While wave pools offer flawless, peeling waves that bring enjoyment to body and mind, the food industry is entertainment for your taste buds. We need both. And if these two feel-good factors can be provided in one venue, a successful outing and businesses intersect. 

All venues, whether hosting music, sport, or simply home to spectacular scenery, are keen to have punters hanging around longer, so they spend more money. This is achieved in a whole raft of ways; limited-time specials, souvenir shops, and photos are among the many options. Some wave pools use AI video like Flowstate and play footage post-surf sessions in public areas. This is seeing an uptick in revenue, mirrored by the likely plunge in egos once many surfers see how they actually perform on a wave. Just because your last turn felt Slater-esc, doesn’t necessarily make it so.

“We’ve noticed a ton of people hanging around in the surf pavilion and the Star Bar – our 2 locations for the Flowstate TVs that play our sessions on a delay – we’ve internally called them ‘the humble zones'”, said Amy Hunt, Director of sales and marketing at Waco Surf. “The delay on the TV screen is perfect for jumping out of the water, grabbing a drink and snack, and then settling in to watch the honest feedback of your session. It’s awesome to watch a group of mates or a family eating tacos and staring at the screen, waiting for their wave to pop up!”

Amy also noted that they’re seeing a bunch more surfers tag Waco Surf on social media in their Flowstate footage. Waco Surf has also started posting the weekly leaderboard, which tallies how many sessions and waves each surfer with a registered Flowstate account gets each week.

“We’re looking forward to doing a monthly and then yearly leaderboard recap, too!” said Amy. 

Flowstate’s Replay Mode, an automated replay of the finished surf session,  is designed to be played on big-screen TVs in cafe/bar areas.

“It was inspired by surf trips to Indo whereby you’d surf all day, a local photographer would capture a bunch of photographs, and everyone would head to the bar every evening for a few Bintang’s and watch back the days action,” said Flowstate Zone CEO, Luke Wallace.

“What we’ve seen from the food and beverage venues who have installed the Replay Mode TV Screens is an increase in foot traffic, increase in dwell time, and an increase in their spend on their food and beverage order,” Luke pointed out. “Instead of just one drink, they now stay for two and a bite to eat.” 

A video replay system can help revenue and foster all the important ‘tribe’ feelings that some surf communities cherish.

“It’s now becoming ingrained in the whole wave park experience where Flowstate operates that you head back to the bar after a surf session to watch back the replay with your friends and relive the experience, hoot and holler at the wipeouts and cheer on that mate who got that memorable barrel,” said Luke. “The everyday surfer is now appearing in their own surf movie, which is pretty cool.” 

Applejack’s Director and owner, Ben Carroll, who oversees two food and beverage areas (Sandy’s and Rafi’s) in Sydney’s URBNSURF, said, “We’ve seen a notable increase in food and beverage sales since introducing the Flowstate cameras and playback feature.”

While surf session videos benefit the bottom line, there are other factors to be aware of to bump food and beverage spending.

“We see various food and beverage trends throughout the day at Sandy’s – Mornings: Coffee is popular pre-surf. Between surfs: Quick, healthy options like açai bowls for refueling. Post-surf: Longer stays for video watching and socializing. Burgers, tacos, and burritos are top sellers. We also offer a $15AUS Grom Pack (Kids Burger, Chips, and Fruit) – one of our best-sellers for families,” said Ben.

Having different locations to cater to different markets is a definite plus. 

“We offer a more premium dining experience upstairs at RAFI URBNSURF, where parents often enjoy a lavish lunch while watching their kids surf. This dual offering caters to different preferences and enhances the overall experience for families,” said Ben.  

From the turnstile and stand-alone pools of The People on up to the swank and exclusivity of The Surf Ranch, video playback for clients is now mandatory.

“At Surf Ranch, video review is a big component of the overall experience,” said Blake Hess Chief Operating Officer/Partner at Beach Street Development. “While Surf Ranch is all-inclusive, so increasing F&B revenue was not the goal, the most memorable time of the day was when the group gets together to review their highlight video created from the best clips throughout the day.”

Blake added that Beach Street surf destinations will incorporate video capture at their three upcoming locations in California, Houston and Virginia and added, “It would be a huge mistake not to.”

However, finding a suitable location to screen session footage can be tricky – you need plenty of space for many people, but you don’t want the layout or numbers to impede food and beverage service.

“The layout is crucial to create a successful food and beverage program. It is not always easy to allow outside guests to enjoy the food while maintaining a boundary between the restaurant and the surf area,” Blake said. “For sites that charge an admission fee or need to keep separation for regulatory reasons, this can be tough to accomplish without harsh fences. Alaïa Bay does a good job of this by utilizing the second floor for food and beverage. This creates a natural barrier that does not feel harsh.”

Lifestyle attractions veteran and Surf Park Management partner Mark ‘Skip’ Taylor pointed out a simple, time-honored formula to motivate clients to stay longer on-site.

“That motivation comes through 1) Programming, 2) F&B menu offering, and 3) Pricing,” he said. “Surf Parks are not unique in the lifestyle attractions business where operators are all trying to gain more ‘share of wallet’ through extended dwell time at their venues. Golf resorts and the ’19th hole’ and ski resorts and ‘Après-ski’ are decades ahead of the surf world in recognizing that people want to eat, drink and socialize.” 

Menu offerings are key. Skip suggests making your food area famous for a particular dish, ideally incorporating local ingredients and having different offerings throughout the day. 

“Fish Tacos, Amazing Poke Bowls, incredible Coffee Drinks and breakfast burritos for the morning dawn patrol crew and, of course, a great happy hour menu,” said Skip. “Pricing is key too to drive demand periods, e.g., Pau Hana pricing to drive before traffic and before the dinner rush. Study your market to build and price your menu accordingly.”

Flexibility is a big plus, too. Malcolm Scott, Surf Park Management’s food and beverage lead consultant, says there should be no hard “NOs”. He advised to plan for vegans, vegetarians, lactose-free, etc., as sport is highly aligned with a healthy mindset. 

Of paramount importance is the passion, drive, and solid teamwork of people working in food and beverage area of your surf park.

“The execution is the art of making any venue perform financially,” added Skip. “Like building an amazing surfboard, it still needs a great surfer to make it perform to its maximum capability,” said Skip. “When conceived and operating correctly, food and beverage revenues can outperform surf revenues at some surf park venues!”