As a haunt enthusiast, you know that creating a spine-chilling experience is only half the battle. The other half? Making sure your haunt earns you more than enough money to do this year after year! That's where setting up multiple revenue streams comes in. Not only can additional income sources boost your profits, but they can also enhance the overall experience for your thrill-seeking visitors. Let's explore some ghoulishly good ways to increase revenue for haunts!

1. Merchandise sales

Who doesn't love a good souvenir? Merchandise sales are a fantastic way to let your visitors take a piece of the horror home with them.

Ideas: Consider offering themed T-shirts and hoodies that capture the spirit of your haunted attraction. Hats and beanies with your haunt logo can be popular items, especially during cooler evenings in the fall. Don't forget about smaller souvenirs like keychains, mugs, and posters that can appeal to a wide range of budgets.

Execution tips: To make the most of merchandise sales, focus on designing unique, spooky items that align closely with your haunt's theme. Once you’ve got your merchandise designed and ready to sell, set up your merchandise booth in a high-traffic area, such as near the exit, to catch visitors as they leave your terrifying experience with adrenaline still pumping. Consider offering bundled tickets that include merchandise, and add a merch store to your website to keep the sales coming after your event too!

Potential challenge + solution: Upfront costs for inventory can be steep, so start small with a few popular items and use pre-orders to gauge interest before making larger investments on merch.

2. Themed concessions

Nothing works up an appetite like being scared out of your wits! Offering themed food and drinks can add to your guests’ experience while putting more money in your pocket.

Ideas: Get creative with spooky-themed food items like "Witches' Brew" drinks and "Monster Burgers". Halloween-themed snacks such as candied apples and popcorn are always popular too! For an extra touch, create uniquely branded food items that fit your haunt's unique theme.

Execution tips: Consider partnering with local food vendors or setting up your own food booths to offer these treats. Create themed menu items that are not only visually appealing but also tasty. To boost sales, offer package deals that include a meal and a ticket discount, encouraging visitors to dine at your haunt.

Potential challenge + solution: Managing food safety and health regulations can be complicated, but they’re super important! Make sure to research what training is needed in your state to properly handle food yourself, or partner with established food vendors who already have the necessary permits and expertise.

3. VIP experiences

For those visitors who want an extra-special fright night, VIP experiences can be a profitable addition to your haunt!

Ideas: Fast passes for skipping lines can be a hot commodity on busy nights, especially the closer you get to Halloween! For an even more exclusive experience, consider offering private scare zones that give thrill-seekers their own personal nightmare.

Execution tips: Develop tiered ticketing options with added perks to cater to different levels of VIP experiences. For example, you could offer a silver tier that includes a fast pass to skip lines, a gold tier that adds access to exclusive merch, and a platinum tier that includes all of the above plus a private tour of the haunt with a meet-and-greet with the actors. Pro tip: limiting the availability of these experiences helps create a sense of urgency and exclusivity for those who buy them.

Potential challenge + solution: Regular guests might feel left out or wish they got VIP passes once they arrive, so offer a limited number of VIP upgrades onsite each night to give everyone a chance to enjoy your more premium experiences. And be sure to highlight the value of your VIP experience so guests know what they're paying for!

4. Photo opportunities

Capture the screams, hilarious facial expressions, and memorable moments from inside your haunt with photo ops that your visitors will want to buy and take home with them!

Ideas: Set up professional photo booths with spooky backdrops that fit your haunt's theme. For an interactive twist, create photo opportunities with live actors that can truly capture the terror of the moment.

Execution tips: Consider hiring professional photographers or using automated photo booths for efficiency. Put effort into creating visually striking and interactive photo backdrops that will make for shareable, memorable images. For those candid moments, set up cameras throughout your haunt that are set to snap after your scare trigger! Offer both digital downloads and printed photo packages for sale to cater to different preferences.

Potential challenge + solution: Popular photo spots may end up having a line up people waiting, so use a timed ticketing system for photos or create multiple photo spots to disperse the crowd.

5. Experience upgrades

Give your visitors the option to level up their fear factor with additional spooky experiences!

Ideas: Mini escape room add-ons with themed challenges can provide an extra thrill. As another idea, try offering interactive game zones with prizes to keep visitors engaged between scares. For the ultimate adrenaline junkies, offer scare triggers and jump scare activations they can control.

Execution tips: When designing escape rooms, ensure the puzzles and challenges fit your haunt's theme seamlessly. Set time limits to keep people moving through so everyone can enjoy the experience. For scare triggers, it could be a button or lever that attendees pull to activate a hidden air cannon, loud noise, or sudden movement of a nearby prop, like a monster springing out or a skeleton dropping from the ceiling. Promote these as separate or add-on experiences to your regular tickets, emphasizing how these upgrades will bring an extra level of fun to their experience.

Potential challenge + solutions: Handling added experiences can require a lot more event logistics, so be sure to plan ahead and train your staff thoroughly. Create clear signage to guide visitors through the upgraded experiences smoothly and ensure maximum safety at your haunt.

6. Special nights

Keep your crowd coming back for more with themed nights and special events.

Ideas: Host costume contests and themed parties like Michael Jackson’s Thriller or zombie apocalypse. Offer lights-on walkthroughs of your attraction for your curious but cautious guests. Consider no scare or family-friendly nights with toned-down scares to attract a wider audience. For the brave, try blackout nights with minimal lighting (glow sticks only) or touch scare nights for a more intense experience.

Execution tips: Schedule these events on off-peak nights (like mid-week in the fall) to boost attendance during slower periods. For more thrilling experiences on these nights, incentivize guests to participate in costume contests by offering cool prizes, like your haunts merch, for the best costumes. To promote these special events, leverage social media, local community groups, and email marketing.

Potential challenge + solution: Since these themed nights may bring different crowds with different expectations from their experience, clearly advertise the nature of each special night so visitors know what to expect and can choose the experience that suits them best. This especially goes for visitors who want to ensure they’re going to get too scared.

7. Sponsorship and partnerships

Don't overlook the potential of partnering with other businesses to boost your revenue!

Ideas: Offer ad space on your tickets to local businesses, and set up at-event sponsor signage throughout your haunt. You could also sell banner ads on your website, spotlights on your newsletter emails, and shoutouts on your social media. For a more immersive approach, incorporate sponsors into your set design in creative ways like adding an interactive element with branded props or a specific room provided by your sponsor.

Execution tips: Identify potential sponsors that align well with your haunt's audience and theme, like your local escape room, ax-throwing venue, or costume store. Showcase a range of branding opportunities and exclusive promotions on your website for sponsors to choose from. Look for ways to leverage these partnerships for mutual marketing benefits, expanding your reach while providing value to your sponsors.

Potential challenge + solution: Acquiring sponsorships can be difficult sometimes, so ensure that you build a compelling sponsorship package that highlights the return on investment your sponsors will receive!

8. Workshops and behind-the-scenes tours

Give curious visitors a peek behind the curtain of how you make your haunted experiences a reality!

Ideas: Teach aspiring haunters the art of makeup and special effects through hands-on workshops. Take visitors behind the scenes to uncover the magic that brings your haunt to life. For those passionate about the craft, host educational sessions on haunt creation and design, offering insider knowledge and inspiration for their own haunts.

Execution tips: Schedule these workshops and tours during non-operating hours to avoid conflicting with the main attraction. Bring in experts or use your skilled staff to conduct engaging sessions. Promote these as educational experiences for haunt enthusiasts, emphasizing the exclusive nature of the insider knowledge being shared.

Potential challenge + solution: You’ll want to ensure there’s enough interest to ensure you’ll have great attendance to your more niche workshops, so launch a survey to gauge interest in different topics before committing to your sessions.

9. Midway entertainment

Keep visitors engaged before and after the main attraction, while maximizing your revenue streams as you do so.

Ideas: Set up a bar with themed drinks to create the perfect mood and enhance the energy with live music performances. You may even invite fire-handling performers or other awesome entertainers! Add to the excitement with interactive midway games and attractions (e.g., bobbing for apples, pumpkin smash, creepy claw machine) that seamlessly align with your haunt's theme.

Execution tips: Build a lineup of local musicians and entertainment acts to bring in fresh talent each week, encouraging attendees to come back to your haunt again and again. Make sure to optimize the layout of your attraction with clear signage to naturally guide guests through your different experiences. Build the hype by using social media to promote these additional attractions.

Potential challenge + solution: Finding and booking the right entertainment may require some sleuthing. Get connected with your local music scene through Facebook groups and reach out to local venues to discover how to book their acts.

10. Off-season events

Who says the scares have to stop when Halloween is over? Host haunted events throughout the year to keep the party going! 

Ideas: Create haunted events around other holidays throughout the year! Once Halloween ends and people gear up for Christmas, host “Krampus” or “Merry Frightmas” events for a twisted holiday experience. Then, in February, celebrate “Valloween” or “My Bloody Valentine” for a terrifying twist on romance. You could even create “St. Patrick's Slay” or “St. Paddy's Nightmare” events in March. Once May rolls around, mark the “Halfway to Halloween” milestone with some extra fun haunts. Don’t forget to capitalize on Friday the 13th with special haunt nights whenever they occur!

Execution tips: Decorate with festive yet spooky elements to fit each season’s unique theme. Offer specially themed experiences and packages for each event. Market these as unique attractions during the off-season, appealing to thrill-seekers looking for some fun frights year-round!

Potential challenge + solution: Since it can be challenging to maintain staff for year-round events, we recommend partnering with local theater groups or hiring seasonal workers for these special events.

Time for frightful financial gains 

There you have it! You’ve got ten new ways on how to make money beyond ticket sales for a haunted attraction! Why not give it a shot? Your haunt's bottom line will thank you, and your visitors will love the enhanced experience. For any extra haunt revenue streams involving ticket sales (like VIP packages or off-season events), TicketLeap’s powerful event ticketing software has you covered. The best part? You get our full suite of haunt ticketing features for free when you sign up!