Swinging to Success
Launched as a pop-up in Shoreditch in 2014, Swingers has turned its unique blend of crazy golf, cocktails and street food into a thriving concept. We speak exclusively with Co-Founders Matt Grech-Smith and Jeremy Simmonds about merging competitive socialising with premium hospitality.
The swingers story began when Matt and Jeremy met when they were in both at university in the UK, each running their own student-focused nightlife events. It was here they discovered their combined skills and shared ambition, creating the largest organiser of youth music events in the UK.
When the time came for a new challenge, the two friends wanted to use all the experience they had gained from this and build something of their own, this led to the creation of the Swingers concept that today is redefining the mini golf experience.
To test the concept, they launched a pop-up in a 7,000sq ft warehouse in Shoreditch, East London. To say the response was overwhelming would be an understatement; it was that popular the website crashed!
Since then, the business has been on an upward trajectory, fuelled by the emergence of the experience economy and social media platforms. They have since opened permanent venues in London, New York, Washington D.C and Las Vegas, each offering immersive environments with multiple crazy golf courses, bars and street food kitchens. They have also introduced Carnival to their venues, a retro arcade experience that adds another layer of fun and playability. This year they opened their first location with a franchise partner, an incredible 21,000sq ft venue on Bluewaters Island in Dubai, UAE.
When scouting new locations, the Co-Founders are drawn to vibrant, flagship cities with high foot traffic, a strong corporate presence and a lively dating scene. Operating sizeable spaces, Swingers sites are immersive environments that reflect the unique character of each building. Partnering with local restaurateurs at each site also means they have an authentic food offer that will resonate with the local guest.
“Localisation and understanding guest behaviours are crucial,” comments Jeremy. “In Dubai for instance, we have observed a higher percentage of walk-in guests than our UK and US locations and our partner has embraced the popular brunch culture through a series of lively events. We put a lot of trust in our franchise partners to guide us on what works in their markets, but we also prioritise first-hand experience and are increasingly leveraging data to validate trends.”
Ultimately, the company goal is to create venues that feel both globally consistent and locally relevant and they do this by thinking about every element of the guest journey – from the moment someone lands on their website to the moment they collect their coat.
“We focus on building environments that are genuinely engaging,” says Matt. “Our venues take inspiration from a 1920s English country golf club which gives them a nostalgic atmosphere that is both visually stunning and deeply immersive. The contract between that setting and the urban environments we operate in is powerful – it immediately takes people to a different place.”
The crazy golf courses themselves take centre stage and incorporate moving obstacles and iconic crazy golf elements that are as fun to play as they are to look at. The business also invests in the audio-visual elements which play an important role in adding to the multi-sensory experience.
They utilise dynamic lighting more akin to what you would find in a nightclub and immersive video projections like their day-to-night sunset scene in Dubai or the supersized country house projection in Las Vegas, to heighten the atmosphere. It is this blend of design, storytelling and sensory detail that makes for an unforgettable experience.
The combination of mini golf with curated F&B offerings is incredibly important for Swingers, who think of themselves as a hospitality venue first and an activity venue second.
“We feel that great food and drink are a part of the experience and equal to the activities, so we strive to make sure all of these exceed expectations. Our dwell time is on average two and a half hours, of which crazy golf only forms 45 minutes, so our guests are clearly enjoying more than just the golf element,” Matt highlights.
Jeremy continues this by saying: “We have never just been about mini golf – we are about delivering a full-scale hospitality experience. While some of our competitors focus primarily on the activity, we have built Swingers to feel more like a night out at a premium venue, where mini golf happens to be at the centre of the fun.”
Over the years since inception, the company has learnt a lot about maintaining a strong, consistent brand personality while adapting to different local markets. They have a brilliant central team that defines the tone, look and feel of the brand whilst at the same time they work closely with local teams on the ground to ensure they are tapping into what is relevant in any given market.
The founders have also learnt some of their most engaging content comes directly from their guests. Their experiences, shared in real time from the venues, bring the Swingers experience to life in an authentic way and they always try to spotlight that.
“In such a competitive environment, listening to our guests is absolutely essential. Doing this allows them to fine-tune every aspect of the journey; from the moment someone books online to how they experience the venue on the day. Ultimately it is about staying agile and guest-focused, so we can continue to deliver the fun, seamless and high-quality experience people have grown to expect.”
As our time with the two comes to an end, Jeremy comments on what the future holds. “We are gearing up to open our Boston venue later in the year and we will also continue to roll-out our retro-arcade concept Carnival into our venues. Overall, we are very eager to continue bringing the Swingers experience to new audiences around the world.”
www.swingers.club
