Mobile Children's Indoor Play Bus

pitkin2020

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

one problem may be that you are going to have to find somewhere to park at each 'venue'

Parents may not be happy if this is on the public road, and if you are going for the private party market then there is probably a shortage of houses with space to park a bus.

couple that with the price and UK weather then the dedicated play centres win hands down. I know inside the bus will be dry but they still need to constantly get on and off for food, drinks etc where as your indoor play centre is all under one roof.

The other reasons people like to use halls/play centres for parties apart from weather is the fact nothing in your house is going to get broken or the mess you'll get and the fact when the party ends people go, when you have it at home people hang on and the party never seems to end lol

lincroft1710

pitkin2020 wrote: »

So to get that bus up and running again they reckon 5k, if the business was profitable 5k could easily be absorbed and they would be up and running again. I would say they haven't made much money and are cutting their losses.

To buy that bus and get it on the road would be £34K, but does that include insurance and road fund licence, plus there will be public liability insurance, then maintenance costs and a 30 year old bus won't be cheap to maintain. I'm not sure I believe them when they say it doesn't need MOT, I'm sure commercial vehicles need some sort of test.

Based on their charges let's say they received £200 per "event", so would need 200 "events" per annum for a gross income of £40K, which would barely cover running costs and wages for driver and helper, let alone cost of bus. I think I can see why they're selling up.

pitkin2020

Like I said earlier the maths just don't add up. £200 per event for a childrens party is a very select client base when you consider that is only for the bus, food, drink, party bags, cake, balloons etc will also have to be added to that cost. Out of that £200 per event take out fuel, insurance, staff and other costs there isn't a great deal of profit left.

jexygirl

There was a play bus on ebay for sale a week or so back (I only know cause I am looking for a double decker to live on! eat your heart out cliff!) I think it was only about 8k fully kitted, there are also alot of buses that are not play bus atm, but are converted for other uses like exhibitions /hospitality or whatever which would give a head start as they have things like water / loo / 240v hook up etc.
There are also companies on ebay that fit out play buses - you supply the bus...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fun-Bus-Party-Bus-Play-Bus-Kit-/220806170248?pt=UK_Toys_Games_Outdoor_Toys_ET&hash=item336912c688
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Deluxe-Fun-Bus-Party-Bus-Play-Bus-Kit-/220805640282?pt=UK_Toys_Games_Outdoor_Toys_ET&hash=item33690ab05a

just found this but would need toys
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Leyland-Playbus-Coach-DIESEL-/330585710743?pt=UK_Minibuses_Buses_Coaches&hash=item4cf871a097

Its an awful large investment, with a low return unless you look at more than kids parties.
I would look at local councils that are closing funded nurseries or looking to save costs, so rather than a nurserythat they have to staff and maintain, you go mobile to the area and provide the educational facility or play bus to a set criteria or curriculum contracted to the council on certain days for less than it costs them at present perhaps? Also look at Underprivilidged charities that are looking to pay for facilities on a discounted contracted rate to give kids a chance to do things they dont have free access to? Just random thoughts - I would think parties alone would not make it viable, but if parties supplemented a main contract income or something then it could work. I realise that this might mean slightly higher investment to make it more dual purpose - play bus for party doesnt need a reading area for example, so you would need to make the set up flexible.
Jex

ETA - something part converted already tends to have been changed use so you can drive it on a normal licence if you are as old as me!

paulwf

A quick look on the web suggests that there are a number (if not huge number) of play buses in existence and one of those has just posted that they are celebrating their 6th year so it has to be viable in some form. I'm not sure myself how the numbers would stack up but I suspect that it is what is known as a lifestyle business (i.e. low profit) probably for someone wanting to work part time or around a full time job.

Staffing costs shouldn't be too bad if you run it yourself and get a play assistant on an ad hoc basis at £6 p/h. Sure you'll have to buy a bus but there seems to be some deals around and most businesses have to pay out for equipment or premises, that's just part of the original capital outlay.

If you've got the money in the bank to cover the initial outlay and you don't need a huge profit from it in a good location with a wide catchment area it might work

Joannag_2

As Sarah Beeny would say (or is it Phil and Kirsty), it is all about location! Where I live is very rural and plenty of space to park a bus on the whole!

You have your Asian culture knowledge too which I am sure is a fantastic marketing point too. Robust market research is needed, and good luck to you.

pitkin2020

Paul you raised some good points but like Joannag has said its all about location, with location it becomes a numbers game. Whilst your rural area might have the space for a bus does it have the numbers and does it have the income to sustain the business. Also with a rural area you have to cover a larger area. In devon for instance we have to cover 25 miles for example to service the same number of people in less than a 5 mile radius in Birmingham, meaning increased fuel costs, wear and tear etc.
I am involved in childrens play, not buses thankfully lol. Whilst 10 years ago there was a lot of money to be made from childrens parties etc it isn't there now. In the last 10 years fuel has nearly doubled, insurance has increased and overall costs have increased, couple that with the fact that people have less disposable income its not a good mix.

Savvy_Sue

jexygirl wrote: »

There was a play bus on ebay for sale a week or so back (I only know cause I am looking for a double decker to live on! eat your heart out cliff!)

:rotfl: at the Cliff comment!

There's a pink caravan in our back garden you could have - it was stripped out for use as a chill-out space some years ago, and then converted into an office.

Mind you, it's a long way to come and collect it, and I'm not sure how roadworthy / weatherproof it is these days. :rotfl: