New business venture- soft play

[Jess125]

Hi all,

I think I've decided I want to quit my job and try my hand at something new. I've decided I want to open a soft play.

The property I've seen is in Halifax (west Yorkshire) it's opposite the bus station and a short walk from the town centre. It's would be great for a soft play and to host birthday parties, family parties, baby showers etc. There's just this big nagging voice in my head saying it's a bad idea.

Is this something that would work? I know there's the cost of living crisis but I'm trying to take that into account and trying to ensure that it would be affordable and have deals on food etc.

Also bonus if anyone would like to say the best and worst thing about any soft plays they've been to, so that I could try to work that into my plans!

Thanks :)

There are 3 soft play places near us that are well visited and we are frequent repeat visitors. I have an adventurous toddler and regularly babysit nephews which are primary school age.

Best of soft play 1: very very clean. They clean between sessions. Restricted numbers so not too busy. Great natural lighting, new building so is generally warm. Lovely cafe with good selection of hot and cold food and cake with reasonable prices. Family run with staff who give great customer service. Always have holiday activities on and have days aimed at different ages not just the primary school age crowd (this holiday there is encanto, frozen, Spiderman, Peter rabbit, hey duggee, messy play, paw patrol day). Holiday activities are only £1 or 2 more than usual play. They are simple character meet and greet/ dance. Normal soft play sessions available every day of the holidays too at normal soft play charge. Separate baby area with toys. Play frame is quite open so easy to see the kids. Lots of parking.

Worst of soft play 1: you need to book at weekends/ holidays as it is very popular. Sessions are 2 hours and then the venue closes for cleaning. Play frame is only 2 levels and small. Kids generally age out around 7. Baby area is very baby focused so toddlers prefer the main frame. No separate toddler frame so toddlers sharing main frame with older kids. Only 1 ballpool in main frame so have to supervise toddlers carefully as it's always full of big kids.

Best of soft play 2: Separate baby area, separate toddler area and separate main play frame. Good meal deals and priced food. None restricted sessions. Good spacious play frame that has good sight lines. Lots of baby/ toddler groups on in the week with use of soft play after. Lots and lots of parking. Great party packages. Lots of holiday activities, especially for the 6-11 age group.

Worst of soft play 2: big warehouse setting no natural light. Is often cold. Parking is shared with lorry yard which is very active. Toddler frame is limited so toddlers are always wanting to go on the big play frame. The ball pool is in the toddler section, the big kids love the ballpool and so take over the toddler section. Holiday pricing comes into force and is ££ in the holidays. Holiday activities are mainly aimed at the older kids. Gets very very busy with parties, at the weekend there are often 3 parties in at a time which makes the main play frame very busy.

Best of soft play 3: Very large varied play frame. Area for music, cars, football pitch, ball cannons, large ball pool. Separate baby and toddler area that is well stocked with toys as well as rockers and play frame. Brilliant toddler play frame with ramp, slide, bridge, sensory tunnel, ball pit, wall activities. Toddler area is fenced and gated with push button at adult height. This means it truly is an under 5s area as the push button requires holding to open the gate so even if kids jump to push it the gate doesn't open. Great prices and meal deals. Very large menu. Doesn't have holiday surge pricing, same price all year. Good party packages.

Worst of soft play 3: very large so can loose sight of kids easily. Starting to look very shabby. Doesn't do the holiday activities that others do. It is just a soft play. Warehouse with no natural light. Very large space so is always cold. Instant coffee. Gets very busy with parties.

To make it work you’ll need to get people in during term time, so I think you need a really decent toddler area. The good ones near me the toddler areas have a variety of play equipment but also role play, sand pits (can you do an outside covered area?) or toys. The toddler area needs space for parents to be in with them and for you to have a number of adults in there at once.

I think you would want to look at doing something for babies and toddlers during the week. Maybe look at rhyme time or sensory play sessions. Basically something that I could have done on maternity leave and somewhere I could have met with my NCT group. Offer table service or the option to bring it over to the table so parents aren’t juggling a toddler and a baby and drinks/snacks. One of the soft play areas near me charges £2 for adults during the week but you get unlimited hot drinks.

I have often thought that soft plays are missing a trick by opening at 10. There are loads of family who are awake from 5/6am and being driven mad by 7am. I’d love to go somewhere that can bring us both breakfast and then DC can start playing and I can wear them out but still leave in time to get a nap in at home.

I have worked in two soft plays. They are a lot of work. They tend to have high staff turn overs and that is something to factor in, if you want to keep staff/attract good staff you’ll probably be wanting to paying a living wage which would obviously really up your costs. Staff tend to be very young, may not be able to drive, may predominantly work weekends and school holidays.

Properly cleaned down at regular intervals (after every session, so every 2hrs or so).

New equipment.

Food that isn’t junk.

Air conditioning - this is a must have been to so many that are stifling and smelly.

Contained safe area for young ones, with tables nearby so you can see them and they have a chance to explore and interact themselves.

Love my local soft play. It has a baby area with toys, lights, mini ball pit then a toddler area with a decent slide and then a main bit. Not too big so ideal to sit and have coffee and see kids the whole time.

Food is really quite nice, coffee is good too, table service which is great and the main reason I keep going back is that it's spotless, by far the cleanest one I have been to and just happens to be on my doorstep.

You need a decent amount of parking. Parents will not want to park on/ walk along busy roads to get their kids inside.

Things I hate about soft play:

Rank toilets that never get cleaned adequately, overflowing nappy bins etc. (pandemic definitely improved things on that score.)

Cafes that only sell very sugary food /drink options for kids.

Baby areas that are overrun with older kids - have your baby area securely fenced off.

Blaring music on loudspeakers - soft play is loud enough anyway!

Things I like at soft play:

Well maintained - everything in good condition and clean

A variety of play equipment of differing complexities for different ages. DS loved ballpits when he was little but now he likes things that involve challenging climbs.

Experienced mature staff members to deal with all situations. Not just 16 year old students.

Also a plea for neurodiverse kids - if you are doing an 'autism hour' please do it on a weekend and not at 6pm on a school night (as our local one did). Autistic kids often have total sensory burn out after being at school all day so often can't cope with a busy, noisy after school activity!

Forgot to mention needs to have decent priced food. Kids clubs/babies clubs are a great idea - yoga, messy play, rhyme time etc.

Parking is a big plus also.

And not too expensive! Different prices for older/toddler/babies and free adults.

All the autism sessions round me are 8am on a sat which is equally problematic!

I've been looking into soft plays too! So trying to save, ideally it's something for maybe 2 years time as it all depends on whats happening financially in this country. I'm also a health care professional so have lots of ideas for the 'soft play'. Just need it to work!

I used to own a small soft play so have lots of knowledge on this. It’s still up and running under different ownership.

How many square feet is the property? That’s going to be the key bit of info for ballpark set-up costs. There are some rough rules of thumb in the industry.

Insurance is not the expensive bit as some PPs have said. It’s staff and, depending on where you are and how the property is classed, rent and rates.

I feel like I could write a book for prospective soft play owners 😁

The cost of heating the room would be enough to put me off. I don’t think now is a good time to do something like this.

My DH worked in the softplay industry pre Covid and you are talking ££££££ in set up costs if you want something decent from scratch.

More locally to us I've seen mini villages which have more of a Eureka Halifax feel (not the Merseyside one which is a once visit never return compared to Halifax).

My DH is admittedly v annoying to hang out with but any time we go to a soft play or playground or public park he comments on the "play value" as in what do the kids get from it, regardless of the tea coffee paninis that parents want. Since lockdown our kids haven't been to soft play at all because they're too old now, but there were numerous times I'd turn up somewhere and immediately recognise it as "play value" for the kids. The Ice Cream Factory in Cheshire is a prime example of good play value.

I don't take mine to soft play very often at all, costs a lot for what it is, I have to pay to supervise my own children because they can't go alone! And they always always pick up some bug and end up ill.
We go to a role play cafe a lot and much prefer it, quieter, cleaner, more imaginative and good for EYFS learning and can supervise your children properly.

Good food is so important! Those massive, factory made cakes that loads of them have are gross.

I love a play and eat meal deal for the kids.

Regularly cleaned toilets and plenty of them!

@Newuser82 - I guess 0-8 due to many over 8s simply being too rough and fast compared to a 2 year old. Also you would need more variety of equipment to cover every age ie much bigger weight scooters and role play area would be set up for smaller height

You could say suited for 0-8, but 8+ allowed in free with sibling’s under discretion that they play calmly, and will be asked to stop playing if not?

That would be a good compromise.

Hi, I know that this was a while ago but may I ask if you went ahead with your venture and how it is going if so? I’m at the stage now that you were and terrified to take the plunge! Any advice from your experience would be much appreciated! 🙏

Cater for allergies and have areas for older siblings who might have grown out of soft play but don't want to sit with mum, even if it's a reading and drawing nook.

Honestly though it's a hard business. The big one in my town closed down due to the costs involve. It reopened with new owners but has now drastically reduced opening hours due to staff costs which becomes a vicious circle.

I know Halifax, and I know where the OPs potential premises are, and this type of business would work there very well I reckon.

My wife and I looked into this a few years ago. My thoughts from that experience...

• Setup costs are high
• The business does not really gain value. The cost to buy an existing soft play business is pretty much the same as setting one up from scratch
• There is little to no customer loyalty. If another soft play centre opens up nearby with a bigger slide, they will take away most of your customers. We were looking at ways we could try to build customer loyalty, but it isn't easy
• It is a very marginal business. Your costs are pretty much the same regardless of whether one child turns up or hundreds
• You need to keep staff costs down. Shortly before we started looking into this, someone with experience of the leisure market and a lot of funding tried to start up a soft play chain. They crashed and burned. It was clear from looking at their accounts that they had employed far too many staff
• Catering is very important and is likely to be your biggest source of income
• Parties are also an important source if income
• It will probably take a year or two before the business generates enough money for you to be able to take a reasonable salary
• A lot of soft play businesses only last a few years. Some are very successful and last for decades, but it is clearly a tough business. Someone else eventually took on the premises we looked at and ran a soft play business, but it closed after less than 5 years
• Having said that, some soft play businesses are very successful. There is one near me that has been going for around 15 years and makes a very healthy annual profit

Hi.
Just found this thread as considering a play cafe.
How have you done with yours? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated x