Pay to Play Pt 2

C&L are revisiting the idea of privatisation of Beau Sejour so I guess I’d better do the same after my previous post earlier in the year.
 
http://guernsey1-2-1.blogspot.com/2012/02/pay-to-play.html
 
If a private company wants to take over these facilities it is because it feels it can make a good profit. There is no other reason.
 
So let’s pretend that we’re running BSLC and see if we can find this hidden profit.
 
Let’s start outside the building and with the car park which at present is free to anyone who wants to park there, users or otherwise.
 
Introduce a paid parking system similar to the airport, with a set free period of say two hours, which should be enough to allow all legitimate users of the centre time for their activities. Or keep the free limit at 30 minutes and allow the booking desk to extend the free period per ticket when booking a session.
 
With an annual footfall of some 600,000, the site must be a prime advertising centre. Can advertising revenue be boosted at all?
 
The theatre spends a lot of the time empty. Why not bring back the cinema but with a fully digital and large screen? Show films when the stage isn’t being used and show kids films during the holidays.
 
As a conference centre, BS has a lot to be desired and can’t easily compete with other spaces. Is this a market still worth pursuing? I’d find out.
 
The sports facilities seem incredibly popular. Are we charging at the right level?
 
Now this is a contentious matter and we enter the divide between running a business and providing an amenity. I’d suggest looking very carefully at this issue before moving the centre out of the price range of a lot of users.
 
If profit making organisations wish to use any of the centre facilities then they should pay a market rate and this includes the private schools who use the gyms and swimming pool instead of providing their own facilities.
 
Are all of the sports facilities fully used or is there something else that might be offered to take up spare capacity to turn a profit? I don’t know but I would find out if I was running the centre. I’d even look at non-sporting ideas if it fills spare capacity.
 
Is there a demand for the centres services when it is not currently open? Would this justify extended opening times?
 
A local garden centre has an extremely busy cafe because it has invested in decent seating and play areas. Could this be replicated here with a healthy ( and not so healthy) foods cafe which could also open in the evenings to serve theatre and cinema users?
 
Having tried to maximise profits whilst recognising the community amenity element of usage I would then have to look at costs.
 
Am I getting value for money from my staff? Can I reduce service levels (and costs) without impacting too much on the user experience?
 
Do I need all of my top wage earners or can we reduce the number of chiefs (if indeed there is any fat to trim, which I doubt).
 
Is everyone working towards the highest user service standards? 

Would the centre be somewhere a tourist would want to revisit because the experience was so good?
 
My personal experience as a theatre goer is of understaffing in the cafe and limited service when it is actually open. Understandable when 300 people all want serving in 15 minutes and then ignore the place for the rest of their time there. Maybe I’d be tempted to spend more time (and money) if I could get a pre-show meal and entertainment? I don’t know, but it’s something I would look at.
 
How energy efficient is the centre?
 
With investment in solar panels and / or small wind turbines, can it become energy self sufficient or even perhaps sell surplus energy back to the grid?
 
I’d be tempted to investigate wiring up all of the exercise machines to generators to profitably use all of the energy so many people expend in the gym but maybe this is too reminiscent of prisons and treadmills!
 
Despite the fact that I regard the centre as a community amenity I would still want to see it run as an efficient and growth orientated business. Can it be done?
 
Some private companies seem to think so otherwise they wouldn’t be interested in tendering for the business.
 
If they can do it, why can’t the existing organisation?
 
Identify the barriers which are impeding the current staff and tear them down.
 
I’d suggest that the minister for C&L and the boss of BSLC between them should be able to do this. If not, then get one of those clever clogs from Treasury to put together a proper business plan for the centre.
 
Several of the above ideas involve spending money but it could be money well spent if it ensures that this vital asset is working to prime efficiency.
 
Do whatever it takes but do not sell the family jewels just because it is the easy option.