The Epic Escape Room: Choosing the Best Option for Growth

As Mary Smith finished washing the lunch dishes, she looked out the kitchen window and her son and daughter were engaged in a “battle.” Her daughter had just begun taking dance lessons and her son, a new karate student, appeared to be practicing his defense karate moves on his sister. Mary wanted to spend more time with them, but she had a lot on her mind. At the beginning of 2020, she was facing an inflection point in the strategy of her small business. The most recent upgrade to her product and service design was still not completed, payroll was going to be a challenge again this month and the kids were growing and demanding more and more of her time. Mary owned and operated Epic Escape Rooms, a single-location escape room in Tampa, Florida. She was also considering how to become a more successful franchisor. At the same time, she had developed a reputation as an excellent designer of escape rooms, and she realized she could sell her designs to other companies in the industry, or, she could focus on owning and operating a chain of her escape rooms. Escape rooms were a growing trend in the entertainment industry. Participants worked in teams to “escape” from a locked room by solving myriad puzzles and problems to obtain clues. Escape rooms were highly suited for team building, leadership development, enhancing communication, and problem solving. They had been successful with corporate groups, professionals such as teachers and nurses, as well as people seeking a fun and challenging experience. The revenue and customer growth over the past four years had been astounding, despite the many challenges to set up a successful location. This case study investigates a local escape room company and the issues facing the owners: expand its number of locations, continue to franchise, or simply offer consulting and advice to prospective and existing businesses. Students are asked to assess each of the options and then develop a strategic plan for the owner.