Seminar Information

Boot Camps

As part of your full registration to the 2021 IBE (at no extra charge), all attendees are invited to attend this Sunday addition to the IBE Bowling University educational lineup . However seats are limited to the first 32 registered attendees. Pre-registration required. Please Click Here to reserve your seat.

League and Guest Development

Sunday, June 20

9:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Speaker: Gerald Morrow

Company: BPAA

“Let systems run the business and people run the systems. People come and go but systems remain constant." League Bowler Development hasn’t really changed over the past 40 years, but it’s a skill set that hasn’t been shared with the new generation. What was simply "Tribal Knowledge" is now documented, created by the BPAA League Development Committee, the Bowler Development along with the System of League Bowling provides bowling center owners, operators, managers and other personnel with fast and efficient guidance on the development and retention of league bowlers. This full-day Boot Camp takes a deep dive into the system to provide you with the tools and techniques necessary to meet your league goals, regardless of the season. No matter how much or how little skill you have in league development, the guidance in this system will make you a better, more proficient and more confident bowling center owner, operator, manager or league coordinator.

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Recruiting & Retaining Talent (Talent Acquisition)

Sunday, June 20

9:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Speaker: Bart Burger

Company: BPAA

Where did all the good candidates for hire go? With unemployment rates at sub 3%, it seems there aren’t even good prospects to hire. Hope is not lost. This course for Proprietors, Managers and HR directors helps to create a culture in your center that not only retains the good employees but makes your center a destination good candidates seek out.

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Maximizing Food Service Profits in a Traditional Center

Sunday, June 20

9:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Speaker: Mike Holtzman

Company: Profitable Food Service

Offering your bowlers outstanding food and beverage in addition to their games will greatly increase your revenue. In this unique look at bowling center F&B, we will review a case study of a BPAA member bowling center. This in depth review includes menu and menu engineering, branding, guest experience, cost of goods, food quality, and ordering. Breaking down these aspects first hand will reveal the keys to a successful bowling F&B operation.

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Games and Redemption Profitability

Sunday, June 20

9:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Speaker: John Karabatsos

Company: BPAA

In partnership with the FEC committee's extensive research and compilation of information, Bowling University's John Karabatsos brings his years of experience in games and redemption with Brunswick and NAMCO Entertainment to life in this limited availability Boot Camp on the next level of operations of Games and Redemption for your Bowling Entertainment Center.

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HERO Guest Experience in a COVID-19 Environment 

Andy Masters, Masters Performance Improvement Inc.

Tuesday, June 22 8:30 - 10:00 AM

Category: Guest Experience & Staff Development 

Andy illustrates that “Crises Lead to Forced Innovation“, therefore we need to create solutions to provide even better services. Customers will always remember how they were cared for and appreciated during a time of crisis.

• Interactive brainstorms on improving services through new innovations
• Anticipate challenges and complaints; then plan and prepare accordingly
• Embrace an empathy for those served and a concern for their health at all times
• Be a light of positivity and solutions during stressful and turbulent times.
• Manage customer expectations to improve quality and decrease internal stress
• Increase customer confidence through communication and signage of protocols

Powerful service principles are based on Andy’s award-winning book “Kiss Your Customer“, as he proves that we must “create a transformation from doing a JOB to creating a BOND.” Andy also shares examples from around the globe on how to create customer loyalty, avoid dissatisfaction, and improve reputation–including on social media. Enjoy this timely, interactive, and impactful program which provides critical solutions to our industry during our COVID-19 pandemic.

How a Remarkable Customer Experience Can Be Your Best Digital Marketing Strategy

Dan Gingiss, Experience Maker LLC.

Tuesday, June 22 8:30 – 10:00 AM

Category: Digital Marketing & Guest Experience

Every day your bowling center is providing experiences for your customers. But are they experiences worth sharing on social media? No one shares an average experience; they share things they love and things they can’t stand. With all of the noise of social media clouding a brand’s ability to control the message, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to tilt brand sentiment in a positive direction?

Let’s face it: Competition is tougher than ever these days. Competing on price is a loser’s game, and competing on product is getting harder and harder. So what’s left? How can we stand out in a crowded marketplace that is constantly evolving?

In this fun and engaging keynote, customer experience coach and former Fortune 500 executive Dan Gingiss will teach the audience how customer experience can be your company’s ultimate differentiator, creating a competitive advantage that cannot be copied. You’ll learn how to: 1) identify the types of experiences people share most often and why; 2) apply an easy, 5-step framework for creating remarkable, shareable experiences 3) see how customer engagement generates increased loyalty; and 4) leverage examples from many other companies across industries that have been successful with these simple, practical, and inexpensive ideas.

When you create a remarkable experience for your customers, they become your best marketers. The result is more customers, who stay longer, spend more, and recommend you to others.

COVID: Lessons Learned/Current Opportunities for Arcades and FEC Attractions

George & Howard McAuliffe, Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Tuesday, June 22 8:30 – 10:00 AM

Category: Games & Redemption

Howard and George McAuliffe share their perspective on building strength through FEC attractions in the bowling center. As always, it's about driving sales and controlling costs, but now with the COVID experience illuminating the way.

The 9 Restaurant Accelerators

Ryan Gromfin, Authentic Restaurant Concepts

Tuesday, June 22 8:30 – 10:00 AM

Category: F&B

Your guest’s habits and daily routines drive a large portion of your business. But consumer behavior completely changed during the pandemic, causing them to create new routines as they stopped the day-to-day activities that normally lead them to your center. So how do you stay engaged with your customers? How do you identify your new customers and build a lasting connection? Learn how to reevaluate your marketing efforts from top to bottom and hone in on the activities and messages that really speak to your guests, make them feel connected to your center, and continually attract new guests. Discover simple, effective ways to identify your ideal target guests, how to pivot your marketing and communication strategies, and how to build, maintain, and grow your customer base.

The Path Forward: Understanding and Influencing Modern, Post-COVID Consumers

Steve Lerch, Story Arc Consulting

Tuesday, June 22 10:15 – 11:45 AM

Category: Business Development

As Mike Tyson once said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." In 2020, whether it was personally or professionally, we all got punched in the mouth. As the bowling industry seeks to move forward in 2021 and beyond, it's imperative that we build a strategy and a vision for the future that not only allows us to regain our footing from the pre-COVID era, but that positions us to be more nimble, flexible, and fast acting for whatever life throws at us next. Fortunately for all businesses seeking a reset and a more future-proof strategy, the 21st century has brought with it the most technologically and digitally dependent consumers of all time. This reliance on technology and the digital world to assist consumers in every decision and every action creates two undeniably important opportunities for the bowling industry: a treasure trove of data on how modern consumers think and an arsenal of digital tools to communicate, connect, and influence consumers to take to the lanes.

Layout of Your Social Media Game Plan

Rocky Bush, Creative Ninja & Rockybush.com

Tuesday, June 22 10:15 – 11:45 AM

Category: Digital Marketing

This session covers three social media platforms that can help grow your revenue in your center, bring brand awareness and help with your search engine optimization. Over 80% of business-to-business leads come from social media. Learn about LinkedIn both professionally and as a business page, Pinterest to drive website traffic and increase your SEO plus telling your story on Instagram incorporating the “FOMO Effect.” This session is best suited for centers that are already active on Facebook and are looking to dive in on other social platforms.

Build and Maintain the Right Culture for your Entertainment Center so you can Focus on What Matters

Armando Lanuti, Creative Works

Tuesday, June 22 10:15 – 11:45 AM

Category: Attractions

It’s easy to write a mission statement and a set of values. The hard part is keeping those values top of mind and instilling them in your employees. If you want to scale your business, you must build a culture where you train and trust your staff to live these values so you can focus on the big things. In this presentation, Armando Lanuti will share how he developed and maintained a positive company culture while significantly scaling up his business. You’ll walk away with practical leadership skills and tactics that you can start using right away to inspire your team.

Bowling Center Food & Beverage: Best Practices for the New Decade

Mike Holtzman, Profitable Food Facilities Worldwide

Tuesday, June 22 10:15 – 11:45 AM

Category: F&B

We are now in the 2020’s and Bowling Center F&B is rapidly evolving! Our kitchens staffing and rising cost of goods are all a challenge... So how do we keep up with feeding every guest demographic from kids to carnivores and vegans to those with allergy restrictions? In this session we dig into the best practices for strategic success in the new decade. We will cover food trends and menus, staff hiring and retention efficiency issues and solutions, and of course profitable best practices.

Handling Stress During a Pandemic

Hannah Ubl, Good Company Consulting

Tuesday, June 22 2:30 – 4:00 PM

Category: Personal Development

News fatigue. Pandemic fatigue. Parenting fatigue. Uncertainty fatigue. To sum it all up, 2020 was the year of fatigue… but also worry, anxiety, and so much stress. For those in the retail environment, that cycle of emotions felt unending. Well into 2021, people are still feeling the exhaustion of managing their own stress.

Leaders are asking themselves, “how can we help?” With the very real threat of mass employee burnout looming large, solving the stress management puzzle has never been more timely. This presentation takes a closer look at why we’re all still so gosh darned tired, explores mindset shifts to reframe the way we approach work, and provides actionable strategies to motivate and reinvigorate employees.

Takeaways include:

• Spotlight on the key causes of stress
• How to recognize stress and what to do about it
• Best practices from organizations and leaders who are energizing their people
• Counter-intuitive perspectives on work ethic and what “working hard” should look like

Leading the Pack-How a Culture of Learning Puts You Ahead

Stephanie Angelo

Tuesday, June 22 2:30 – 4:00 PM

Category: Staffing/Staff Development

Regardless industry, businesses need to constantly innovate to stay ahead of the competition. Bowling and Entertainment Centers are no different. When you’re content to stand still, you eventually become stagnant and lose market-share to people who choose going to movies or other amusement venues. What makes them choose you? Having a team of employees skilled at providing great guest experience and fostering excellent operation and service standards.

Participants learn what a Culture of Learning is, why it’s an essential value to your organization and the seven ingredients to create and sustain it. A strong Culture of Learning equals reduced absenteeism, increased productivity, and loyal and engaged employees. Learn how to create a Culture of Learning at your Center.

The Secret to Guest Loyalty: How Rewards Programs & Memberships Can Help Your FEC Recover

Sherry Howell, CenterEdge Software

Tuesday, June 22 2:30 – 4:00 PM

Category: BEC Marketing

As you recover and move forward from the challenges of the past year, it's more important than ever to build strong revenue streams and drive guest loyalty. Loyalty rewards and membership programs can be a key to making this happen - if they're implemented thoughtfully. This session will give you insight into developing effective loyalty rewards and membership programs that help you maximize every guest relationship. You’ll walk away with little-known benefits and ideas for designing and implementing a program that works for your business.

Small Center: What Keeps You Up at Night?

Moderated Panel

Tuesday, June 22 2:30 – 4:00 PM

Category: Small Center

Join fellow Small Center and Small Market proprietors as they discuss the big things the "keep us up at night" we all deal with. This panel/discussion format is always one of the most talked about sessions at and after Bowl Expo. If there is something you want to talk about, be sure to complete the online form or handout at the door.

Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

Traci Brown, Traci Brown Inc.

Tuesday, June 22 4:15 – 5:45 PM

Category: Guest Experience & Staff Development

Can you tell when someone is lying? Let body language expert Traci Brown show you how! Are you winning the game of Two Truths and a Lie? You play every day and don’t even know it. Win the game with your team, clients, potential hires, and vendors to dramatically improve your bottom line, detect fraud before it happens and keep your company off the front page for the wrong reasons.

Can you trust your team? Can vendors really deliver what they promise? Are they lying over the negotiation table? Are clients telling you all of their needs? Do they like the job you did? Have potential hires inflated their resume? Are they really who they say they are in the first place? And most importantly…How would your life change if you really knew what those closest to you were doing and not saying? In this fast paced session, you’ll learn how to use Traci’s system to separate the lies from the truth in today’s headlines...and in your own life so you’re never deceived again. You can quit second guessing your instincts and immediately tell fact from fiction when you learn: 9 telltale signs someone is lying, Know which lies are important. Know which lies you should tell. Quickly uncover the truth

Digital Marketing: Building the Customer Journey

Using Customer Connect Powered by Salesforce

Ronny Dodd, BPAA

Tuesday, June 22 4:15 – 5:45 PM

Category: Digital Marketing

Learn about the tools that are available for you to help navigate the customer relationship journey. These are the tools that will help you automate the customer relationship process and assist in making smart, data-driven decisions. You will learn about techniques for gathering quality customer data, driving successful marketing campaigns, and analyzing the results. All of which will result in better relationships with your customers, while delivering new and repeat business into your center.

Starting and Maintaining a Strong Partnership Between the Proprietor and the Pro Shop

Peter Somoff, Somoff Pro Shop

Tuesday, June 22 4:15 – 5:45 PM

Category: Pro Shop & Proprietor Relations

The relationship between a Proprietor and a Pro Shop is about creating a mutually beneficial environment. What to look for in leasing a pro shop and what is gained by having a pro shop. The success of both businesses can be driven by a mutual understanding of the needs of both parties. Communication is key in this partnership.

Building an Effective Multigenerational Workplace

Jeff Butler, JButler International

Tuesday, June 22 4:15 – 5:45 PM

Category: Staffing/Staff Development

Today an unbelievable four different generations are sharing the workplace. With each generation having its own culture and beliefs how do you successfully manage each one so that you are able to optimize their performance but also address their differences? The answer is crucial to your organization’s culture and long-term strategic success. In this program, best-selling author, Jeff Butler, shares his research and insights into the four generations' motivations, differences, and communication styles. You will learn how organizations across various industries are thriving with a multigenerational workforce. Also, you’ll gain specific actionable strategies to manage your cross-generational challenges and turn your multigenerational workforce into a competitive advantage.