Should you buy an existing escape room or build your own?

Both routes end at the same place: a venue with rooms that groups want to book. They differ in what you carry on the way. Buying lets you study a running business first. Building lets you choose every detail yourself. The guide on buying a venue assumes you have decided to buy. This page helps you decide, and does not tell you which to pick.

What an existing venue hands over

A working venue can include finished rooms, staff who know them, online reviews, a booking history, corporate and school clients, and a lease already in place. You can see how busy it is before you commit. Ask which of those assets are transferable, because room designs, software and a booking site may be held by someone other than the seller.

What building from scratch asks of you

A new venue needs a suitable unit, a landlord willing to lease it for this use, designed puzzles, props, safety planning, staff and marketing. It also needs time before the first booking. Ask your lawyer to read the lease and your accountant to help with a plan. Talk to people who have opened one, and ask what they would do differently.

Weighing the trade-offs

• Time: a purchase can move faster, but due diligence takes real effort.
• Control: building lets you design every room; buying means living with the seller’s choices.
• Risk: a start-up has no track record; an existing venue has records you can test.
• Reputation: reviews come with a purchase, and they can help or hurt.

Questions to settle first

Ask yourself how much time you can spend managing staff, whether you want to design rooms, and how you would pay for either route. A lender will set its own terms for each. See how to find a business to buy if you lean towards buying.