"Profits" in a Seasonal Aquatic Facility

by Jeff Hunt, CLP

More than one pool operator this season will use the excuse that it is impossible for municipally operated seasonal pools to show excess revenues at the end of the season. At one time, a public pool's financial losses were something for which taxes or other revenue-generating sources would compensate. Pools have lost money for so long that most recreation professionals still look at them as a white elephant. Times are changing, and fiscal responsibility is now a part of the job which every aquatic facility's operator must address.

REVENUES
The number of dollars coming in should be higher than the number of dollars going out. A popular way of maximizing this concept is by programming for your facility. Passes, admissions and classes are some of the popular sources of revenue.

Admissions can make or break a seasonal pool. Everybody should pay for the service which you are providing. Children and adults need to be charged a reasonable amount. If you overcharge, the customer will go to the competition; if you undercharge, you are cutting your own throat. Some facilities will let children under a certain age in at no cost. You cannot make money letting any group of people in for free! One way of charging the toddlers is by implementing a nominal fee, such as $1.00.

Every pool sells season passes or memberships, don't they? When was the last time that you raised the price of your season passes? Are you keeping up with inflation? Conduct a survey of your neighboring pools to see what their prices are. You should be competitive, but there is no need to radically undercut the competition (unless you really get the urge to). If you are selling "family passes," limit the pass to four people living in the same household, and charge a flat fee for each additional family member (see Illustration #1) Try offering discount prices on your passes before the season starts. Also try selling passes for half-price midway through your season.

Illustration #1
# in Family	Up to 4	5	6	7	8	More than 8
Cost of Pass	$110	$120	$130	$140	$150	$10 each

Lessons can make big money! Mornings are cold and people will complain, but a.m. lessons are one way of maximizing use of your facility. This is no reason to limit lessons only to the morning hours. Try offering preschool lessons in the evening, and make the parents get in the water with the kids. Lifeguarding class, competitive swim teams, scuba lessons, water aerobics, adult lessons, canoeing classes or any other programming can mean more money coming into your facility. Lessons alone are not enough; the modern aquatic facility manager needs to approach this from a "classes" point of view.

Concessions can be a nightmare. If your sales staff is "eating your profits," you won't realize serious income. One popular answer is to have an outside food service contractor do your concessions for you and pay you a percentage. If possible, it may be in your best interest to require that the concessionaire pay a minimum guaranteed amount plus any additional monies owed to you at the end of the month. Investigate the addition of video games and pinball machines to increase your concession revenue. Supervising a bunch of kids who like to pilfer your inventory is hard, but collecting a check at the end of the month is easy!

Rent the pool out during non-business hours. Charge a flat rate (perhaps $200) for a certain time frame (such as 8:00-10:00 p.m.) for a limited number of people (maybe 100). When groups want to bring more people than the maximum you have established, charge them either per person for each individual over the maximum or a flat rate (i.e., $25 for each additional 25 people). Approach any group you can think of for rentals, including church groups, fraternities and sororities, scholastic groups (high school bands, etc.), Little League teams, factories, etc. Any congregation of people can make a fair target. If you have youth or baby pools, they can be rented out during non-business hours for birthday parties.

Develop or review your pricing structure. Setting prices may not be an option to you if you are just the pool's operator, but anyone can make suggestions to the powers that be. If your prices are too low or too high, approach your board or the facility's owner(s) with suggestions of more reasonable prices.

Special events are often overlooked because they can be intimidating. It's scary to try something new! One popular special event is "Jaws Night," where the movie Jaws is shown on a big screen or even the side of a wall at the pool, and the patrons watch from their inner tubes and rubber rafts. Another popular concept is the "Beach Party," where people come wearing straw hats and play limbo. Offer special events as much as possible, and get your staff involved by letting them give you

34 • Illinois Parks & Recreation • March/April 1994

the ideas for the events. It just may turn out that you end up with a designated night every month (or even every week) where the public is coming to your facility to see what the occasion is!

It is of paramount importance that the operator of a seasonal facility (or even a year-round facility) be creative and open-minded when it comes to generation of revenue. Anything you can do to make a buck deserves reasonable consideration. Whether it's a locker rental at $0.10, or a pool rental at $200, it's all revenue and should be taken very seriously.

EXPENSES
Labor will most likely be the greatest cost, but you probably don't have any choice about that. Deal with it, but don't ever be wasteful. Play the labor game; send people home if you are overstaffed. If your facility does not have a time clock for your employees to punch in and out, invest in one today. Books have been written about it, but suffice it to say that you should never pay anyone to just sit around.

Another possibility is the utilization of free labor. The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) provides workers, and all you have to do is fill out a few forms and then supervise them. Check with your local job training center. If you can get individuals with "community service" hours assigned by the courts to your facility, go for it! Simply call your county's probation office. Volunteers can be a valuable asset as well.

Did your chemical supplier tell you that you need 200 ppm of Cyanuric acid? Never let the person that sells you the chemicals tell you what you need! Do some research on the chemicals you are pouring into your pool. Know your saturation indexes (the wheel or slide tool the chemical salesman gave you). And most importantly, find someone who knows a lot more about pools than you (who isn't trying to sell you anything) so that you have someone to call when you can't find the right answer!

Solicit donations from service organizations or anyone else you think might give you money or services. If you are thinking about purchasing a new accessible chairlift, approach your Special Recreation Association, Lions Club, Moose, Ambucs, or any other group which is known for supporting ventures of this nature. If somebody else is willing to buy or do something for you, don't pass up the opportunity.

We live in a day and age where money management is of eminent importance. Most aquatic facility operators take a class or seminar somewhere and then are handed a set of keys. It's a complex job where one must be a manager, salesman, maintenance worker, chemicals expert and jack-of-all-trades. Too often, the pool manager gets caught up in the day-to-day operations and forgets that a primary focus on fiscal responsibility must be maintained.

Jeff Hunt is the Waterpark/Athletic Supervisor for the Charleston Recreation Department. In his first two years at the department, their municipal pool has gone from a pool that traditionally lost money to a pool with excess revenues in the last two fiscal years.

Illinois Parks & Recreation March/April 1994 35