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White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group, Kansas City, MO, USA

A paradigmatic shift for LBEs; the entertainment is no longer the primary attraction

Society and culture are undergoing a transformation based on the growth and adoption of the internet, social media, AI, demographic changes, generational shifts, changed economic conditions, and changing values. With those changes, what are traditionally called entertainment venues, such as family entertainment centers (FECs) and other types of community location-based entertainment venues (LBEs) need to evolve and shift the paradigm of what a community destination needs to be to stay relevant to the new consumer leisure order.

It's a bit of an oxymoron to call an LBE an entertainment venue when, in fact, for most venues, the entertainment has become secondary. But that is precisely what is proving successful in the fast-evolving LBE industry: less emphasis on the entertainment. The new successful concepts aren't even calling themselves entertainment venues.

Let's take a look at what may be the earliest example of this paradigm shift, Topgolf. The popularity of golf has been on a long-term decline in America, losing about four million players over the past two decades. With a shrinking market size, golf is not exactly an industry where you want to open a new concept. Well actually, yes, it is if you understand what it takes to attract younger non-golfers rather than just traditional golfers.

That is precisely what TopGolf has achieved. Nearly half of their guests are between 18 and 34 (48%), an age range that accounts for only one-fourth of golfers (24%). This is because the majority of their customers are not golfers. Half of TopGolf customers (51%) consider themselves new to the game; it's not the golf (the entertainment) that brings them. TopGolf has turned its driving ranges, miniature golf, and clubhouses into must-attend social and party spots. Playing golf is secondary to hanging out with friends and partying for TopGolf's customers. Food and beverage are vital as they make up more than one-half of TopGolf's revenues. Their menu won't seem out of place in a gastropub. Food and drinks, music, and friends make TopGolf a social experience rather than a golf experience.

Many new bowling concepts are following this same formula. Rather than being designed for bowlers, a paradigm that developed in the heydays of league bowling that once dominated bowling, the new centers offer a social and food and beverage experience for non-bowlers.

There are other examples of new venue formulas, especially social gaming venues, that include entertainment, but where the food and beverage and the socialization are the primary draws versus what is fast proving to be an out-of-date concept of people coming primarily for the entertainment. These new formats are proving successful in luring today's contemporary consumers out of their homes and away from all their screen-based entertainment options.

Yes, a paradigmatic shift is underway in destination community leisure venues, and it doesn't start with the word 'entertainment.' It's all about let's go out together to socialize while we eat and drink and have some fun together. Its socialization facilitated by the entertainment and food and beverage.

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