UKC

I've nearly choked on my morning hot buttered crumpet. The Depot have bumped their prices by about 50% to £12.50 per visit (and let's not get into the hipster nonsense of them saying it's "£12.5")

Are all the local bouldering walls going for this size of increase or is it just the Depot group?

What are your Manchester recommendations that strike a good balance between cost of entry and facilities? I particularly like the Depot training room - does it have much in the way of competition for quality and range of options?

In reply to Frank the Husky:

Cheaper than the Climbing Hangars/Lakeland Climbing Centres single entry is £14.50 for those. Seems the Depot is actually still a bit cheaper than many others for single entry.

Have you looked into membership? For the Climbing Hangars it is £32.99 a month with no minimum term and can be cancelled with a month's notice so you don't have to pay over the summer if you are climbing outside, this seems like amazing value. 

Blochaus Manchester is £10 for a single entry so a bit cheaper. Also great value at £8.50 a visit if you purchase a 10 climb pass. 

In reply to Frank the Husky:

Boardroom in Queensferry is £15 so I’d be inclined to pay £12.50! If blochaus is only a tenner then I’d definitely recommend it, it’s a really good wall but obviously not as extensive as the Depot. 

In reply to Frank the Husky:

A 50% increase is obviously a big jump but most walls are £10-£15 so £12.50 about the going rate. I'd argue you were getting a bargain before. 

In reply to Frank the Husky:

Hmm, suspect I'm going to go ouch when my "12 for 10" runs out regardless of whether I continue at the Depot or go elsewhere.

In reply to Frank the Husky:

It was never £6.25 to get in.

In reply to Euan McKendrick:

It wasn't £8.33 either. What's your point?

In reply to deacondeacon:

The OP suggested a price hike of 50% to £12.50

Obviously suggesting that at some point he was paying £6.25 to get in.

In reply to Frank the Husky:

Buy a 10 climb punch pass which works out at £9.50 per visit or if you climb indoors all year you can get unlimited climbing for £39.00 per month. Cheaper if you fall into the concession category.

In reply to Euan McKendrick:

You're joking right...?

In reply to Euan McKendrick:

A 50% hike from £6.25 is not £12.50

iirc Manchester Depot was £10 or £11 when I last climbed there (in December). So £12.50 isn't that much of a jump, not sure when the op last climbed there. In my head it was £8 or £9 to climb there when it opened about 9 years ago?

In reply to Frank the Husky:

Apologies 🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️ I'm having a bad day 🤦🏼‍♂️

In reply to Frank the Husky:

I'm sure it used to be £8.50 not so long ago, 2021 maybe? So on that basis 50% increase is £12.75 so I wouldn't say the op is not being truthful with his impression of just how much prices have risen. 

If rises had been inline with inflation only then the price would be expected to be close to £10 not the £12.50 that it has now risen to. 

In reply to Euan McKendrick:

🙂

In reply to Frank the Husky:

Well they need to finance the new Depot...so why not!

It is rammed at night, although Saturday morning is alot quieter than it used to be.

Monthly passes with a regular flow of income is what the investors want, so they price accordingly.Its a pricing policy to get you to go monthly or 12 for 10 visits.

Having said all that...its a great facility.

In reply to Frank the Husky:

50% compared to when they first opened a few years ago? The monthly membership is £39, was £36 until a few months ago so 8.3% increase but it had been at the £36 level for a few years, so the increase was well below inflation overal. I suspect with the day visits increase they are encouraging people to get memberships. 3 times a month is essentially break even and I assume most people would easily go 3 times a month even in the summer. 

In reply to neilh:

Turn up at about 8 (not all of you 😁) when it's starting to thin out. If you're not struggling by closing time (10) then you're not trying hard enough 😁

In reply to Tom Guitarist:

You had to spoil it.

In reply to sxrxg:

I strongly suspect that their operating costs, along with those of other bouldering centres and basically anyone who pays rent and fuel supplies, have risen vastly above the rate of inflation.

I wonder what their entry fee would be if it had risen in proportion to their operating costs? I'd bet it would be more than £12.50

In reply to Misha:

That monthly membership looks like a bargain!

12 month membership at Lakeland Centre works out around £12 per week which is kind of 90s prices if you go three times a week 😂😎 and really good value

In reply to paul_in_cumbria:

Yeah outside London monthly memberships are great value if you go regularly throughout the year, as long as you don’t mind mostly going to the same wall or brand of walls. Or even get two regional memberships for the price of one in London…

In reply to planetmarshall:

I don't doubt this is the case. I wonder if the price increase has lost them many customers and how this balances against the income generated from the increase. With the cost of living crisis that is ongoing I can imagine that some people will chose to take their custom to other walls or reduce the number of visits. Maybe it is to try and influence people to take out membership if the % increase is considerably less compared to how the price for a single visit has increased. 

In reply to Frank the Husky:

They need the money to buy more red holds.

In reply to Frank the Husky:

£14.50 now for single entry withour any membership or concessions at the Big Depot leeds. Multiple entry stamps still a lot cheaper, but the single entry is  still a big hit for people who just make the occasional visit - its certainly put off my mate who came with me this week. And in my view, if you put people off from making a first, one-off visit, they wont then become regulars

In reply to pebbles:

It's frustrating as I really like mixing up the walls in Sheffield.   I really don't want to be forced to choose one and sign up monthly.   

In reply to msjhes2:

I wonder if thats why theyve started doing it? To lock in customers?

In reply to sxrxg:

The Lakeland Climbing Walls group includes all of the Depots.

In reply to msjhes2:

I get the 10 visit punchcards, no time limit on when you use them by, also insure against future price increases

In reply to Graeme Alderson:

Is that correct? Seems wrong to me!

In reply to teapot:

https://climbingsummit.com/speakers/1550/

In reply to Frank the Husky:

Blochaus 

In reply to Frank the Husky:

I recently went to a small bouldering wall in Moutiers, France, it was 14 euros. I thought it was on the pricey side for it's size, but it has a captive market. It was about 1/8 of the size of a typical Depot warehouse, it was set well and was great fun for several hours so well worth it. 

You could build your own wall, but have you seen the price of plastic holds today.. 

In reply to spidermonkey09:

Does that mean a Depot pass works at the Lakeland walls? 

In reply to j_duds:

No, all the link says is that the person who set up the Lakeland walls is also a partner in the separate company that owns the Depots. Which is different to Graeme's original statement and possibly out of date information anyway. It's no reason to expect any crossover in pass use.

In reply to Luke90:

He’s still a shareholder in YCC (Depot) according to companies house filings. As you say, they are separate corporate groups. 

In reply to Frank the Husky:

If you put it in context.  Their is no time limit on a visit so hourly rates can be in pence.  If you go for a beer with 2 friends your spending more than that. The benefits both mental and physical are boundless, better than any costly prescription. I'm not saying i would'nt like all centres to be cheaper but Id rather spend my money there than watching 22 grown men in their underwear kicking a bag of air around for 90 mins.

In reply to Euan McKendrick:

£3:50  inc. a cup of coffee  I am that old

In reply to Mr Messy:

I have a yearly membership for the Foundry but when Leeds re-opened i found myself using it more and it was just about cost effective. Their price rise has tipped the balance back to the foundry.   Even without membership, £8:50 before 4pm.

In reply to msjhes2:

Came to say just this. Always joked that the climbing centres in Sheffield should join forces and make some kind of multi-centre pass that includes the Hangar, Works and Depot as standard, with the option to add Foundry and Awesome as well, if required. It gets incredibly expensive climbing 4 times a week, usually across several different places doesn't it!

...I never thought i'd complain about having so many indoor climbing options!

In reply to Euan McKendrick:

Which Uni did you go to?

In reply to Ian Jones:

Bit late to the party but ho ho

In reply to Mr Messy:

I’ve also migrated to Leeds but from Awesome for various reasons including freezing cold and route setters who think that wider spaced holds are the answer to everything. Oh, then there’s the new grade labels that I can’t read and am supposed to scan into some app. What’s an app?
Anyhow I digress, Leeds offer a 10 visit punch card for £8 per visit. 

In reply to Baz P:

9:50 now and no free chips deal. anymore

In reply to Frank the Husky: to be fair, the Depots all continue to be far better than the competition and their investment is huge, especially with the new Manchester wall coming. I suspect some people may be out of touch with current costs of holds, matting, constant setting rotation etc. The Lakeland centres are more expensive and mostly 50% smaller, so by some people’s reckoning that should equate to, well, a lot less 😉. Some Depots are apparently almost at maximum capacity in an evening so people are clearly voting with their feet. 

In reply to Baz P:

As a shortarse.

Wider spaced holds certainly up the grade for me.

I get to watch those with large ape index make it look easy.

In reply to mark catcher:

Not sure I'd say the Nottingham wall is better than the competition or represents good value for money when compared to the groups other venues. Same price as other Depot centres but no training area, no free parking, no hot food and normally too busy in the evenings to actually get a decent session in (assuming you don't have to stand in a queue for entry while your parking meter whirs around).

In reply to shaun stephens:

2 friends? Why do you think I spend my time on UKC?

In reply to Frank the Husky:

Unlimited climbing for £39 a month, that's not too bad.

Just to make you feel better, Arch Climbing in West London is £75

In reply to Graeme Alderson:

Not really, they share a common investor at some of them.