AttractionPros Podcast AttractionPros

Zach Blutner is the Managing Director of Inter_.  Zach has built his career in tourism, museums, attractions, and experiences, all in New York City.  Inter_ is an AI-led immersive experience.  The experience is led by “I,” who is from the future and has returned to tell guests what it has learned.  Guests visiting Inter_ get to interact with projection mapping, interconnected orbs, an interactive floor, and visually stunning interactive elements that often connect to a deeper meaning, message, or story for guests to explore.  In this interview, Zach talks about the Interverse, layers in storytelling, and creating a sandbox.
 
The Interverse
“Interactive immersive experiences aren’t a new concept, but it’s a term that’s become hot now.”
When people think of immersive, they think of one giant room with projection mapping.  While that is one avenue of immersive entertainment, Inter_ combines many elements into what Zach describes as “interversive.”  This includes projection mapping, but multiple elements for guests to explore and interact.
Inter_ then fuses physical and digital art, resulting in the term, “phygital.”  This creates an environment where the guest feels like they are the main characters in a movie, where they want to both participate and take photos and videos to share the experience with others.
Layers in storytelling
“The approach that I've had to experiences for many years is to create layers in your storytelling.”
Each immersive attraction is unique in its own way, and they all seek to tell stories.  Someone can visit Inter_ and experience it on the surface level and feel satisfied with their experience, whereas others can go deeper into the message and story that they seek to deliver, which extends far beyond their visit.
The main focus of Inter_ is to demonstrate that we are all connected and we are all one.  This can be sensed through the multiple layers of storytelling that Inter_ delivers, allowing guests to interact with one another, even if they didn’t come together, to go as deep as they’d like into Inter_’s message.
Creating a sandbox
“If they know what the rules are and they know what the objective is, then they’re good to go.”
When discussing Inter_’s employee culture, Zach shares his philosophy of creating a sandbox, which focuses on making sure that team members are comfortable, and that they have the tools to engage within the experience.  Leadership should provide them with the guidelines and areas that are required, and then let them explore their unique capabilities within the sandbox.
This mindset originated when Zach was a tour operator, where he said he never created a script for tour guides.  While the parameters should be put in place for what’s required, all team members should be encouraged to be their authentic selves.  If it is not authentic, guests begin to disengage, which negatively impacts their overall experience.
 
To learn about Inter_, you can visit interiam.co, or follow them on LinkedIn, TikTok, or Instagram.  To connect with Zach directly, you can reach out on LinkedIn.
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our faaaaaantastic team:
Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
Audio and video editing by Abby Giganan
To connect with AttractionPros:
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We’re in the business of creating memories that last a lifetime.  While that’s a nice, feel-good statement, it’s also the attractions industry’s business model.  Once a guest leaves an attraction, their biggest takeaway is the memory of their experience, and our goal is to turn that memory into action: planning to visit again and influencing others to visit as well.  And one of the best ways to solidify a memory is by capturing photos and/or videos of your guests.
It may seem like a simple act of courtesy, but in this “minisode,” Matt recalls moments from his recent trip to Iceland where he offered to take photos of other tourists, which sparked memories for him from doing the same thing for guests while working in theme parks.  Offering to take a photo initiates an interaction, which allows for personalization, and therefore creates a moment that is greater than the photo itself.
Matt and Josh break down the benefits of capturing photos and videos of guests, and how they enhance the guest experience.  The first is the photo itself, which, when taken by an employee, allows for the full group to be present and creates a higher-quality photo than a selfie.  It also allows the employee to use their proficiency of their surrounding area, which is exemplified by Josh sharing how he took photos of guests during the fireworks in the Magic Kingdom when he worked in Tomorrowland.  It also allows for the team member to build rapport with guests, learn about where they’re visiting from, and exceed the guests’ expectations, even if only by a small amount.
We want to hear from you!  What seemingly small interactions can you have with your guests that have a large impact?  Let us know by chiming in on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, or Instagram.
By the way, when taking photos of guests with their smartphones, please a) focus the picture to ensure that their faces aren’t blurry, and b) do not take 50 photos and hope that one of them comes out great.  They’re usually all garbage.  Just take a few, and make them count.
 
What do you think of this episode format?  Let us know if you want us to produce more minisodes!
To connect with AttractionPros:
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Jill Raff is the Founder and CEO of the Jill Raff Group, where she helps organizations work from the inside out by focusing on the employee experience, which leads to an excellent customer experience.  Jill grew up in the restaurant business and is a columnist for Nation’s Restaurant News.  Today, Jill helps companies attract and retain the right people who align with their core values, making them the employer of choice and a company worth talking about.  In this interview, Jill talks about expectations management, screening for values, and reacting vs. responding.
Expectations management

“Without proper expectations management, people are going to project what they think on a scenario or how they are supposed to work.”

The idea of expectations management applies equally to the guest and employee experience alike.  If a business is understaffed, the simplest way to communicate it to guests is that operations are reduced because of lower staffing.  However, by going deeper into why staffing is not as strong as it should be, you can communicate to guests that they have yet to find the right candidates to fill positions and that they won’t compromise on the experience just so they can be fully operational.
Expectations management also can be looked at in comparison to wages, which have increased substantially for the majority of the industry in recent years.  One school of thought suggests that higher wages should naturally assume a higher expectation of their performance, but it must be looked at in the context of what they are already responsible for and what additional responsibility they may take on.  Training also plays a critical role, because if you pay employees more and expect more from them but don’t put in the effort to invest and train them on their increased standards, the pay increase will likely not yield an increase in performance.
Screening for values

"You can't just hire people that you like and want to go to dinner with. They have to align with your core values."

To properly screen for values, Jill recommends role-playing and putting candidates in situations to observe how they act in certain circumstances they are likely to encounter on the job.  Ask how they would handle certain scenarios or if they have had similar circumstances happen before, and if they haven’t, how would they act?
Judgment should not be made directly from their responses, because anyone can be trained and taught to act in accordance with the organization.  However, these exercises allow recruiters to screen for character and how they truly feel serving other people, not just because they are getting paid to do it.
In some cases, if the need for staffing is critical and it is unclear if certain individuals align with the organization’s values, leaders can take on a new employee as a project to bring up to the standard of the organization and focus on their continual development.  However, if they do not rise to the standard expected of them, it can be a detriment to the morale of high-performing team members who see that the standard is not being met by their coworkers.
Reacting vs. responding

“Do they react or do they respond? There’s a big difference between those two.”

When screening for values, Jill notes the difference between reacting and responding to certain circumstances.  When we react to something, it’s an immediate emotional reaction.  With a response, we take a moment and think about what they said, and come at it with an emotionally intelligent response.
A reaction is a knee-jerk response that does not consider other factors, such as what else is happening whether during that day or in that individual’s life.  To properly respond, individuals must pull back and look at all of the other factors that go into the moment that they are responding to.
 
To connect with Jill, visit www.jillraff.com, send her email at jill@jillraff.com, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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The “desperation hire,” also referred to as the “pulse test” or the need for “warm bodies” (please stop calling it that), is a challenge often faced throughout all areas of the industry, regardless of attraction type or geography.  When staffing crunches hit, organizations scramble to fill positions quickly, which risks compromising standards and expectations in the interest of having a complete schedule.
In this “minisode,” Matt and Josh share suggestions for minimizing the desperation.  This includes adjusting operating hours to meet available staffing resources and reducing areas where staff is necessary.  Additionally, organizations can plan to over-recruit by expanding the pool of applicants needed to fill vacant job openings, implement routines to always be recruiting (ABR), and streamlining their onboarding process so that new hires can ramp up quickly and gain proficiency in an efficient manner.
 
We want to hear from you!  How are you avoiding the desperation hire?  Let us know by chiming in on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, or Instagram.
What do you think of this episode format?  Let us know if you want us to produce more minisodes!
 
To connect with AttractionPros:
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AttractionPros@gmail.com
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Jon Pausley is the CEO of Arnolds Park Amusement Park, a gem of a location found in the Northwest corner of Iowa. In addition to the amusement park, the property also contains a shopping and dining district, a scenic boat tour on Lake Okoboji, a beach, 3 museums and indoor and outdoor concert venues. Jon’s attraction industry story dates back to growing up in Ohio where his family had season passes to Kings Island. He credits those early experiences with defining his love for the business and even said as a young student that he thought it would be fun to run an amusement park. Now with a Masters in Leadership, Jon applies a wealth of knowledge to his role of leading Arnolds Park into the future. In this interview, Jon discusses generational loyalty, leading with positivity, and familiar but better.
Generational Loyalty

"The attractions industry is a people business."

There aren’t many 100+ year-old amusement parks left in existence in the United States. Arnolds Park is one of them, which means they have been entertaining visitors for many, many generations. By large accounts, the people who come to the park do so because their parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents started the tradition. 
Jon emphasizes that it’s the people, and all of their experiences, that draw his attention regarding the past, present, and future of the business. In order to understand what the business needs to survive and to inspire many more generations of families flocking to Arnolds Park, you have to understand people, what makes them tick, and how they think. 
Leading with positivity

"If your employees are valued, seen, and heard, they'll pass that along to the guest."

Jon has taken a collaborative approach to leading the teams at Arnolds Park. He recognizes that he doesn’t have all of the answers, and he must surround himself with leaders who can make up for his shortcomings. For example, Jon states he is a big-picture, futuristic thinker, so he must surround himself with managers who can thrive in the day-to-day.
Jon shared that he and the team came up with a “Team Affirmation” which is a statement of intent regarding how they want to do business. It's recited by everyone at each team meeting, which keeps the ideas top-of-mind. As they go through their day, individual leaders can assess their own behavior to determine if they are upholding the affirmation or not. 
Familiar but different

"Nostalgia is a powerful thing."

Along with generational loyalty, you also get people who recognize when things change but may not always be happy about it. The phrase, “This isn’t what it was like when I was a kid” is actually something Jon loves to hear - because if he’s doing his job, then it SHOULDN’T be like it was 20 or 30 years ago. 
At the same time, Jon is not looking to reinvent the experience such that people don’t associate it with the memories of their past. That’s where the mantra “familiar but better” comes from as it reflects the idea that we will preserve the feeling that your memories invoke, but will constantly work to make the actual experience even better. 
 
To learn more about Arnolds Park, visit them on their website and also Facebook and Instagram. To find out about the music happening at Arnolds Park, check out roofgardenballroom.com.  Jon can also be found on LinkedIn. 
 
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our faaaaaantastic team:
Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas
 
To connect with AttractionPros:
AttractionPros.com
AttractionPros@gmail.com
AttractionPros on Facebook
AttractionPros on LinkedIn
AttractionPros on Instagram
AttractionPros on Twitter (X)

Do you check your email when you’re out of office?  That was the question discussed in this week’s “minisode,” where Matt reflected on his trip to Iceland and pointed out times when he responded to messages, even though his out-of-office reply suggested that he wouldn’t.  This led to a conversation about how we, along with attractions industry leaders, strive to communicate while they are off property, on vacation, or otherwise out of office.
 
We want to hear from you!  What’s the best way to be out of office?  Do you occasionally chime in, or do you shut down notifications altogether to be fully inaccessible?  Let us know by chiming in on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, or Instagram.
 
What do you think of this episode format?  Let us know if you want us to produce more minisodes!
 
To connect with AttractionPros:
AttractionPros.com
AttractionPros@gmail.com
AttractionPros on Facebook
AttractionPros on LinkedIn
AttractionPros on Instagram
AttractionPros on Twitter (X)