Throwing a successful birthday party doesn’t need to be a complicated process; it’s actually pretty simple. Ensure everything revolves around the birthday child and takes away as much stress as possible for the parents. Not sure how to make that happen? Here are our five tips for throwing a laser tag birthday party that’s memorable and low-stress:

Right off the bat, you need to demonstrate a high level of organization and competence across your team members. First impressions matter, so it’s essential that you put a lot of thought into their initial interactions. Numerous studies show that millennials are willing to spend more money for better experiences. This also holds with how they approach purchasing entertainment for their families.

A streamlined booking process for a laser tag party on your website immediately puts you ahead of the rest. Following this with a highly trained sales staff demonstrates that you genuinely put a lot of effort into your business. It also reflects your team’s ability to deliver on their expectations of a memorable experience, allowing you to charge more for your services.

Point of Sale and other software providers can help you with the implementation of your online reservation system.  Turn to providers such as  Party Center Software, CenterEdge, and Brunswick Sync for seamless integration.

Birthday parties are a unique and fun opportunity for children to be the center of attention, to be fawned over, so it’s important to play into that. When throwing a laser tag party for kids, the birthday child should be front and center of it all to make it memorable for them (and for their family).

This could include:

• Allowing the birthday kid to pick the game format and team color
• Place an identifying item like a pen or a t-shirt on the child so that everyone can easily spot birthday kids. Your staff members should then wish them a happy birthday every time they see them!
• VIP Phasers: Delta Strike offers a VIP phaser that has a bright orange enclosure and way more powerful. We always recommend bringing the VIP phaser to the birthday child before their game and parade them through the facility wearing the VIP phaser and vest for some extra fun.

Not sure how to do a laser tag party for birthday kids, or want some more ideas? The Birthday University Conference has a lot of great ideas. You can contact us for scholarships.

Just remember, happy parents, = rebooking. A successful laser tag party balances children and their parents and keeps them both happy in different ways. While birthday kids need to feel like VIPs, you need to take away as much of their stress as possible with parents.

For example, you can:

• Assign a dedicated party host/hostess.
• Help carry in and out any gifts.
• Offer them a drink right away.
• While the attendees are having fun, continue checking on them, tidying up the party room as needed, and ensuring the parents don’t have to clean anything.
• Oversee cake-cutting and passing out slices to guests
• Pay attention to scheduling

Running a tight schedule of events helps you maximize revenue, and having a plan laid out for the party parent is a nice element to add to the experience. It helps set expectations and gives them confidence that you have the expertise to run an incredible laser tag party for kids.

A good example of a laser tag party flow would be:

• Check-in 15 minutes before the first game
• Run game 1
• 15 – 20 minute break. This time is used for the game room credits, which come with the party package. By allotting a 20-minute break between games, there is an excellent opportunity to upsell game credit packages.
• Run Game 2
• Party Room for an hour
• Allows for 15 minutes to clean and prep the room for the next party
• Give guests bounce back coupons

For each guest, you should include a dual-purpose coupon for a buy one get one free game or the birthday kid is free for their birthday party. This encourages other kids to go home from the laser tag party and give their parents coupons saying they want their laser tag party at your venue.

Throwing a great laser party for kids is about ensuring that the birthday kid feels ultra-special throughout the day and giving parents time to relax and actually enjoy the party. If you’re not sure how to do a laser tag party, think of these two elements as the foundation for a good birthday. Focus on training your staff and creating the ultimate laser tag guest experience to make the laser tag party as memorable as possible for everyone who attends.