This summer has been a big one for Buzzshot, we’ve been on the road!

In a post earlier this year, we talked about all the key takeaways from the TransWorld Interactive Entertainment Show in St Louis, MO, but it didn’t stop there. Since TransWorld, we’ve been so excited to have the opportunity to attend - and sponsor - a number of escape room expos this summer.

Back in May we sponsored GAME ON in London and in August we sponsored RECON which took place this year in LA. Then, to the IAAPA Expo Europe in September, and last but not least we sponsored the Immersive Experience Network Summit in London.

The Buzzshot team had an absolutely fantastic time connecting with so many escape room operators and owners all around the world. Plus, the new technologies and trends we’ve seen at this summer’s expos have been impressive to see first hand, and we learnt so much from some of the industry’s best minds in the countless talks and workshops.

(Carl and Tom at RECON 2024)

Read on for all the highlights from the summer of escape room expos!

RECON, Los Angeles in August

RECON, or Reality Escape Convention, takes place annually in August, switching each year from being remote online to in-person in the USA. This year, RECON took place in Los Angeles, and we were very excited to once again return as a proud sponsor of the event. In fact, we’ve been sponsoring RECON since the very beginning, and we’re very pleased to also sponsor the organisers’ podcast Reality Escape Podcast.

Unlike many other escape room and immersive experience focused events around the world, RECON is the foremost convention dedicated specifically to escape rooms. It attracts a mix of business owners, vendors, and plenty of escape room enthusiasts. This year’s excellent talks included talks by owners from Exit Games OC, Rush Hour Live Escape Games, The Burnt City, and more. In particular, we loved the talks from Hatch Escapes and Stash House, two companies for whom Los Angeles is home. This is another great thing we love about RECON, as a part of the event there are a whole host of live activities for attendees to take part in, and a little further afield there are always plenty of great escape companies in the city to visit. Here’s us with the Clockwork Dog (COGS) team playing at Intrepid Escape’s Jewel of the Sea, with a team photo powered by Buzzshot!

(Left to right: Tom Buzzshot, Carl Buzzshot, Alex COGS, Tom COGS, Dan of Baker Street Escapes, and Eyal COGS)

IAAPA, Amsterdam in September

In September, Buzzshot then attended the IAAPA Expo Europe in Amsterdam. IAAPA, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, is a more general convention focused on all different types of amusement and leisure activities. It has some escape room presence but it’s by no means the main focus. Of the 10,000+ attendees at IAAPA Expo Europe, we estimate there were somewhere between 200 - 500 escape room owners, operators and vendors, and we had a great time meeting many of them!

We found that IAAPA in particular is a great expo for finding out the general trends across the industry as a whole. There, we spoke to a range of representatives from companies specialising in set design, scare attractions, and marketing platforms who cover a wide range of attractions. Whilst Buzzshot is designed specifically for escape rooms, it was great learning about the needs of different types of team-based attractions and how Buzzshot can support them in different ways.

The Immersive Experience Network Summit, London in October

Last, but by no means least, we returned home to the UK for the final expo of the season, the Immersive Experience Network Summit in London, UK. The Immersive Experience Network Summit, if the name weren’t a clue, is an event for the immersive experience sector taking place annually in London. This year they invited ERIC (Escape Room Industry Conference) to take part and host a stage. This meant that compared to previous years’ summits there was a strong escape room owner, operator and vendor presence here in 2024.

We were immensely proud to be an exhibitor at the Immersive Experience Network Summit 2024, and had our booth set up in the Partner & ERIC Games zone. It was an amazing experience meeting with and speaking to so many existing Buzzshot users, and we ran plenty of demos to potential new clients. The UK escape room network is a large, but intimate group of people, and it was fantastic seeing everyone come back together in one place since the last ERIC took place in 2019.

(Photo © Guy Walsh Photography)

And more…

Whilst we didn’t attend these in a Buzzshot context, this summer also saw LEAG (Live Escape and Adventure Games) in Bottrop, Germany this September and Le Salon (Le salon des loisirs immersifs et de l'escape game) in Lyon, France this October. In the former, a whole host of talks from escape room owners and designers across Europe in both English and German. In particular, we sponsor the “Ready, Players?” podcast, who ran a live episode this LEAG focused on how to build a TERPECA-winning escape room. Le Salon on the other hand returned with a tie-in event to the French Escape Game Awards, which one of our team was able to attend. Whilst the talks and workshops at this event were only available in French, it was a fantastic opportunity for us to meet with owners and vendors and learn all about the latest trends in Europe. Oh and of course- congratulations to this year’s EGA winners! We love to see it.

(Photos from Le Salon 2024)

Looking towards the future of the escape room industry

It’s been a busy summer, but a fantastic one at that. It’s safe to say that these conferences have been a huge success for us here at Buzzshot. They’re a great opportunity to meet with current and potential Buzzshot customers, and learn more about how our escape room software is being used in the wild. This summer we had many folks come and chat to us about your specific escape rooms’ needs, and we really appreciated learning about unique use cases and discussing insightful questions. Being out there in the escape room industry helps us make Buzzshot an even better software for powering business growth, player marketing and the customer experience.

This summer, we were particularly excited to show off our brand new broadcast mailing and automation features, turning the typical escape room into a powerful marketing machine. In 2024, one of the hot topics we heard owners talk about was how to increase the per-customer spend. On the one hand, it’s things like replayability, expansion and offering new experiences at the site. On the other hand, it’s all about fully understanding your players and nurturing those relationships over a long time, which is where Buzzshot comes in. We’re working hard behind the scenes to make sure Buzzshot supports escape rooms of all sizes in their growth, wherever the market takes you.

If you missed us at any of the conferences this summer, don’t worry! We’d love to chat to you about how Buzzshot can help you and your escape room supercharge your business. Get started right now by signing up for a demo!