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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Soft play costs and charging adults

113 replies

Rupiduti · 09/02/2023 20:26

A fairly local garden centre to me have recently installed a soft play, they previously had one pre covid and as far as I'm aware, it was a cheap and cheerful couple of pounds entry which was a nice added bonus to the garden centre. It's a nice garden centre and I'll often pop along at Christmas time to see their displays, look at the pet store there, purchase some Christmas presents and buy some lunch. Spending plenty of money in store. As do many people.
Their new soft play charges are extortionate at £8.50 1- 4 , £9.50 for 5+ and a charge for under ones. Plus £2 per adult (plus it's more during weekends and school holidays). This caused a huge backlash on their fb page and people are saying it's unaffordable etc...
Anyway, the main point of my post. Do you think it's reasonable for soft plays to charge for adults, especially given most will purchase a drink or cake or something ! I guess my thinking is, a 3 year old can't go alone! This isnt specifically regarding this soft play btw, im noticing it happening in others too.

YABU - it's fine for them to charge for adults

YANBU - they shouldn't charge for adults.

Also interested to hear people's views on what soft plays should cost!

OP posts:
willingtolearn · 10/02/2023 06:52

@WhatNoRaisins Cross post and similar experience here.

kegofcoffee · 10/02/2023 07:37

I don't think charging for an adult is an issue. It's the overall cost. There's one near us that's the same, also charging from 1 years.

For a 2.5 hour session for me, DD (1) and DD (3) it's £20. Then you can't take your own snacks or drinks. So that's another £5-10.

£30 is a lot for 2 hours of play.

Elmo230885 · 10/02/2023 07:43

At that price I do belive it should include an adult per child then charge a little for extra adults. When it's reasonable to get in people are more likely to buy drinks and food.

Ohjustboreoff · 10/02/2023 08:21

I live near a lovely farm/play area with individual extra things like soft play, crystal panning and go-karting. Before Covid it was free to enter and there was a free little play area and then you could buy the extra activities and food which was amazing. We always bought food or did an extra activity. Now they've started charging entry for both kids and adults and you need to pay £4.50 per activity (lasting around 10/15mins each) and the food has gone up!
Such a rip off. I've gone from going a few times a week and spending around £10 per time to going maybe 4 times a year and spending maybe £20.

sjxoxo · 10/02/2023 08:24

YANBU and it’s ridiculous to charge adults at soft play. As if £8.50 for one child for an hour of play isn’t already absolutely enough to cover their costs!! I expect the staff are all on minimum wage and you’re paying £4 for a coffee aswell. It’s a piss take. Went to one like this recently and it was so busy there wasn’t even anywhere for the paying adults coming in to sit down. I wouldn’t go there again.. I think if you’ve got kids under 10 you’ve basically got a sign on your forehead saying ‘rip us off’!! X

CTRALTDEL · 10/02/2023 08:36

Ours did this, £4 an adult. We stopped going. It closed about 6 months later. Why the F would I pay £4 to go, drink shite coffee and spend ££ on their awful food!

CTRALTDEL · 10/02/2023 08:37

The entry ws timed too. so it's not like adults were there all day - and who in their right mind would stay longer than they have to anyway!

Kidspartyideasplease · 10/02/2023 08:39

Anywhere can technically charge what they want, but from a general perspective yes those prices are completely unreasonable.

aSofaNearYou · 10/02/2023 08:49

I always begrudge paying as an adult but at the same time, every time I go it's absolutely rammed and there aren't enough seats, so I'm guessing they do it to discourage people from coming in large groups with several adults per child. I don't think it should be more than £2, though.

The price of the actual soft play doesn't seem that unusual to me, though, might be regional. The one's around here range from £3.50 to £17 per child.

SheilaFentiman · 10/02/2023 09:04

“They don’t charge you to go into a coffee shop and buy a coffee, so how is it logical to charge you to go into a soft play cafe?”

Because the economics are different.

The main thing a coffee shop is selling is coffee. The main thing a soft play is selling is space (and facilities). They make a choice of number of tables/seats vs equipment space etc, and they cannot compel adults to buy drinks and snacks.

Heating, electricity, rent, wages, cleaning, debt servicing charges etc have probably all gone up, and there’s more profit margin on charging £2 for an adult to come in than not charging and selling them a £3.50 coffee. Plus many will still buy the £3.50 coffee.

I very much doubt these changes mean soft plays are raking it in. More struggling to keep going somehow.

fruitandfibreg · 10/02/2023 12:28

Isit in Bristol by any chance?

sayanythingelse · 10/02/2023 12:50

YANBU. We've stopped going to the ones that charge about a tenner per child and then for adults on top. It's just too expensive now. Thankfully, there are still quite a few cheap ones around.

DD's birthday is really close to Xmas, so instead of a party, we take DC to this absolutely gigantic soft play. It's just under £15 per child and £2 per adult. There's signs saying that adults aren't allowed on the play equipment but if I'm paying that much, then I'm definitely going down the slides and playing on the pirate ship!

gogohmm · 10/02/2023 12:52

The one I have been to charges per adult but you get a voucher worth that amount to spend in the cafe. Also a garden centre but it's a separate business

ChilliBandit · 10/02/2023 13:01

Sparklybanana · 09/02/2023 20:33

I think they should include 1 adult in the price and charge for extra adults. The ones that charge for adults usually have a shite cafe too so perhaps they should have a nice cafe and decent food and they'd make way more that way.
We don't end up going to softplay anywhere near as much as we used to as its so expensive now.

I agree with this. I am less likely to buy anything in the ones I am forced to pay money as an adult to sit in a sticky plastic chair. I would probably spend a good £10 or more on drinks and cake/sandwiches from one with a nicer cafe.

MaverickGooseGoose · 10/02/2023 13:01

Our local one is £11.25 per child and £3.25 per adult, not garden centre. The garden centre hasn't been reopened since covid and it used to be free but was very small.

FrozenGhost · 10/02/2023 13:17

Yabu, it's a business, not a community service. You can't compare it to a cafe because a cafe is 1/4-1/20 of the size and you spend 30 minutes there.

Whether you are enjoying it or want to be there doesn't really come in to it. The equilvant is saying kids should get free food in a cafe because they didn't want to be there.

Yanbu to decide its too expensive overall and not go any more.

Strawberry0909 · 10/02/2023 13:24

Ah, think this is our local one too! Bit disappointed when I saw the prices as I had been looking forward to taking DCs when it finally opened, It's only a bit more expensive than the big soft play a bit closer to me

If I have to pay for myself I'm less inclined to buy a coffee or cake,

Do think there should be a better pricing structure for under 2s as they obviously cannot use as much of the equipment

SparkleSpangle · 10/02/2023 13:33

I'm thinking it's the new Cadbury one. Prices are so ridiculous it's been in the paper!

Seasonofthewitch83 · 10/02/2023 13:39

Depends on layout I guess - some softplay areas do not have cafe/tables so the softplay ends up being taken over by bored additional relatives sat on the equipment.

ChilliBandit · 10/02/2023 13:41

Oh I’ve just found it online, it looks very nice but very small for the price. They have graciously decided to now allow babies under 6 months in for free which means they weren’t free before? Madness.

Actionstations · 10/02/2023 13:42

I think it is bad business to charge for adults. We always have coffees and traybakes when the kids are at softplay. We end up spending quite a bit but if they started charging for adults only one of us would go. They won't have the entrance fees for the extra adult and they also won't have all the coffees and traybakes we would have had.
As for £9.50 for soft play! What! With an entrance fee for me as well that would cost me over £30 just to enter the soft play before we bought any slush puppies etc. It's too much for what it is whether they have overheads or not. I just wouldn't go.

Wishawisha · 10/02/2023 13:55

That’s more than our best one locally chargers (and that’s London prices!). I’d pay it if it was really, really excellent but for an average soft play I wouldn’t.

SchoolTripDrama · 10/02/2023 14:11

TheSnowyOwl · 09/02/2023 20:28

It’s standard where I am. They still have to pay someone to clean up after the adult and cover them using the loos etc. Plus soft plays are a business that were hit hard by covid.

But cafès still have to pay someone to clear up after them and they don't charge entry! For adults that is essentially what it is - just a cafè charging entry!

SchoolTripDrama · 10/02/2023 14:13

Clicheinaqashqai · 09/02/2023 20:31

Where I am, full soft play centres cost around that much and the small one in the garden centre is £3 per child.

Soft plays started charging for adults during covid, when there were limits on the number of people in the building with social distancing etc. People paid it, so I guess there's no reason for them to scrap the fee but think it does take the piss a bit.

The role play place near us charges £3 per adult but that does include a hot drink which I don't mind.

The big one near me have always charged £10 for adults it's an absolute joke! Yet the small, yet incredibly successful one round the corner doesn't charge anything for adults and quite rightly so!

ChilliBandit · 10/02/2023 14:13

SchoolTripDrama · 10/02/2023 14:11

But cafès still have to pay someone to clear up after them and they don't charge entry! For adults that is essentially what it is - just a cafè charging entry!

Show quote history

I agree, I would be less miffed if say adults paid £2 and then got £2 off food and drink. I still think the children’s price is very high now that I’ve seen the soft play.