Smoking vs. smoke free

We are in the home stretch. Will will be open no later than March 15th. We are located in downtown Inverness FL and will be smoke free. I will update in this forum with pictures and more info as soon as we vacuum up the sawdust and simonis scraps on the floor. This has been a great discussion and I appreciate everyone's responses.
 
FloridaPoolGal said:
We are in the home stretch. Will will be open no later than March 15th. We are located in downtown Inverness FL and will be smoke free. I will update in this forum with pictures and more info as soon as we vacuum up the sawdust and simonis scraps on the floor. This has been a great discussion and I appreciate everyone's responses.
Click to expand...

Good luck in your journey with this room. My main advice is to keep an open mind and be flexible. Follow the money and not the suggestions or advice from customers. You will be shocked how much money the "silent" customers will spend in the most surprising places.
 
predator said:
All the room owners I have talked to say the same thing. After smoking ban they have experienced immediate drop of income. Yes, I believe them.
But my question to them is always the same. What are you doing to attract statistical majority (non smokers) to pool?
Click to expand...

I know my room may be in the minority but we experienced an INCREASE in business after the Clean Air act went into effect in St. Louis. My room is different in that we do not have a bar and are geared towards a family environment or date night environment. Couples ended up staying longer because women could hang out without going home reeking of smoke. More family events, even have kids birthday parties. We experienced about a 15% bump right off the bat and it has increased as several places that got smoking exemptions went out of business. The main complaint I heard from many customers is that the smoke was SO BAD they had to leave. We have had smoke eaters and ventilation fans for 20 years to help keep the smoke factor lower than a lot of places. So when we finally went non smoking it wasnt the giant adjustment many bars have experienced. Believing that your state will never ban smoking at some point in the very near future is a dangerous stance to take. Either way you have to expect it and PREPARE for it at all times I believe.
 
maybe go back and read all the posts about the 60 plus year old
pool players dying off or begging for money or help. they were all smokers playing in the smoky rooms of yesteryear. and you are thinking of opening a smoking room and breathing that air for ten hours a day so you can join them.

edit.. just saw you are going non smoking. my hats off to you good luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top