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Guest WiFi for soft play centres: Snakes & Ladders case study

By Dave Musgrove
19 May 2013
2 min read
Interactive CRO Planning ToolSnakes & Ladders Case Study Model

Soft play & family entertainment centre guest WiFi ROI estimator

Model monthly parent data capture, cafe concession spend uplift, and automated birthday party booking revenue using real-world operational benchmarks from multi-site play operators.

Sector insight: Large multi-tiered adventure climbing, slide, and ball pond facilities spanning 20,000 to 40,000 sq ft. High weekend throughput and dedicated party rooms require robust network segmentation and targeted automated re-engagement.

Venue operational parameters

4 Sites
1 single site4 sites (e.g. Snakes & Ladders)15 sites
16,000 visitors
2,000 / mo16,000 (Snakes & Ladders avg)35,000 / mo
28,000 sq ft
5,000 sq ft28,000 sq ft (Large adventure centre)60,000 sq ft
58%
20% (Basic portal)58% (Social login enabled)85% (High dwell parents)
£
£
Projected Impact Summary296.3x Est. Annual ROI
Total Projected Annual Revenue Uplift
£2,133,536 / year
Parent CRM Profiles Captured:445,440 / yr
Monthly New Marketing Records:+37,120 / mo
Cafe Concession Spend Uplift:400,896 / yr
Automated Birthday Party Revenue:1,732,640 / yr
Recommended Access Points:48 Enterprise APs

Hardware-agnostic deployment • GDPR & COPPA compliant • 14-day setup

Proven guest WiFi growth tactics for Multi-Level Adventure Play Centre (e.g. Snakes & Ladders)

1
Separate critical POS till and security camera bandwidth from high-density guest WiFi traffic
2
Deploy social WiFi login (Facebook, Google, Apple) to build verified social following and review pipelines
3
Trigger post-visit satisfaction surveys and birthday party booking reminders 6 weeks before child birthdays

Family entertainment centre WiFi architecture & hardware compatibility

Purple overlays seamlessly across your existing wireless access points, switches, and firewalls without requiring expensive hardware replacements.

Cisco Meraki
MR36, MR46 & MR56 high-density APs. Native cloud dashboard API integration with automatic captive portal provisioning.
HPE Aruba Networking
Instant On & Central cloud controller management with dynamic role-based VLAN isolation for POS and guest traffic.
Ruckus Wireless
BeamFlex+ adaptive antenna technology for interference mitigation across metal climbing frames and crowded cafe seating.
Ubiquiti UniFi
UniFi U6 Enterprise / Pro APs with external captive portal redirect and high-throughput multi-SSID traffic shaping.

Soft play & leisure venue WiFi deployment checklist

Separate commercial tills & ticketing from public guest traffic via 802.1Q VLANs
Family-safe DNS content filtering blocking adult, gambling, and malicious domains
Parental GDPR & COPPA consent compliance with clear opt-in checkboxes
Bandwidth throttling (e.g. 5 Mbps per device) to prevent video streaming congestion
“Since installing Purple WiFi, the feedback from customers has been very positive as they can surf the net, catch up on emails or simply update their social networking pages while their kids play, and the social media element means we can keep everyone updated on what is happening at each of our sites.” Andrew Kirkwood, Snakes and Ladders.

The company

Snakes and Ladders is an indoor adventure playground which currently has four UK sites in Abingdon, Dunstable, Brentford and Ipswich. In addition to huge three-tiered climbing frames, the play areas feature slides, ball ponds, tunnels and rope climbs. The sites also include dedicated play zones for under-fives.

Business objectives

“We needed a WiFi solution for our customers that would be secure but wouldn't require the added cost of a separate broadband line. We also wanted to be able to build our Facebook and Twitter followers without having to put in a huge time investment, which could distract from the day-to-day running of the sites.”

Benefits of Purple WiFi

“Purple WiFi provides enterprise guest WiFi, which meets all legal requirements while delivering meaningful analytical information about the customer base, including how often they come to the premises, how long they stay and other stats. This lets us segment our customer base and actively market each of our sites by targeting relevant promotional offers at the WiFi users.

“We also feel assured that by having a private channel in place our commercially sensitive traffic is kept separate to the traffic of those socialising in the premises, using the free WiFi. This gives everyone within the business peace of mind.”

Results

“Over the four sites, Purple WiFi has collected just over 2,000 contact details, Likes or Follows in less than 5 months. Facebook is the most popular way to log in, with nearly 1,000 people liking our page, and regularly posting updates to their timeline.

Our Brentford site has been the most successful, with 752 customers now engaging with our brand because of Purple WiFi.”

Frequently asked questions

How do indoor soft play centres capture parent CRM contacts through guest WiFi?

Soft play centres and family entertainment venues use Purple branded captive portals to collect verified parent contact information (such as email addresses, mobile numbers, and social logins) when visitors connect to the free guest network while supervising children.

How does guest WiFi comply with child data privacy regulations like GDPR and COPPA?

Purple splash pages enforce explicit age-gating and parental consent checkboxes before granting internet access. The platform ensures data collection targets adult supervisors rather than minors, maintaining full compliance with GDPR, COPPA, and UK data protection standards.

Can guest WiFi run safely on the same broadband connection as commercial till systems?

Yes. Purple enables secure network segmentation using 802.1Q VLANs and isolated SSIDs. This separates public family browsing traffic from business-critical point-of-sale (POS) card payment terminals and security cameras without requiring separate, costly broadband lines.

How does guest WiFi help soft play cafes increase food and beverage sales?

When parents connect to the Purple guest network in the seating area, the captive portal can display digital cafe vouchers, meal bundle promotions, and mobile ordering links. This immediate engagement encourages on-site spending during typical 90 to 120-minute play sessions.

How do automated WiFi marketing campaigns drive repeat birthday party bookings?

Purple captures visit timestamps and parent contact records, enabling automated email sequences that trigger party planning reminders six weeks prior to children's birthdays, as well as off-peak toddler session promotions during school term weekdays.

What wireless hardware is compatible with Purple for multi-site leisure venues?

Purple is hardware-agnostic and integrates natively with leading enterprise wireless access points and controllers, including Cisco Meraki, HPE Aruba Networking, Ruckus Wireless, and Ubiquiti UniFi, allowing multi-site operators to deploy across diverse hardware estates.

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