With overheads increasing, margins are getting squeezed. You need to increase revenue but with consumers are also careful about what they spend so you can’t just increase your prices. You need to stay competitive. So how do you stay on track with your targets?
The challenge is that most tracks have already done the heavy lifting on racing throughput. That’s why the best operators are treating 2026 as the year of off-track efficiency. And the good news is there’s lots of different levers to pull.
When space, time, attention, and guest flow are working harder outside the track, racing performs better inside it. Groups stay longer. Spend goes up. Utilisation smooths out. Margins improve.
Here’s how leading venues are lining that up and practical intatives that can be implemented. How many have you already implemented?
Retail media is booming. Brands are moving away from forgettable banner ads and chasing something far more valuable: real attention, from real people, in real-world environments.
The world’s biggest retailers like Walmart and Amazon have built entire media networks around this idea. Why? Because if you own the audience, you own the opportunity.
And here’s the thing. Your venue doesn’t just have footfall. It has dwell time. It has energy. It has people fully engaged in the moment. That is gold dust for advertisers.
McKinsey research shows live experiences and entertainment venues generate some of the highest attention levels for brands. Makes sense. No one goes to a race night to scroll past ads.
If Formula 1 can monetize sponsorship without hurting the fan experience, there’s no reason a karting venue can’t do it thoughtfully.
Operators can monetize it through:
Think energy drinks, automotive brands, local dealerships, tech firms, sponsors that align naturally with your audience.
Will retail media transform your entire P&L? Probably not.
But it’s recurring, high-margin income with minimal operational lift once installed. In a margin-tight environment, that’s meaningful.
Karting facilities often have a bigger footprint than most location-based entertainment centres. Ironically, that can make them less efficient.
Smaller entertainment venues have to sweat every square foot. Karting operators sometimes don’t.
One of the smartest disciplines I see in the industry is simple: add one new attraction per year. Not to chase every shiny new trend. Not to turn your venue into a theme park. But to stay relevant. To stay ahead of competitors. To give customers a reason to come back.
Because once you’ve won them once, the next visit is everything.
I encourage every karting operator to review the numbers and then walk the facility floor on a busy day and ask yourself:
Are tables actually full or just occupying space?
How many meeting rooms do you have, and how often are they used?
Audit Your Space Like Rent Is TripleSpace is either generating revenue or it’s costing you money.
The smartest discipline I see in this industry is simple:
Add one meaningful attraction per year.
Not to chase trends. But to stay relevant and give guests a reason to come back.
The right addition should:
Operate smoothly between race sessions
If it checks those boxes, it deserves serious consideration.
We break this down in more detail here:
9 Complementary Attractions Driving Karting Facility Growth in 2026 and Beyond
When off-track experiences perform well, the racing benefits too. Guests stay longer. They spend more per visit. They bring friends next time.
The track might be the hero. But the supporting cast is what drives real growth.
Gone are the days of team building in the office. Employees want memorable bonding experience off-site. Corporate groups are one of the strongest drivers of premium racing revenue. They book bigger packages. They spend more per head. They fill the calendar midweek when public sessions are quieter.
And yet many operators treat corporate as passive inbound. If you’re running digital marketing campaigns, great. That’s a solid foundation.
If you’ve got idle staff during off-peak hours, don’t just have them reorganizing helmets again. Get them doing outreach. Old-school relationship building still wins contracts.
Venues dominating this segment often generate up to 40% of revenue from team building events.
They offer:
A variety of attractions so there’s something for everyone, not just the competitive drivers
A proper meeting space before the racing starts
Flexibility around formats and timing
Professional proposals that look sharp and feel premium
Options that cater to different group sizes
In short, they make it easy for companies to say yes!
One great corporate night often turns into dozens of future family visits.
If you want to go deeper on this check out our Corporate Events Playbook.
Consumer expectations are rising. They want premium experiences. They also want value. But value does not mean cheaper. It can mean more energy, more structure... more certainty that the day will be worth it.
Value = Benefits – Cost.
Increase the perceived benefits, and you increase value without eroding margin.
The benefits that drive bookings fall into two categories: functional and emotional.
Functional value removes friction.
Emotional value elevates the experience.
That’s why the strongest venues sell structured packages:
Packaging reduces decision fatigue, especially for birthdays, bachelor parties and corporate events where one person is organising for many. Make it easy, and they choose the higher tier.
The result is measurable:
Packaging reduces decision fatigue for groups and adds clear value.
Acquiring a new customer is expensive. Paid ads, promos.... It adds up fast.
Bringing back someone who already loves your venue again and again is far cheaper.
According to the ROLLER 2026 Attractions Industry Benchmark Report:
Memberships create:
57% of venues now offer memberships and a whopping 71% in the Americas region. But what's the secret to successful membership program?
Exclusive perks and bragging rights:
Members only lock in nights
Free drink tokens
Limited edition merch
Merch doesn’t work because it’s merch.
It works when it's meaningful.
A random hoodie can gather dust.
A “League Champion” hoodie gets worn proudly.
The best time to sell merch is immediately after the emotional peak. Right after the podium photo. When adrenaline is still high.
Tactics:
Tie items to achievements
Offer limited-event drops
Partner with brands your audience connect with for exclusive co-branded merch
It adds incremental revenue, branding opportunity, instagramable moments. And it extends the memory of the win.
When someone is booking a birthday or corporate event, they’re not just looking at price. They’re looking for reassurance.
Strong reviews protect your pricing power and increase conversion without increasing ad spend.
Strong ratings reduce friction in the buying decision. They also protect your pricing. If you’re a 4.8-star venue with consistent feedback, you don’t have to race to the bottom on price.
Social media drives discovery of your facility but it's reviews that drive conversion.
Younger consumers prefer experiences over physical gifts. That trend isn’t slowing down, and it’s fueling major growth in experience gifting.
For group activities like karting, gift cards are a no-brainer. When one person redeems a gift card, they rarely show up alone. That means virtually guaranteed incremental revenue from the rest of the group through additional races, F&B, and add-ons.
91% of venues already offer gift cards.
But are you maximizing the opportunity?
Gift cards generate upfront revenue and bring in new customers. And when redeemed, guests typically spend beyond the card value.
The real leverage comes from distribution. Are you selling:
Handled strategically, gift cards are a steady demand driver with built-in upsell and group spend baked in.
Small friction points quietly reduce spend.
The ROLLER 2026 Attractions Benchmark Report shows that guests using digital wallets spend nearly twice as much per transaction as those using physical cards.
Apple Pay, Google Pay, and contactless should be standard online and on-site. The fewer steps involved, the easier it is for guests to say yes to an upgrade, an arcade game or drink.
Convenience pays!
Your staff are rostered.
Your lights are on.
Your fixed costs are already covered.
As Funlab CEO Blaise Witnish puts it, an empty grid is like an empty airplane seat. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Her approach? “Peak the peaks and pack the gaps.”
During busy periods, you maximize yield. During slower windows, you get creative to keep seats filled.
It’s a simple mindset shift. But it changes everything.
One of the smartest initiatives Funlab introduced was “tasters.” Five-minute sample sessions that let guests try Zero Latency VR attraction before committing. It removes that first-time hesitation.
The result? A 95% conversion rate.
For karting operators, the takeaway is straightforward.
The cheapest revenue you’ll ever generate is from the guests already inside your building.
When someone’s heart rate is up and they’re having a great time, that’s not the moment to let them drift toward the exit.
Check out the must-watch operational masterclass with Blaise Witnish, CEO at Funlab. Her utilization playbook is practical, data-driven, and highly relevant for any karting operator looking to smooth demand and lift revenue without adding capacity.
On-track growth is now powered off the track.
Smarter use of:
Space
Time
Attention
Guest flow
Groups who stay longer spend more.
Guests who return cost less.
Experiences that feel complete command stronger pricing because they have a higher percieved value.
The track is still the hero.
But the operators winning in 2026 will be the ones who optimize everything around it.
Connect with me to explore the potential upside of these initatives your karting facility.
Director of Enterprise Expansion
+1 (417) 300-4120
JR has decades of hands-on experience across the attractions and location-based entertainment industry, spanning both operator and supplier leadership. He has played a key role in modernizing and scaling entertainment venues, including serving as COO of regional FEC chain Andy B’s, where he led new-location development, major facility upgrades, and operational launches.
Today, as Director of Enterprise Expansion at Zero Latency VR, JR partners with FECs, karting centers, cinemas, developers, and destination venues to reimagine how immersive experiences can drive the future of out-of-home entertainment. With venues under increasing pressure to do more with the same footprint, he focuses on helping operators extend dwell time, unlock new revenue streams, and create reasons for guests to return.