellow competitor is going to help you out here, so you may wish to consider budgeting for marketing expertise to help launch and drive your business in the critical start-up stage.
Your Operations Plan
All business plans have a section that details how you will operate the business. This includes the people involved, their backgrounds and roles in the business, and the responsibilities of the staff you will onboard.
Developing Truthful Financials
This is the part of your business plan that will set the stage for many other elements of your trampoline park vision.
You can’t only be concerned with the cost to open a trampoline park; you also must focus on making it a sustainable business. You need to prepare a list of start-up expenses (one-time purchases) and a cash flow statement (a 12-month forecast of income you will bring in and expenses you will have to operate). Finally, you need to project your revenues over a five or 10-year period.
The Small Business Administration has a guide on preparing a business plan that helps explain the various sections and their importance.
Jump In with Altitude Trampoline Parks
The Altitude franchise disclosure document (FDD) contains the details you need to know to open and run a trampoline park franchise. As we have a proven model that is already working for franchisees, we have specific business information to provide a very clear picture of what opening a trampoline park franchise entails.
Altitude franchisees benefit from a support system in both the franchise team and your fellow franchise owners. We help with choosing park locations, financing, connecting with contractors who are equipped to work on our parks, training for all staff members, full accounting services, a marketing plan, and an operations playbook.
With Altitude Trampoline Parks, you have a roadmap to reach your full potential in this business. Could you be aperfect franchisee with us? Let’s find out!