Soft play £35 for 40 minutes for 2 kids

[GlummyMcGlummerson]

Most of the local soft plays are still closed, preparing to reopen shortly, and the only one open is part of a farm park. There's a soft play inside and outside you can feed and stroke animals and usually do things like crazy golf, quad bikes, tractor rides, zip wire etc. Right now due to COVID the outdoor activities are off, and the only animals you can see now are the horses but not to touch or feed. The soft play is limited to 40 minutes per family.

They've actually raised admission prices (which were extortionate anyway BUT on a normal day you can stay 10am-5pm and get your money's worth). They charge for adults too, so for the 2 kids to play in soft play and then for us to go and stare at horses will be £35. Then you have to take into account drinks, money for the little arcade cars (the kind you get in supermarkets) etc.

AIBU to think this is daylight robbery? I know they will have taken a hit due to COVID but I think this is actually taking the loss. Almost £1 a minute to enjoy the soft play!

They can only allow a much reduced number of people in. They still have the same fixed costs of premises, staffing, etc. So fewer people need to finance the same fixed costs. Inevitably that means price increases. They are also probably in massive debt due to the months they were closed but still had costs to pay.

I think people are going to have to get used to paying more across the board really. The days of "pile 'em in" are long over, whether for pubs/restaurants, sports venues, theme parks, attractions, etc. The new "normal" will be fewer people and higher prices.

If the soft play in question doesn't get enough people in, then they'll have to reduce prices to attract more, or close down. It's just basic economics of supply & demand. If they can fill the maximum number of spaces at a higher price, why wouldn't they do it? If people are prepared to pay more, then that's the new equilibrium. If they find they're too busy and have queues etc even at higher prices, they may increase prices still further.

Covid is a game changer and there will be lots of things different from now on, including pricing!

Aside from the price why is outdoor crazy golf not open but indoor soft play is?!?

Its expensive but you don't have to go. There's loads of things I can't afford so don't have. C'est la vie.

This. Also, are you counting entry for two adults in your £35? Because if so that's not really the price they're charging 'for soft play'

No, one adult

£11 for adults
£12 for children

It does seem on the expensive side - but then again aren't most soft plays expensive?

DB has his toddler son with him and right now apart from days out places his daily exercise is to various country fields to see farm animals or not - for a London kid a huge novelty.

I agree that it's short sighted to do this - no one will go at those prices and them businesses will go bust (and probably blame customers for not coming)

As an aside, £100 to go swimming!! 😨 I've hired a private pool for next week for £30 for an hour, sharing with a friend, pretty good price but £100!

@Drivingdownthe101

What's shortsighted is people not realising that businesses have reduced income but increased costs, and that they need to recoup that somehow or else they'll go bust If the businesses were truly being shortsighted then they wouldn't change their prices and in a couple of months they will no longer be in existence

But it is shortsighted if it means that the prices are too high for people to actually pay them. The end result is the same... they will have to close.

But are prices TOO high, or is the place in question still busy?

It's economic madness to charge less than it costs to run - that's just digging deeper into the financial black hole. If the entry income doesn't cover power, staffing etc., then they'd be better staying closed as they'd lose less money by not opening.

They will have to try to see what the market will bear. If people won't pay a price high enough to make it viable, then it will have to close down anyway.

Like any business, it's a matter of finding that "sweet spot" at a level where enough people will pay balances out the costs and profit required.

@emmathedilemma

Aside from the price why is outdoor crazy golf not open but indoor soft play is?!?

Not a clue! Nothing makes sense these days. My hairdresser can spend 3 hours doing my hair but I can't get an eyebrow wax that takes 5 minutes. Baffling!

But maybe people are happy to pay that? They need to find a balance between keeping prices down and making sure they get with people in (within restriction) to afford to stay afloat. So it’s going to be tough for them.

Personally I am happy to pay slightly more for places if I know they are going to be doing things as safely as possible AND going to be much quieter so you enjoy it!

And as an aside if your in England you can get eye brows waxed now (unless in an area that’s still locked down more)

I am so glad my kids are grown up and i dont have to entertain them any more...id be bankrupt at those prices...i always avoided anywhere that i felt was a rip off...Sea Life Centre im looking at you.

@GlummyMcGlummerson

I agree that it's short sighted to do this - no one will go at those prices and them businesses will go bust (and probably blame customers for not coming)

If "NO ONE will go at those prices" then you're right.

However, if ENOUGH people go, then they've got the pricing right.

They get the same income from 10 kids at £10 per session compared with 5 kids at £20 per session. If in fact 6 kids turn up, they've made an extra £20.

@AldiAisleofCrap

They probably figured there is a correlation between parents happy to take children to the germ pit that is soft play, and those with more money than sense.

Don’t go then?
Not sure why anyone would to go anyway, would rather take my kids outside somewhere rather then let them rummage around in a ball pit full of germs.

The prices of many things have gone up but we have a choice wether we pay for them or not.

I would take them outdoors but it's pissing it down here

* Then you have to take into account drinks, money for the little arcade cars (the kind you get in supermarkets) etc.*

You might have to.
I don’t.

I bring water or squash for the children.
And crap arcade rides - not. A. Chance

@myusernamewastakenbyme

I am so glad my kids are grown up and i dont have to entertain them any more...id be bankrupt at those prices...i always avoided anywhere that i felt was a rip off...Sea Life Centre im looking at you.

I'm often beyond astonished that people need to pay anything to entertain their children. My (now adult) kids must have been severely deprived. There were occasional visits to the zoo, seaside etc., and holidays. But most days out cost little or nothing. They don't charge for parks yet, do they? The countryside is still free. When did it become necessary to spend lots of money for children to play? Doesn't play come naturally? It used to.

Why are the outdoor activities off due to covid but not the indoor activities?

That's the opposite of the farm parks we've been to in Scotland.

What is this place btw?

Are they honestly only offering soft play and to stare and horses?

Just don’t go if you can’t afford it or you don’t feel it’s value for money. 🤷🏻‍♀️
But to be fair it’s 3 people, not 2 and they’ve still got to pay for what the animals need.

I'm often beyond astonished that people need to pay anything to entertain their children. My (now adult) kids must have been severely deprived. There were occasional visits to the zoo, seaside etc., and holidays. But most days out cost little or nothing. They don't charge for parks yet, do they? The countryside is still free. When did it become necessary to spend lots of money for children to play? Doesn't play come naturally? It used to.

We've paid a fortune for soft play, farms, sea life centres, zoos, Disney, etc over the years. DS is 18 now - whenever we talk about his childhood, all he remembers are the simple things like crabbing or paddling on our local beach, walking/cycling/feeding ducks on the canal. It's as if he wasn't with us for all the expensive attractions - he can't remember them at all! The one thing he constantly talks about and tells people is falling in the canal when he was feeding some ducks. I often wonder why we bothered with the attractions - starting to think it was more for us than for him!

I'm often beyond astonished that people need to pay anything to entertain their children. My (now adult) kids must have been severely deprived. There were occasional visits to the zoo, seaside etc., and holidays. But most days out cost little or nothing. They don't charge for parks yet, do they? The countryside is still free. When did it become necessary to spend lots of money for children to play? Doesn't play come naturally? It used to.

. Yes, you were just the best and the current generation of parents just can't compete. Do you also not understand why adults spend money on entertainment? I don't need to go to the theatre, or the cinema, or the pub, or a museum or art gallery that charges entry, and most days I don't, but I'd be sad if I never did. Similarly I don't need to take DS to a farm that charges entry, a paid for toddler class or a softplay - and we do a lot more free activities than any of these - but they all brighten our lives so I choose to spend some of my money on this. I hope that's ok with you.

People will go because they'll appreciate a business making sure it's limiting risk of transmission. We're still in the middle of a pandemic. Their business costs have increased so their prices need to increase too.

Great big fat YAWN at the nature snobs obtusely wondering "I just don't know why anyone would want to pay for things when the countryside is free, Tarquinius and Ptolemy prefer nature anyway."

My kids have been out in nature almost every day for 5 months. They want sack slides, ball pools and ride-on cars. Not sorry 🤷‍♀️