Entertainment businesses are struggling, but innovation continues. Once the pandemic subsides, customers will have plenty of exciting games and attractions awaiting them if the input of three industry leaders who spoke during the American Amusement Machine Association’s virtual annual meeting is any indication. Listeners had a chance to learn how three industry leaders are making the best use of their time in light of restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Craig Buster describes how miniature golf equipment stays sanitized.

Craig Buster, general manager, Wild Island Coconut Bowl, Sparks, Nevada, the 2019 AAMA FEC of the Year, described how his team fine tuned its operations during the recent lockdown and has focused on customer service since reopening on June 1.

In the 80 days the facility was closed under a state order, Buster and his team did preventive maintenance on all equipment and sanitized the facility twice.

Since reopening at 50% maximum capacity, all employees have had temperature checks and wear masks. They also placed “one way” social distancing stickers on the floor throughout the facility.

“That was definitely some challenging times,” Buster said.

For games that are now closed, the card reader carries a sign explaining it is closed to ensure social distancing.

Sanitation stations have been placed throughout the facility, along with signs reminding people to wear face masks. The team built the sanitation stations themselves using PVC and painted wood from table bases that were not in use.

“That saved us a ton of money,” Buster said.

All POS desks offer guests touchless and cashless payment options.

How equipment stays clean

Miniature golf customers can buy a game card at the front desk and swipe the card at a vending machine to choose the ball they want to use, and the sanitized ball is dispensed. At game’s end, the 18th hole collects the ball to be resanitized. The staff also sanitizes the clubs and puts them back on the rack.

Laser tag guests take a vest from the vesting room and return it at the end of the game. Attendants clean the vests that are not in use with a sanitizing solution or UV cleaner.

Attendants also clean the go karts not in use.

To keep people out of the bowling lanes not in use, attendants place unused chairs upside down on the lanes’ seating cushions. The company plans to install Plexiglas partitions during the league play to ensure distance between the lanes.

“Between masks and the Plexiglas, we feel pretty confident that our guests will feel safe,” he said.

Players experience running inside video games in the Omni Arena.

VR, esport revolution continues

Virtual reality and esports have been big drivers for Virtuix Omni, particularly the Omni Arena, which lets players walk and run inside video games, said Sergio Garcia, national sales manager at Virtuix Omni. Players can run around 360 degrees with no boundary — the players are not stationary as in other VR venues. There is also no risk of injury or damage to the units.

“Unlike most VR, this cannot be done at home,” Garcia said.

“The unique ability to run freely in the game also means the experience never becomes repetitive, which is the main reason that VR attractions suffer from repeat play” he said. “Each time your customers play will be different from the last.”

New games are released twice per year, he said, each being multi-player up to four players.

The Omni Arena also features automated Esports tournaments and a live nationwide leaderboard for guests to compete in. Guests can check their standings on this leaderboard. After each contest, Virtuix Omni pays the winners via PayPal or a mailed check.

About one third of all play nationwide is with repeat players, Garcia said.

Seventy-percent of guests create player accounts, he said, which is not mandatory, meaning the facility is collecting hundreds if not thousands of emails per month. Virtuix Onmi sends an email every month to all Omni Arena players to return to their FEC before month’s end to compete in the monthly contest.

After their experience, the guest receives a high resolution video via email of their experience with the FEC’s logo embedded in the video.

Dannie Festa of World Builder Entertainment, left, takes a question from Holly Hampton of Bay Tek Entertainment during the webinar.

Make use of the downtime

While the pandemic has sidelined a lot of activity, Dannie Festa, CEO and co-founder of World Builder Entertainment, a company that manages brands, writers and directors for media, encouraged listeners to focus on creative innovation.

“We’re all sort of in the same boat in terms of how to continue entertaining people and do it in a safe way,” Festa said regarding all segments of the entertainment industry.

“You constantly have to be pivoting in a creative industry,” she said. “We have a little bit more time to think about what’s important, what we want to be doing.”

“People are going to want that content,” she said. “People are going to get sick of being in their houses.”

Festa recalled learning this lesson during the big writer strike in 2008, which affected her business significantly.

“If I didn’t diversify my business, down the line, it could be a problem. It forced me to start looking into other industries.” She got into toys, gaming and comic books. “It opened up all these opportunities I never knew existed.”

“We have always had movies, games, live entertainment,” Festa said. “There’s going to be a demand for something fun and lightheartedness when we come out of this. That need for in-person entertainment is always going to be there. It’s going to come back.”

She is looking forward to see what innovators have come up with.