UK zoos & lockdown going forward...

[Andrew Swales]

Therefor I would suggest that cutting admission ticket prices would not result in an increase in visitation, indeed it might result in fewer visitors overall. Better pocket the additional money to try and cover some of the losses from the closure period.

All zoos increase entrance prices all the time, as a result of natural inflation. In our case we have always done do after significant site development, purely so that front-line staff can succinctly defend any negative comments. In practice over 30 years there have always been very few. Only in one instance do I know of a drop-off in visitor numbers following what was in that case a very significant price rise. We are about to open our largest extension for some years in the next couple of weeks, and will add £1 to our entry prices, which have not gone up for nearly 3 years. So, we will see...
But of course there is evidence that heavy discounting does increase footfall (and its attendant problems), as can be seen at Twycross which has become dependent on the huge volumes of visitors resulting from this.
Perceived value is certainly a factor and any product can be too cheap within its market. A few years ago our head keeper advertised a horse for sale at what she though was a sensible asking price. No enquiries resulted, so she waited for a couple of weeks and offered it again at double the price and was inundated with replies, and eventually a sale to a delighted buyer.

 

[sooty mangabey]

Just noticed that Birdworld, Farnham, have reduced their prices (now £14.95 for an adult; not sure what it was previously). A big attraction there is the (rather mediocre) aquarium, which remains closed. Loads of ticket availability...

To continue the previous discussion, it’s a well accepted economic principle that lowering prices can lower demand: Common law of business balance - Wikipedia
Certainly, I’d be wary of buying a car that cost less than £1000, but knowing very little about cars, i’d probably look at the same vehicle if it cost a little more. To return to Birdworld - I’m now wondering whether the place will be looking a bit tired, and am contemplating going elsewhere.

 

[Andrew Swales]

General public who don't realise the situation with zoos needing as much income as they can get

Sorry, I missed this..
Surely by now most do know this? - there has certainly been plenty of publicity, both recently and over the past 4 months...

Just noticed that Birdworld, Farnham, have reduced their prices (now £14.95 for an adult; not sure what it was previously). A big attraction there is the (rather mediocre) aquarium, which remains closed. Loads of ticket availability...

To continue the previous discussion, it’s a well accepted economic principle that lowering prices can lower demand: Common law of business balance - Wikipedia
Certainly, I’d be wary of buying a car that cost less than £1000, but knowing very little about cars, i’d probably look at the same vehicle if it cost a little more. To return to Birdworld - I’m now wondering whether the place will be looking a bit tired, and am contemplating going elsewhere.

Yes, indeed - the link includes "The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it can't be done." - which I thought was quite a neat summary...

 

[amaroc]

Sorry, I missed this..
Surely by now most do know this? - there has certainly been plenty of publicity, both recently and over the past 4 months...

Most possibly, but I actually had someone ask me today if zoos had
re-opened yet !!!
They were horrified to find out they had to book in advance too
Thing is people on these forums are interested in the animals and their welfare, but to most it's just another attraction,
At another place a couple of years ago I heard someone asking for a refund, hot day and many of the animals were in the shade where they couldn't see them properly so they didn't see why they should pay full price

 

[sooty mangabey]

Most possibly, but I actually had someone ask me today if zoos had
re-opened yet !!!
They were horrified to find out they had to book in advance too
Thing is people on these forums are interested in the animals and their welfare, but to most it's just another attraction,
At another place a couple of years ago I heard someone asking for a refund, hot day and many of the animals were in the shade where they couldn't see them properly so they didn't see why they should pay full price

While there will always be those who are clueless (“are zoos reopened yet?) and those who object to what most see as fair enough (“I want my money back because it was sunny!”) I disagree that this is true of the majority. My impression is that there is more interest in, and sympathy for, zoos than ever before. Evidence? The extraordinary responses via social media to the situation of zoos (the announcement that zoos could reopen, on Chester’s Facebook page, from June 9th, has received 275,000 likes and been shared 160,000 times). These are incredible figures, and show a level of engagement that would have been unthinkable 25 years ago. The same is true at smaller places too, where - currently - tickets are selling out (I’ve just looked, and Marwell is sold out for the next three days, Wingham has low availability, Dublin is sold out for the next few days - and I think Chester is sold out for the whole of July). I’m sure things will turn - nothing stays the same forever - but for now, the British and Irish public appears to be wholly behind their zoos. Which is great!

 

[Dassie rat]

It will affect zoo income if they keep things at the same price.

They sell you something for £4.80. They send 80p to HMRC.

For the period of this VAT reduction they only send 20p to HMRC.

So an extra 60p for the zoo.

Multiplied by the many, many sales of 20% VAT rated items (or services).

This is not true.

If there were no VAT, the item would sell at £4. Add 20% VAT and the cost is £4.80. Reducing the VAT to 5%, then the price falls to £4.20.

If the total price stayed at £4,80, the basic price would have risen by @ 15% to £4.58 and 5% VAT would be @ 22p.

If the basic price remained at £4,58 once VAT returned to 20%, then VAT would be 92p and the total price would be £5.50

 

[TriUK]

This is not true.

If there were no VAT, the item would sell at £4. Add 20% VAT and the cost is £4.80. Reducing the VAT to 5%, then the price falls to £4.20.

If the total price stayed at £4,80, the basic price would have risen by @ 15% to £4.58 and 5% VAT would be @ 22p.

If the basic price remained at £4,58 once VAT returned to 20%, then VAT would be 92p and the total price would be £5.50

That’s like a GCSE maths paper question!

 

[Andrew Swales]

To comment on the above 3 posts:
Sooty is right. The 'clueless' and the 'complainers' are reduced in number since re-opening, that is very noticeable - and overall the profile is very positive and very supportive, and negative media coverage much reduced. Support and interest is not just limited to those on here. An example is that we are seeing a significant increase in gift and souvenir sales, with the commonest comment being 'we knew that you needed the money, so we were pleased to buy something as it will help'. But, we are noticing a 'settling down' in bookings with people waiting to see what the weather forecast is like, before booking on-line. Unlike Chester (presumably) our pre-set daily limit is much closer to 'normal' numbers, than theirs is.
Dassie Rat's arithmetic is right, and the continued selling of the £4.80 item at the same ticket price (as an example) would result in an increase of 58p to the seller. I personally would expect that if this VAT change only lasts till next February, the prices would not automatically rise to £5.50 then. The VAT reduction is of real benefit to us as everything we sell (except books) attracts this tax; but of the six months it is to run for, most of those are 'off-season' with few visitors so few VAT'able sales. For just the six weeks of July and August it should be a boost.

 

[Pertinax]

But, we are noticing a 'settling down' in bookings with people waiting to see what the weather forecast is like, before booking on-line. Unlike Chester (presumably) our pre-set daily limit is much closer to 'normal' numbers, than theirs is.

Not being negative but as more and more attractions, campsites etc re-open there will also be a greater variety of things families generally can do with this enforced spare time many still have. I wonder if people will be making more visits to zoos than usual during this continued period of 'semi-lockdown' (that's how it appears to me anyway) or will it gradually return to normal? Will we be formally told at some stage the lockdown is over- or never...

 

[SHAVINGTONZOO]

This is not true.

If there were no VAT, the item would sell at £4. Add 20% VAT and the cost is £4.80. Reducing the VAT to 5%, then the price falls to £4.20.

If the total price stayed at £4,80, the basic price would have risen by @ 15% to £4.58 and 5% VAT would be @ 22p.

If the basic price remained at £4,58 once VAT returned to 20%, then VAT would be 92p and the total price would be £5.50

Actually I think we are both right ! I suspect that in 95% of cases the "base" price would be increased to £4.58 during the VAT relief.

 

[AdrianW1963]

How do people feel about collections keeping the one way systems after corvid-19 and lock-down is completely gone.
Do you think it will work and how about one way systems through indoor exhibits do you think they would also work after lock-down.
Should collections keep the hand wash stations after lock-down do people think they are a good thing for the future?

 

[MRJ]

Ah.

Perhaps not an experiment that would have been repeatable at a price jump from $15 to $60, then.

Perhaps not but still at that time $2 was still worth something. I can remember just 10 years before being very happy with the 20c my grandfather gave us on each visit. The idea of visiting a zoo for $15 would have been outrageous.

 

[Andrew Swales]

How do people feel about collections keeping the one way systems after corvid-19 and lock-down is completely gone.
Do you think it will work and how about one way systems through indoor exhibits do you think they would also work after lock-down.
Should collections keep the hand wash stations after lock-down do people think they are a good thing for the future?

My personal feeling as I've mentioned before, in our case at least, is that the one-way system (which is working pretty well) actually reduces site capacity as it stops people from dispersing on site on arrival. Here, we are in the process of tweaking it to give an alternative route choice. I can see that indoors or on a site with many blind corners, twists and turns, that a one-way stops you meeting people face-to-face unexpectedly, but on a more open site with long sight lines and good visibility you can see people coming and avoid them - IF you have the choice, and a one-way system removes that choice.

But, a one-way system is what is required and expected, so as a result we have set our site maximum at well below our previous totals, and are suffering financially as a result. It is working pretty well, but some of our creditors (who have already been waiting for several months), might not get their money until into the 2021 season. The 'holidays' on bank re-payments are over, and our bills are increasing not reducing. Our creditors are effectively subsidising our visitors, in the short-term at least.

I think that the hand-wash and gel stations are here to stay - even if most people do not use them, many do...

Perhaps not but still at that time $2 was still worth something. I can remember just 10 years before being very happy with the 20c my grandfather gave us on each visit. The idea of visiting a zoo for $15 would have been outrageous.

Yes, for many years most of the zoos locally I visited with my family had entry prices around the 5/- and 2/6 mark. Inflation must have been pretty steady for some time...

 

[Gigit]

How do people feel about collections keeping the one way systems after corvid-19 and lock-down is completely gone.
Do you think it will work and how about one way systems through indoor exhibits do you think they would also work after lock-down.
Should collections keep the hand wash stations after lock-down do people think they are a good thing for the future?

One-way systems - I like to make my own way round a zoo and see what I want to see without adding extra mileage. Paignton has always had one-way systems in indoor exhibits like the Tropical and Desert Houses and Croc Swamp. Hand sanitisers - Paignton already had them around the Ranch and at food outlets.

 

[pipaluk]

One-way systems - I like to make my own way round a zoo and see what I want to see without adding extra mileage. Paignton has always had one-way systems in indoor exhibits like the Tropical and Desert Houses and Croc Swamp. Hand sanitisers - Paignton already had them around the Ranch and at food outlets.

I agree totally on one way systems, I hope they are scrapped as soon as it becomes possible.
Colchester was a nightmare yesterday, if you wanted to return to some exhibits you would have to walk more than half a circuit of the zoo in many cases!

 

[Pertinax]

One-way systems.- While its necessary, its necessary. When it isn't anymore(one day?) I hope all the zoos currently employing this remove it as, apart from extremely busy days I can't see any reason to keep it. Under normal circumstances it can only cause frustration, at least for people like me who prefer to go where they please in a zoo.

 

[mrcriss]

One-way systems.- While its necessary, its necessary. When it isn't anymore(one day?) I hope all the zoos currently employing this remove it as, apart from extremely busy days I can't see any reason to keep it. Under normal circumstances it can only cause frustration, at least for people like me who prefer to go where they please in a zoo.

The feedback from our customers has overwhelmingly been that the one-way system should stay! They've been saying that they've seen so much more than they usually would. It's also enabled us to guide people past our fantastic pub in the woods, "Hair of the Hog", which has hitherto gone largely unnoticed, but has been doing a roaring trade since reopening.

 

[pipaluk]

The feedback from our customers has overwhelmingly been that the one-way system should stay! They've been saying that they've seen so much more than they usually would. It's also enabled us to guide people past our fantastic pub in the woods, "Hair of the Hog", which has hitherto gone largely unnoticed, but has been doing a roaring trade since reopening.

I think it probably depends on each individual zoo. One way systems at large zoos like Chester, Colchester or worse still Whipsnade will not work long term and even if they are in place I think people would just ignore them once they are not respected as 'necessary'.

 

[SHAVINGTONZOO]

One-way systems? Only where necessary, such as (to take Chester as an example) the giraffes/ okapi or the aye-ayes.
Hand sanitisers? Yes please.

 

[Andrew Swales]

I agree with most of the above points.
One way systems were introduced in the early days by the supermarkets, so have become accepted as 'the norm' by a public who are often quite nervous to be out. Remember that they have been told by the Government that if they leave their homes they will die, every night, every TV advert, for three solid months. Now they are having to be bribed to go to the restaurant because the TV campaigns worked so well. The one-way systems are often now ignored in the supermarkets, so presumably as confidence builds will be too in the zoos. Ours is working well, but we have added a second entry route for this coming weekend, and I hope we can remove it altogether (apart from areas like the Outback Aviary, which were designed to be one way from the outset), as soon as our visitors will accept this.
As Shavington says, I would expect the sanitizers will be permanent.