Three Ways to Use Amusements at Your Bar

Whether they’re timeless classics like dart boards and pool tables or newer, technology-driven diversions like sports arcade games and jukeboxes connected to mobile apps, amusements can increase foot traffic and keep patrons coming back to your bar. However, when other establishments essentially have access to the same amusements, how can you differentiate what your business offers?

Here are three relatively simple suggestions for setting your bar’s amusements apart and increasing the revenue they bring in:

1. Use your jukebox audio for more than just music: When they get a jukebox like TouchTunes, bars and restaurants will also receive a high-quality sound system. This includes speakers that can fill the room with the thumping beats of the hottest pop tracks or the familiar strains of everyone’s favorite arena rock songs. But sometimes your patrons might want to hear the sounds of the big game or some other televised event rather of music. Fortunately, you can easily hook one of your TVs up to the jukebox, and voilà! You now have high-quality audio for those broadcasts throughout your establishment, instead of having to crank up the volume on two or three different TVs in an attempt to achieve the same effect.

Read more: From Jukebox to TouchTunes: A Brief History of Music Machines.

2. Start tournaments and leagues: There are already more than a few well-organized leagues for activities like darts and billiards that allow you to start a team based in your bar fairly easily. This allows your patrons to regularly compete in official competitions, all from the comfort of your bar. (In fact, Accel has strong relationships with some of these organizations, and can help you get set up). But it doesn’t always need to be that official. You could set up more informal individual and team-based tournaments on your own in pool and darts, as well as newer amusements — trivia and sports video games like Golden Tee or Big Buck Hunter, for example. You can even charge nominal entry fees and offer cash prizes. These kinds of events not only bring people in, but also tend to keep them at your bar for a while. Whether it’s serious competitions or casual match-ups, be sure to promote these offerings on social media and in traditional advertising as much as possible.

3. Use new equipment: With the possible exception of that vintage Pac-Man machine, you’ll want to have newer amusements available to your patrons. That means more contemporary arcade games, pool tables with unblemished and level surfaces, and dart boards that don’t resemble the surface of the moon after years of wear-and-tear. It can also mean you’re regularly switching out some of your electronic amusements for continued novelty and paying some attention to the upkeep of equipment (or choosing a supplier who provides those services).

Want to learn more about what’s possible in amusements? Visit https://www.accelentertainment.com/amusements for more information.