RETAIL & LEISURE FACILITIES A LESS LEISURELY VISIT
Most of us need to use the washroom at some point during a visit to a theme park or other summer attraction. But we will resent having to queue, since this will reduce the time available to spend at the attraction itself. Lee Radzki from Tork manufacturer Essity, looks at ways of speeding up one’s leisure washroom visit.
A new ride claiming to be Britain’s fastest, tallest rollercoaster opened at Thorpe Park earlier this year attracting high levels of publicity.
Described as being the biggest UK theme park innovation in years, Hyperia is said to take visitors to heights of 236ft before subjecting them to a terrifying 80 mile per hour loop-the-loop.
Alton Towers has responded by relaunching its own Nemesis attraction after a two-year closure. Claimed to be both intense and exhilarating, Nemesis Reborn transports thrill-seekers along a 716-metre-long track on a ride that frequently tips them upside-down.
Such innovations look likely to guarantee a busy summer for Britain’s theme parks. The only problem is the queues.
Visitors to Alton Towers reported a wait of more than four hours to ride on Nemesis Reborn when it first opened. And the estimated queue time for Thorpe Park’s new Hyperia attraction was up to five hours.
According to press reports – admittedly issued by the theme parks themselves – thrill-seekers were fully prepared to face a long wait in order to experience such iconic attractions. But those same people would probably become much more impatient if they were forced to queue for the washrooms during their theme park visit, since this would be seen as time that could be better spent enjoying the rides and attractions on offer.
Queues for the washrooms are unwelcome from a business point of view, too, since any time spent by visitors in the toilets could be used more profitably in the cafes, restaurants or gift shops. So, what can be done to make theme park washrooms less leisurely during the busy summer months?
There are a number of reasons why queues are likely to form in such venues. Unexpected peaks in traffic and empty dispensers for soap or paper will inevitably create logjams, for example. And when cubicles have fallen out of service visitors will be obliged to compete for the few toilets that remain operational.
Queues will also form when throughput is slow – whether because there are two few cubicles or because the toilet paper, soap and hand drying dispensers are hard to fathom or slow to use.
So, theme parks need to equip their washrooms with intuitive dispensers that can be used with ease and are kept topped up at all times. These units should also be designed to control consumption, since this help to prevent run-outs.
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The Tork SmartOne toilet tissue system works well in this type of environment because the dispenser is designed to give out just one sheet of paper at a time. This can reduce consumption by up to 40% which minimises the risk of run-outs in busy periods. And when toilet paper consumption is reduced there is a lower risk of blockages which could lead to a cubicle becoming out of action.
Many high-traffic washrooms use liquid soaps that are refilled from bulk fill dispensers. However, these are time-consuming to replenish and may also lead to messy spills on the floor and units.
A highly suitable soap solution for busy washrooms is Tork Spray Soap. Each refill delivers 2,650 doses of soap which means the cartridge lasts longer than most liquid soap options. The system also eliminates the risk of mess associated with bulk-fill liquid soaps.
Queues are particularly likely to form in washrooms where air dryers are installed since even the fastest hand dryer takes at least 10-12 seconds to dry the hands.
The Tork PeakServe Continuous Hand Towel is an excellent solution here because it caters for more than 1,000 guests between refills. Each washroom visitor is provided with a towel in just three seconds, allowing them to move on and dry their hands on their way to the bin. This frees up space that might have been clogged with people waiting in line to use the air dryer.
"Unexpected peaks in traffic and empty dispensers for soap or paper will inevitably create logjams."
Venues such as theme parks and zoos face two key challenges: the unpredictability of washroom traffic and the fact that the attraction is likely to be spread over a wide geographical area. This makes it difficult for staff to keep a check on cleaning needs and monitor dispenser refill requirements.
Trekking from one washroom to the next, checking for empty dispensers and anticipating cleaning needs takes
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