How can resorts increase guest spending?

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Resorts increase guest spending by giving visitors more reasons to open their wallets beyond the room rate. The most effective approach is to build a portfolio of high-value, on-site experiences that guests can book, upgrade, and repeat throughout their stay. Below, we answer the most common questions resort operators ask about growing ancillary revenue and improving the guest experience.

What makes resort guests spend more during their stay?

Resort guests spend more when they feel immersed in a destination rather than simply accommodated by it. The single strongest driver of in-stay spending is emotional engagement: guests who are actively enjoying themselves are far more likely to extend activities, purchase upgrades, buy food and beverages on-site, and return in future seasons.

Several factors consistently push spending upward:

Variety of paid experiences, guests who run out of things to do leave the resort to spend money elsewhere
Family and group dynamics, when one activity appeals to every age group, the whole party participates and pays
Perceived value, premium, well-presented experiences justify higher price points and reduce price sensitivity
Convenience, on-site booking, bundled packages, and cashless payment all lower the friction between desire and purchase
Social sharing, activities that generate memorable moments encourage guests to document and share, which also drives organic marketing

Resorts that invest in the guest experience as a whole, rather than focusing solely on accommodation quality, consistently see higher average spend per visit.

What are the most effective ways to generate ancillary revenue at a resort?

The most effective ways to generate ancillary revenue at a resort are paid activity programmes, food and beverage upsells, retail, and premium service tiers. Among these, paid outdoor experiences tend to deliver the strongest revenue per guest because they carry high perceived value, require advance booking, and are difficult to replicate off-site.

A practical framework for building ancillary revenue looks like this:

Tiered activity pricing, offer a base experience with optional upgrades (longer routes, private sessions, guided tours)
Package bundling, combine accommodation with activity credits to increase total booking value at the point of sale
Day visitor access, open select activities to non-staying guests, turning your resort into a regional destination
F&B integration, position dining and refreshment directly alongside activity areas to capture spending in the moment
Retail and photography, branded merchandise and on-site photo services convert experience into a tangible product guests take home

Resort upselling works best when it feels natural rather than pushy. Guests are far more receptive to an upgrade offer when it is presented as an enhancement to something they are already excited about.

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How do outdoor adventure activities increase resort revenue?

Outdoor adventure activities increase resort revenue by creating a paid experience layer that operates independently of accommodation. A ropes course, zip line, or net adventure generates its own ticket income, extends the time guests spend on property, and gives visitors a compelling reason to stay an extra night rather than check out early.

Adventure attractions also work as a marketing asset. Dramatic, visually striking activities generate social media content that reaches audiences the resort could never target through paid advertising alone. This organic visibility attracts new bookings without additional marketing spend.

From a commercial standpoint, zip line adventures and similar high-adrenaline attractions tend to command premium ticket prices that guests accept willingly because the experience feels genuinely worth it. Unlike spa treatments or dining, adventure activities are repeatable across age groups and fitness levels, which means a single installation can serve a broad guest demographic season after season.

Which resort amenities have the highest return on investment?

Outdoor adventure attractions, wellness facilities, and food and beverage operations consistently deliver the highest return on investment among resort amenities. Adventure attractions in particular stand out because they combine relatively low ongoing operational costs with high per-guest revenue, strong repeat usage, and a long physical lifespan when built to professional standards.

Key factors that determine ROI for any resort amenity include:

Throughput capacity, how many guests can use it per hour and per day
Ticket price ceiling, what the market will pay without resistance
Seasonality resilience, whether the amenity generates revenue year-round or only in peak periods
Maintenance cost, the ongoing cost relative to the revenue generated
Differentiation value, whether it gives the resort a competitive advantage that justifies a higher room rate

Adventure attractions score well across all five criteria, particularly when they are custom-designed to fit the resort’s natural environment and guest profile. Explore completed projects to see how different resort environments have been transformed into revenue-generating adventure destinations.

How can resorts use adventure attractions to reduce seasonal revenue dips?

Resorts can reduce seasonal revenue dips by using adventure attractions to create compelling reasons to visit outside peak periods. An outdoor adventure park that is properly designed for its climate can operate across multiple seasons, giving the resort a year-round revenue stream that does not depend entirely on summer sun or ski conditions.

Practical strategies include:

Shoulder season packages, combine adventure activity access with reduced room rates to fill occupancy during quieter months
School holiday programming, target families with dedicated adventure days during term breaks, which are spread across the calendar year
Corporate and group bookings, adventure activities are popular for team-building events, which tend to happen outside the main holiday season
Local community access, opening the attraction to day visitors from the surrounding area generates revenue on days when hotel occupancy is low

The key is to treat the adventure attraction as a standalone business unit within the resort, with its own pricing strategy and marketing calendar, rather than a passive amenity that guests happen to use.

What should resorts consider before investing in an adventure attraction?

Before investing in an adventure attraction, resorts should evaluate their guest profile, available terrain, safety and certification requirements, and the long-term business case. A well-chosen attraction that fits the resort’s environment and audience will deliver strong returns; a poorly matched one will underperform regardless of build quality.

The most important considerations are:

Guest demographics, who currently visits, and what activity level and risk appetite do they have?
Site suitability, does the terrain, vegetation, or indoor space support the type of attraction you have in mind?
Regulatory compliance, adventure attractions must meet EN and ISO safety standards; working with a certified builder from the outset avoids costly retrofits
Capacity planning, the attraction needs to be large enough to generate meaningful revenue but not so large that it creates maintenance overhead without the guest volume to support it
Environmental impact, attractions built with nature-friendly techniques protect the resort’s landscape and align with sustainability commitments that increasingly matter to guests
ROI modelling, a clear projection of ticket revenue, operating costs, and payback period should be established before construction begins

Net adventure concepts and other modular formats can be scaled to match a resort’s budget and space, making it possible to start with a focused investment and expand as demand grows.

How Funcha helps resorts grow revenue through adventure

We design, build, and maintain custom adventure attractions for resorts around the world, with more than 35 years of experience delivering ropes courses, zip lines, and net adventures across a wide range of environments. Our approach starts with your business case, not just the build.

Here is what working with us looks like in practice:

We assess your site, guest profile, and revenue goals before recommending an attraction format
We model the ROI of your project upfront so you invest with confidence
We design every attraction to fit your natural surroundings, using tree-friendly fixings that protect the landscape your guests come to enjoy
We build to EN and ISO safety standards, giving you and your guests full confidence in every installation
We support you after opening with maintenance programmes that keep your attraction performing at its best

Whether you are adding a first adventure attraction or expanding an existing offering, we bring the expertise to make it a genuine revenue driver. Get in touch to start the conversation about what we can build for your resort.