Originally posted by FranchiseWire

Abby and Scott Hussey’s Urban Air trampoline-and-more parks in the Denver area have bounced back since the bad ol’ days of Covid lockdowns and social distancing. The Husseys were actually overseeing construction of their second Urban Air Adventure Park in Aurora during 2020, the darkest days of the pandemic. With social gatherings being routine again, in December 2023,the couple opened their fourth Urban Air unit, this one retrofitting a south Denver department store.

The Husseys were experienced franchisees before investing in their first indoor Urban Air Adventure Park. “We entered franchising 12 years ago, with a Goddard School preschool franchise. In 2017 we came across Urban Air and thought it was a great fit to translate skills from preschool to family entertainment,” Scott. says. Since then, the couple went all-in, from a first unit in Fort Collins, Colorado in 2019, a second in Aurora in October 2020, the third in Westminster in 2022 and the new south Denver location near Park Meadow location in December 2023.

Covid Challenge

They admit to some nervousness about expanding their portfolio with the Aurora site. “We were opening a brand-new business when Covid was really bad,” Abby says.We were too far along in the construction process to put the brakes on. It was a collaborative effort with our bank, the landlord and the home office. When problems and challenges come up, we advise people to be honest with their partners in the business and ask for help. Persevere and don’t lose faith! 

“We kept moving forward and opened, with a scaled-down number of employees. We didn’t really know what to expect because of Covid, and every parent has a different take on how comfortable to get back into a place with people, every precaution they can take within health mandates. We’ve taken advantage of every resource and all advice to make people feel safe. Aurora has been well-received, and some families have visited 100-plus times. So we had to scale back up with our staffing to meet demand, which is a nice problem to have.” 

Urban Air’s Advantages

Several things sold the Husseys on investing in Urban Air. “First of all, we wanted a business involved with family entertainment,” Scott says.“We were confident in our ability to operate and handle marketing in the family entertainment space.”

Corporate headquarters and the quality of the parks also impressed the couple. “Corporate does a lot of research in Dallas so that Urban Air stays on top of what consumers want and expect in their adventure parks,” Abby says. “The parks themselves are world-class attractions. They’re laid out so that new attractions can easily be switched in. 

“And each Urban Air is more than just a trampoline park – there are so many attractions for all ages. There’s a very broad offering in terms of entertainment.” Guests may enjoy go-karts, café, bumper cars, ropes courses, wall-climbing and theme-park type thrill rides along with the trampolines.

The Husseys also think that Urban Air’s corporate leadership nailed it in terms of how they approach marketing. “The clients are the moms and dads, not the kids,” Abby says.“It was significant to us that Urban Air recognized that.” 

Rewarding to Own

The Coloradoans’ faith in the franchise has been rewarded. “The brand grew quickly before Covid, and growth has resumed,” Scott says.“Helpful best practices have evolved from the mature franchise concept. Urban Air Adventure Parks are a strong piece of a community where Little League teams can ask for sponsorships, high schools can reach out for fundraising, and school-age kids can enjoy field trips. 

“Urban Air Adventure Parks are also great places for families to make their memories. Families come to Urban Air Adventure Parks to celebrate birthdays, graduation and more. It’s great to provide a venue for families to do this and see the smiles on people’s faces. It’s very rewarding to see guests making those memories.

It’s also rewarding to see and support the growth of their employees. “It’s been a fun journey training our employees and seeing them grow. For instance, one of our café supervisors started as a team member when we opened,” Abby says. She feels supporting employees’ growth is her “absolute favorite part of being an Urban Air franchisee.”

Operation, Support and Opportunities

Operating their Urban Air units differs in a couple of key ways from their Goddard School. “Urban Air’s hiring process is much smoother due to a larger pool of applicants and the ease of finding a well-rounded general manager to help run the location,” Abby says. “At Urban Air, there is also a higher volume of guests that the location serves day in and day out. Our relationship and interactions with guests is short-term and occasional, not long-term and day-to-day as it was with Goddard.”

As might be expected, intensive training is required to operate an Urban Air Adventure Park. The franchisor provides more than 50 hours of in-person and online training so that franchisees are well-versed in hiring guidelines, financial processes, marketing and sales, optimizing labor, and teaching about e-commerce, memberships, insurance and more. After that initial training, franchisees regularly receive updates on best practices, marketing pointers and system changes to hone their operations so they can entertain guests in ways that exceed their expectations. 

About Urban Air Adventure Parks

Urban Air Adventure Parks is an indoor entertainment franchise that offers a diverse range of fun attractions that engage both the body and mind. Beyond delivering a day of family fun, Urban Air caters to kids’ birthday parties, group events, field trips, private park rentals and team-building sessions.

Urban Air was founded in 2011 and teamed up with youth enrichment franchisor Snapology in 2021 to form Unleashed Brands. Since then, Unleashed Brands has added Class 101, Premier Marshall Arts, The Little Gym, XP League and Sylvan Learning under its umbrella.

For more information about franchise opportunities with Urban Air Adventure Park, visit https://www.urbanairfranchise.com/.

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