This has probably been talked about before but I wanted to vent.

32 lane house.  Our league takes up 30 lanes.  Back in the day, most houses would leave that last pair open incase a league pair broke down.  Not anymore.  Open bowling on both lanes.  Kids, bumpers, teenagers - all right against the leagues. 

Owner doesn't want to turn away business.  But the league can pay for the lane(s) in their linage and he will keep them off.  Really? 

Yes oil is also required to protect the lanes.

Interesting on Wednesday the league fills all but two lanes. On Thursday night 12 lanes are available and this isnt an issue because they typically cant fill more then 8 of them.

The other thing "most" league bowlers don't realize is we are reserving those lanes for you every week, oiling those lanes every week, etc.  Open bowlers don't care if the lanes are oiled (most don't even know there is oil on them or the purpose of oil, and the vast majority actually think we are "waxing" the lane.

Opps! Forgot to mention that league playing is GUARANTEED income!

Joe Falco in case you missed what I also stated here it is again.

"Again i'm not discounting the role of league bowling, in our center it truly is the backbone of everything we do.  BUT we HAVE to cater to both segments, or we would not be able to operate."

So is there a market for a new bowling center that would market itself explicitly for league bowlers?  Possibly even only open during league times or maybe a few practice segments?  Obviously it would have to poach some league bowlers, are people that loyal to their current centers?

This is correct.  League bowlers are already putting money into it very frequently, the last thing they want to do is pay more.  Open bowlers don't go very much, most of the time it's a family thing, or a date, or a company party, so money isn't as much of an object.  You may think that the consistency of the league bowler revenue is an incentive to keep them, but it's really not.  You have to think that for each league bowler, it's most of the time 10-13 dollars for lineage depending on what part of the country you're in, but that's probably the average.  Most 5 man leagues last about 3 hours.  People will buy beer, food, etc, so I'd estimate an average take at 20-25 bucks over 3 hours per league bowler.  How long does it take them to make that on an open bowler?  1 hour.  5 bucks for a game, 5 bucks for shoe rental, some beer and food and you're there, this is before they decide to bowl another game. 

So essentially, the center can make on 1 open bowler in 1 hour the same amount they make off a league bowler over 3 hours ON AVERAGE.  This is all with less effort.  Open bowlers don't notice whether the shot is "fresh" or not.  They don't expect everything for free because they're league bowlers.  League bowlers already get a pretty good deal on bowling, usually get discounts or kickbacks, but it's never good enough.  This is why it kills me how much whining and complaining goes on when the center wants to raise lineage a QUARTER to cover their increasing costs. 

Ratt,

No, there isn't a market for that type of center.  This is why every new place that opens caters in the opposite direction.  A lot of the battle is that most everyone would like to bowl in a center that is shiny and new, and has a lane machine that costs as much as a car, but wants to pay the same for lineage as they did 20 years ago.

I had to ask because of the press releases I've seen about Boutique bowling centers like Brooklyn Bowl.  It's hard to accept that there is only one way to do things anymore.

This is correct.  League bowlers are already putting money into it very frequently, the last thing they want to do is pay more.  Open bowlers don't go very much, most of the time it's a family thing, or a date, or a company party, so money isn't as much of an object.  You may think that the consistency of the league bowler revenue is an incentive to keep them, but it's really not.  You have to think that for each league bowler, it's most of the time 10-13 dollars for lineage depending on what part of the country you're in, but that's probably the average.  Most 5 man leagues last about 3 hours.  People will buy beer, food, etc, so I'd estimate an average take at 20-25 bucks over 3 hours per league bowler.  How long does it take them to make that on an open bowler?  1 hour.  5 bucks for a game, 5 bucks for shoe rental, some beer and food and you're there, this is before they decide to bowl another game. 

So essentially, the center can make on 1 open bowler in 1 hour the same amount they make off a league bowler over 3 hours ON AVERAGE.  This is all with less effort.  Open bowlers don't notice whether the shot is "fresh" or not.  They don't expect everything for free because they're league bowlers.  League bowlers already get a pretty good deal on bowling, usually get discounts or kickbacks, but it's never good enough.  This is why it kills me how much whining and complaining goes on when the center wants to raise lineage a QUARTER to cover their increasing costs. 

Quote from: itsallaboutme on March 31, 2014, 02:09:51 PM

Ratt,

No, there isn't a market for that type of center.  This is why every new place that opens caters in the opposite direction.  A lot of the battle is that most everyone would like to bowl in a center that is shiny and new, and has a lane machine that costs as much as a car, but wants to pay the same for lineage as they did 20 years ago.

Good points from the proprietor point of view (my folks had a bowling alley, so I've been there). On the flip side, for a league bowler it's a commitment that affects their budget. A bowler can modestly spend $100 a month on league. Doesn't sound like much, but I've known a lot of league bowlers that didn't make a lot of money. $100 could be a car payment for them. They feel that for that kind of financial commitment on their part, the center should treat them better than the occasional rec bowler / birthday party kids. Unfortunately, many fail to consider the house doesn't see half of that money since it's used for prize fund/league expenses.

For the recreational bowler, if you have enough population to draw from, dropping $50 or more for one night every couple of months is much less of an issue. Plus, they don't care about score or the playing surface, they just want to cut loose and have a good time.

So I can see, and have been on both sides of the issue. It's tough because open bowling can be more profitable, but if something better comes along there is no loyalty. League bowlers are generally more loyal, but less profitable.