Should weekends and holidays cost more at your play area?

Yes, but only a little. Charge about a fifth more on weekends and on holidays that fill your floor. Then decide each morning which price to use. Do not load a holiday list once a year. Festival dates move every year, and not every holiday is a full day.

This post is about the full days. If your problem is the quiet days, read how to fill slow weekdays instead.

Should a play area charge more on weekends?

Yes. Weekends really are busier. We averaged Google's hour-by-hour busyness for 185 indoor play centres in South India. A weekday evening was about three-quarters as busy as a weekend evening. See the full data in when a play centre is actually busy.

So a weekend price is fair. Your weekend floor is fuller, and your staff work harder.

But look at the size of the gap. Weekends were busier, not twice as busy. A price that jumps a lot on Saturday does not match the floor.

Most centres do not charge more at all. Among the real rate cards we read, only a few print a weekday price. Most cards charge one price every day.

How much more should weekends cost?

Keep the gap small. Here is what we found:

• Real rate cards: where a card prints a weekday price, it sat about 22% below the weekend hour.
• Mall play areas we looked at priced weekdays up to about a quarter below weekends.
• The floor itself: on Google's scale, weekend evenings are about 30% busier than weekday evenings.

Our suggestion: start at about 20% more, and round it to an easy number. For example:

These are example prices, not a price list. Raise each longer package by the same share as the one hour. Then the board stays simple.

Why not charge much more on a weekend?

Three reasons.

The weekend price covers the whole day. Even on a weekend, 10am to 2pm is only about half as busy as the evening. On Google's scale, a weekend morning (about 34) is quieter than a weekday evening (about 52). A big weekend price also charges the quiet morning.

Parents read the board. A small gap looks like a normal weekend price. A big gap looks like you are taking advantage of the holiday.

The second hour matters more. On a full day, a cheap second hour sells your busiest time at a discount. Check that price before you raise the first hour. See what to charge for the second hour.

Should holidays cost the same as weekends?

The simplest rule is this: a full holiday is a weekend day. Use the weekend price. Two prices on a board are easy to explain. Three prices start arguments at the counter.

Which holidays count? That depends on your city and your families. It could be Diwali, Onam, Eid, Christmas, the summer vacation or a school closure.

But do not assume every holiday is full. Our 185-centre study does not cover festival weeks. So we cannot tell you how busy a festival day is. Some festival days may be full from the morning. Others may be quiet, because families are at home. Your own register is the only real answer. Write down how full each holiday was, so next year you know.

Why not load a holiday calendar once a year?

Because the dates do not stay still.

• Eid starts when the crescent moon is sighted, so the exact day is not fixed in advance.
• Diwali falls between about mid-October and mid-November, on a different date each year.
• Onam follows the Malayalam calendar and falls in August or September.
• State holidays differ. Only three holidays are national holidays for all of India: Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti. Each state adds its own.
• Schools differ. The schools near you may not close on the same day.

And the floor changes too. A holiday can be quiet, and so can a Saturday. A list made in January cannot know this. A person at the desk on the morning can.

So decide each morning, before you open. Ask one question: "Will today be a full day?" If yes, use the weekend price. If no, use the weekday price.

How do you switch prices without confusing parents?

• Print both prices on one board. For example: "Monday to Friday ₹300. Saturday, Sunday and holidays ₹360." Then you never reprint the board for a holiday.
• Write the rule, not the dates. "Holidays: weekend price" is enough. The desk decides which days are holidays.
• Decide once, at opening. Never change the price in the middle of the day. Two families should not pay two prices for the same hour.
• Say it before they pay. Put a small card at the counter: "Today: weekend price."
• Tell regulars the day before. Post it on your WhatsApp status the evening before a holiday.
• Choose who decides. One person, every morning. Staff should never guess.

How does PlayOps handle weekend and holiday prices?

When you set up PlayOps, the form asks: "Do weekends or holidays cost more?" You type your weekend price for one hour. The form suggests 20% more to start. Your longer packages go up by the same share.

Each morning, the floor asks one question: "Start of the day — which prices today?" There are two buttons, Weekend and Weekday. The usual answer for that day is marked. One tap, and the floor shows "Weekend prices today" with a small "change" link.

• The desk's choice wins. A quiet holiday can run on weekday prices. A Tuesday when schools are closed can run on weekend prices.
• You can plan ahead too. In Settings, you can add holiday dates. On those days, the morning question marks Weekend as usual. Settings also shows each price pair side by side.
• Staff do not need to remember. Every package with a weekend price sells at that price on a weekend-price day.
• Parents see the same price. QR check-in is on the Growth plan. There, the parent's form shows the day's price. It says "Price per child. You pay at the desk."

Two things PlayOps does not do. It switches the price for the whole day, not hour by hour. And it does not load a festival calendar for you. We chose that on purpose, for the reasons above. See how it works and the plans.

What to do tomorrow

1. Look at last month's register. Mark the days that were really full.
2. Set your weekend price at about 20% above your weekday price. Round it to an easy number.
3. Raise your longer packages by the same share.
4. Print both prices on one board, with the line "Holidays: weekend price".
5. Choose one person to decide the price each morning, before opening.
6. List the holidays you expect in the next three months. Check each one on the morning itself.

PlayOps runs the front desk from your phone, with your weekday and weekend prices built in. Set it up free for a month.