With over 250 FlowRiders installed worldwide, we are no strangers to the excitement that comes with opening a stationary wave machine. And with so many waves in different venue types, we have seen a multitude of ways operators schedule their waves for success. Revenue from the FlowRider comes through a variety of avenues–venue ticket sales, food and beverage, and retail all see major upticks after installing a wave. FlowHouse is a great resource to learn more about these additional revenue streams.
Although we talk a lot about alternative revenue streams a FlowRider brings in, let’s not forget that a successfully operated stationary wave machine pays for itself, and the rest is just icing on the cake. Here are 3 steps to ensure you’re maximizing the revenue your wave can bring in on its own:
1. Increase Paid Riding Time During Operating Hours
How you program your wave during operating hours depends largely on your venue type. Many venues schedule their wave for hourly sessions and charge guests a fee to ride, but some hotels and waterparks that use their wave as an amenity offer ride time to guests for free.
For venues that already charge guests a session fee, we recommend replacing sessions during less popular hours with instructor lessons or camps at a higher price. Lessons and camps are also a good option for venues that offer ride time for free, as people will pay to improve their skills with hands-on instruction.
And for those hotels and waterparks that offer free riding time, the average cost to ride can be included in and used to justify moderately increased resort or ticket fees. Many free riding venues have also seen success by charging a session fee during peak hours; guests tend to appreciate this as well, as it gives more riding time to those willing to pay!
2. Optimize for After-Hours Sessions
Design your venue so you can open and close certain areas according to capacity needs or time of day. For example, you will want your FlowRider in a space which you can operate after-hours. Many guests have so much fun riding during the day that they’re willing to pay extra to join sessions outside of normal operating hours so that they can get more riding time.
After-hours are also a good time for FLOW Leagues. Leaning into the sport aspect in the programming of your venue can promote repeat ridership, bringing guests in to practice, sign up for lessons, and bring their friends to watch them ride. A good FLOW League would enroll a few teams each season for a fee that would guarantee each team an hour or so of after-hours practice time each week during the season. This all culminates in either a competition or a series of competitions which scores points based on ride time and tricks, giving the team with the highest point total the winning title.
3. Prioritize Booking Events
A stationary wave machine is the perfect centerpiece to any event! Opening the wave for hourly rentals during and outside of normal operating hours is a great way to increase revenue, and many venues have their wave booked for private events nearly every night of the summer. Birthday parties, corporate events, bachelor(ette) parties, brand activations, and the list goes on. Depending on the size of the venue, some venues give the option to rent the full venue or just the wave. But we hear one thing consistently—no one rents the venue without the wave!
There are a multitude of opportunities to increase revenue just from wave operation, and we have seen countless venues have success using the above tactics. We are always here to help at FlowRider, and nearly every member of our team has experience with FlowRider venue operations. Our clients’ successes are our successes, so if you ever want to chat about ways to improve your venue’s profitability, our door as always open. Reach out to us via our contact page to access our FlowRider knowledge!
