A long-term asset that adds real value
While Escape Rooms might’ve started out as a novel, niche entertainment option – over time, they’ve evolved into a strategic tool used by venues, brands and businesses around the world.
Their popularity and effectiveness as a corporate mechanic have become so established that many organisations are now asking a different question:
Should we build a permanent Escape Room?
A permanent Escape Room is an investment in experience – designed to deliver consistent value, attract new audiences, and give people a reason to come back. When it’s built around your brand, your space and your goals, it becomes part of your identity.
When repeat footfall matters
Escape Rooms that bring people back, again and again
If you manage a venue that thrives on repeat visits – a shopping centre, visitor attraction, or family entertainment space – adding a permanent Escape Room can increase dwell time, boost group bookings and bring in new audiences. Unlike standard retail or static displays, escape rooms invite participation; they give people a challenge to complete, and they’re designed for teams.
Challenger Escapes has worked with clients like Mall Portal in Chile to create experiences that draw families and groups into their malls for something surpassing a routine shopping trip.
The 1950s detective-themed room, “A Detective Gone!”, was built to travel between sites but still matched the quality and depth of a high-end permanent fixture. The result? Sold-out sessions within four days and ongoing expansion across multiple locations.
When designed with narrative depth and modularity, permanent Escape Rooms offer something rare in leisure spaces: a reason for customers to stay longer and return regularly.
An experience that enhances your brand
Permanent installations designed around your identity
Escape Rooms are often seen as entertainment, but for the right business, they also serve a brand function. At Aviation American Gin’s Portland distillery, a permanent escape room now forms part of the visitor tour – giving guests a hands-on way to explore the company’s irreverent, tongue-in-cheek personality.
Built by Challenger Escapes in collaboration with Knabe Labs, the room includes voice cues from Ryan Reynolds, branded props and narrative elements pulled straight from the gin’s marketing universe. It’s immersive, on-message, and completely unique.
This kind of installation gives venues an edge, creating a shared story – something people talk about, post about and remember.
What makes a permanent Escape Room a smart investment
Understanding the long-term value and strategic return
The initial build of a permanent escape room does require commitment – time, space and budget. But when the experience is well-designed and professionally installed, the return is ongoing. You gain a physical asset that can serve customers, staff and stakeholders for years, with options to refresh puzzles or update them to fit new campaigns or themes.
For venues that want a source of additional revenue, the room can become a bookable product. For organisations focused on engagement or retention, it becomes a tool for generating ongoing buzz and interest. In either case, it adds a unique asset to your business that few of your competitors will be able to deliver.
Permanent experiences for captured markets
An already onboarded audience
Cruise ships offer a unique opportunity to target a ready-made audience – with high dwell times and a real appetite for onboard entertainment. That’s why Challenger Escapes partnered with Aroya Cruises to deliver a full-scale, immersive Escape Room as part of their new Red Sea route.
Naturally, the installation required an entirely bespoke approach. From fire-regulation-approved materials to fully automated gameplay in both English and Arabic, every detail was adapted to meet the technical and logistical demands of a cruise ship environment. Built and tested in the UK, the experience was then installed over three weeks in Bremerhaven, Germany.
For destinations like cruise ships – where guests are eager for shared, story-driven entertainment – a permanent Escape Room quite literally becomes part of the journey.
Ready when your business is
When the timing and purpose are clear, the payoff is real
The right time to invest in a permanent Escape Room will depend very much on your goals. If you’re launching a new site, revamping an existing one or looking to stand out in a crowded market, a custom installation could be the difference-maker.
Challenger Escapes works with venues, brands and businesses to design Escape Rooms from the ground up – built around the audience you want to reach and the outcomes you care about. From single-room builds to multi-phase installations, every detail is crafted to match your space and your story.
If you’re ready to explore what a permanent escape room could look like in your venue, we’re ready to build it with you.
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