Public vs. Private Escape Rooms?

Many escape room owners face the dilemma—Should I make my escape room public (so players can team up with strangers) or private (so they have the whole room to themselves). WIth public ticketing, you sell Individual tickets at a set price and you continue selling tickets to anyone until the room is full. With private ticketing you sell the entire room to one buyer, and the price changes according to how many players are on that buyer’s team.

The answer to the public vs. private dilemma will depend on a variety of factors:

Your Location

One thing you will need to consider is the trend in your particular area. For example, it is common in Europe for escape rooms to be private, and most players would be surprised to arrive at a game and have strangers join their team. By contrast, it is very common in North America to have mixed teams, and many players look forward to meeting new people with different skill sets. Trends are not rules set in stone, but it is important to be aware of your players’ assumptions/expectations.

Your Room Size

If you are building a large escape room with numerous players, you may want to go with the public room format. The fact is, most players do not have dozens of friends they can round up to play a game; it is simply too difficult to coordinate that many people’s schedules. It is not impossible for one team to book a large room (and it happens frequently if it is a company team-building exercise). However in general, for rooms of 8 or more, I think it will be much easier to fill your rooms with a few couples or small teams that can be grouped together.

Your Customer Demographics

How you price your room will often depend on what your customers can afford. People may enjoy the luxury of having a room to themselves, but private rooms can get very expensive. For example, my husband and I play private games in the UK, but because there is only 2 of us we frequently spend around £50 per person. Whereas, a team of 6 friends could book the same room for only £20 per person. If your customers cannot rangle enough friends, the cost of the room may be prohibitive—and they simply will not play. If you are located in an area with a low wage demographic you may want to consider public rooms with a set affordable ticket price.

Your Puzzles

A couple may be willing to book your entire room for a private date night, but it may be next to impossible for them to escape the room. Keep in mind that players (especially first timers) enjoy the thrill of winning, and are more likely to play future escape rooms if they succeed, or at least come close to escaping. If your room has too many puzzles, small teams will become overwhelmed and feel they were not given a fair chance to escape. If you choose to use the private room method, you may want to specify a minimum team size that can reasonably complete the room on their own.

Your Players’ Reviews

Reviews are important for any escape room business, and you may need to change your public vs. private room formula based on reviews you get. While there are certainly benefits to mixing players with strangers, it sometimes results in poor reviews. Your room may be great, but customers will sometimes leave poor reviews because they had a bad experience with their teammates. I have heard horror stories of players re-playing a room and ruining it for the strangers they were teamed with, by giving away all the answers to the puzzles. I have also heard of cases where experienced enthusiasts completely railroad/boss around newbie players they are teamed up with. In a private room, players cannot complain about their team, because they chose it.

In conclusion, there is no clear answer to this dilemma. Some escape room owners swear by the public ticketing formula, and find that teams made up of strangers are far more successful at escaping the room. Other owners insist that players value their privacy and will willingly pay for the entire room. Both methods have value, and you will need to do what makes sense for your business. You may also want to consider offering both, and letting the players decide!