Leisure Media Issue 3 2009 - Leisure Opportunities

NEWS REPORTSTAYINGSTRONGAmid economic uncertainty,businesses across the sector areturning to innovative solutionsto keep customers and remainresilient. Pete Hayman reportsEstablishing new, profitable businessmodels which take accountof changing income streams hasprompted a number of creativeand effective initiatives, as operatorswork to ensure their businesses comethrought the recession in good shape.VALUE FOR MONEYFor some, this has been achievedthrough a series of price reductions.Football clubs have been quick to appreciatethe long-term benefits of rewardingtheir most loyal customers with discountedrates on season tickets tomaintain a healthy level of retention.Bolton Wanderers Football Club cutthe price of a child's season ticket by 64per cent ahead of the 2008-09 season –one of a number of price reductions thatled to a 3.2 per cent increase in sales.For the 2009-10 season, the club has justannounced that due to the success ofthe childen’s reductions, adult prices willbe decreased by 11 per cent. Chair PhilGartside says attendances have gone upby 7.5 per cent as a direct result of thischange in pricing – the biggest increasein the Premier League.It’s a strategy that’s not exclusive toBolton Wanderers, as Paul Rawnsley,director in Deloitte's Sports BusinessGroup, explains: "In the current economicclimate, supporters are lookingfor value for money above all else fromtheir season tickets. Offering deeplydiscounted tickets for children is becomingmore common and this can help fillempty seats, nurture future fans of theclub and provides assistance to familieswho buy more than one season ticket."The England and Wales Cricket Board(ECB) has introduced a raft of moneysavingschemes designed to get morepeople attending domestic and internationalcricket fixtures this summer underthe 'Great Exhibition' marketing umbrella.Free entry for young people and two-foronedeals have been implemented forFriends Provident Trophy fixtures, whilethe ECB has teamed up with The Sunnewspaper to offer significantly reducedticket prices for Twenty20 Cup fixtures.Meanwhile, Esporta, one of the UK'sleading health and racquet club operators,has taken a novel approach, witha campaign which appeals to those hithardest by the downturn. Fresh Start, anew discounted membership packagefor people who’ve been made redundantlaunched in April 2009.Esporta chief executive Glenn Timms isThe BuyStirlingAlbion campaign (top left) ismaking a bold move to save Stirling Albion FootballClub; Whitbread (above) is creating 1,000 new jobskeen to point out that those who’ve losta job are not the only ones the companyis looking to target: "Fresh Start is oneof a host of value initiatives Esporta hasrecently introduced in response to theeconomic climate,” he says.As Woking Borough Council hasproven, lowering gym charges can havedramatic results. It reduced monthly feesfor 2008-09 from £49 – a level whichgenerated 650 members and £194k ofmembership income – to £35. The changeincreased membership to 2,000 and generated£325k of income – a 68 per centincrease, according to the The LeisureDatabase’s Leisure Pricing Report.NEW APPROACHIt’s the potential growth which can bedriven by discounting that’s seen budgethotel operators such as Travelodge slashprices to as low as £9 per night per roomin recent months, as predictions suggestan increasing number of people holidayingat home in 2009. But while a pricewar rages among the budget chains,other hospitality companies are revisingtheir strategies to attract new customers.Parmontley Hall Country Lodges at theWhitfield Estate in Northumberland madelodges available to let for short breaks in36 Read Leisure Management online leisuremanagement.co.uk/digitalISSUE 3 2009 © cybertrek 2009