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One of the questions I get asked more than almost any other is why so many indoor playgrounds and play cafés seem to be struggling or closing. There is obviously no single answer to that question, and every business has different circumstances, so I would never look at a closure announcement online and pretend to know exactly what happened behind the scenes.
But after more than a decade in the indoor playground industry — first ownin...
Designing an indoor playground or play café is about much more than choosing attractive equipment and filling a room with toys. The most successful play environments are intentionally designed around how children actually move, explore, create, interact, and regulate themselves within a space.
That distinction can have a direct impact not only on the quality of the play experience, but also on how long families stay, how comfortable parents feel during their visit, how efficiently staff can mai...
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If you’ve been in this industry for any length of time, you already know that most of the conversations tend to focus on growth.
More revenue streams.
More offerings.
More experiences.
More complexity.
And while those conversations absolutely have their place, there is another layer of change happening right now that deserves just as much attention.
Because what I’m seeing across Play Maker Society and with my private clients is not just growth—it’s refinement.
Owners are starting to a...
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Most play café owners assume momentum comes after opening.
In reality, the strongest businesses start building it long before that point.
That was immediately clear in my conversation with Erin and Justin, the owners of Hangtime Play Café in Arlington, Washington.
Before their play structure was even installed, they had already secured over 100 founding members. Within a few months of opening, they had grown to more than 250 members, were booking parties weeks in advance, and had bui...
If you run an indoor playground, play café, or any type of family-focused business, you’ve likely experienced the moment where you open Instagram, scroll through Facebook, or check your local parent group—and immediately feel a sense of frustration.
Everywhere you look, there are free events being promoted.
Free Easter egg hunts, free family festivals, free bounce houses, free face painting.
At first glance, it can feel like you’re operating at a disadvantage. It’s easy to assume that if fami...
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When most people picture opening an indoor playground or play café, they imagine starting from scratch.
A custom buildout. A brand-new layout. Fresh branding. A carefully planned launch.
But that is not how Kaylinn’s story began.
In my recent conversation with Kaylinn — known online as Kay’s Play Days, but the former owner of Monkey Around Indoor Playground — we talked about a path that many aspiring owners quietly consider: buying an existing play space instead of building one from ...
Every year since 2019, I’ve released an annual trends forecast for the indoor playground and play café industry. And every year, those episodes consistently become some of the most watched and listened-to content I put out.
That isn’t because people love predictions.
It’s because this industry is expensive, nuanced, and wildly unforgiving when you build the wrong thing—or build the right thing but run it in a way that s
...
Most indoor playground and play café owners don’t struggle because they lack ideas.
They struggle because everything lives in their head.
They know they should review their numbers.
They know they should clean up systems.
They know they should simplify before adding more.
But when you’re managing staff, parties, customer messages, cleaning, marketing, programming, and your own life, that work gets pushed to “later.”
A few years ago, I published my Indoor Playground Year-End Checklist and ...
Michele Caruana
Play Cafe Academy Founder & Blog Author
I have over a decade of hands-on local business experience and tough lessons under my belt, and I am passionate about helping current and prospective play based business owners AVOID the same mistakes myself and SO many other business owner's make. Even though I have a Master's Degree in Economics and Years of Business and Marketing experience, it took me YEARS to "crack the code" and turn my Indoor Playground from an expensive hobby into a business-- and I want to get YOUR business get there in less time and with much less stress.
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I asked 11 Play Cafe Academy and Play Maker Society members what is working RIGHT NOW in their businesses to attract customers and grow sales. I want to send you their answers in my FREE newly updated 2024 "What's Working" Guide!
