The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) serves as a cohesive force within the global attractions community. The respected industry organization’s annual conference offers opportunities for learning, networking, and sharing best practices across the industry. SeaWorld’s Interim CEO, Marc Swanson, served as one of the keynote speakers for this year’s virtual event. Swanson discussed the Management Team’s strategy for navigating the pandemic collaboratively.
Forecasted Increases in Revenues and Margins
Increased revenue prospects and sustained cost reduction measures will potentially produce $155 million to $285 million in Adjusted EBITDA. These projections are based on the parks’ aggregate 2019 guest attendance levels.
Assuming the 2019 gate figures, the total implied Adjusted EBITDA is estimated to range between $600 million and $750 million. 2019’s Adjusted EBITDA margin was 32.7 percent.
With revenues projected to increase, and continued cost reductions, the implied Adjusted EBITDA margin would have risen at 2019 attendance levels. Given these parameters, the margin would have positioned itself in the 41.3 percent to 48.9 percent range. This represents an increase of more than 800 basis points.
Strategies for Achieving Business and Revenue Growth
SeaWorld’s Interim CEO, Marc Swanson, described the benefits of collaborative partnerships in addressing “operational costs and maximizing our financial flexibility, giving us some breathing room to make the difficult decisions with some degree of confidence.”
Speaking to the effective communication between SeaWorld’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Scott Ross, and the leadership team, Swanson added, “Our partnership with our Chairman and our other Board Members allowed our company to adjust and move forward with more creativity and nimbleness than we had before. Having a large investor on the Board allows us to align our goals and move even more confidently and decisively.”
The Board’s decisive actions could help to realize $135 million in increased revenues. This estimate uses 2019’s aggregate attendance levels of 22.6 million guests as a baseline, and focuses on:
- Stronger focus on revenue generation with a dynamic parks’ pricing model as the foundation of this strategy.
- Enhanced park features including new and/or improved venues, additional food and beverage options, and updated merchandise choices.
- Buildout of an in-park mobile app that encourages onsite guests to experience additional venue offerings.
- Development of an innovative CRM framework to improve guest and valued pass holder communications and create mutually beneficial partnerships.
- Reorganization of the marketing team to increase promotional campaigns’ reach and effectiveness.
Actions Completed to Enable Strategic Goal Achievement
As one of the keynote speakers at the IAAPA Virtual Conference, Marc Swanson outlined ongoing actions led by SeaWorld Entertainment Inc.’s Board and Scott Ross, Chairman of the Board of Directors. These developments began in 2019, and will bring sustained benefits throughout 2021 and into the future:
- Top-down departmental centralization, such as human resource management and revenue management aimed to streamline internal processes, with a strong focus on the cultivation of internal centers of excellence, decreasing the need for use of third-party consultants.
- Redesign of Corporate-level operations to better anticipate parks’ attendance fluctuations, and updated line schedules to more closely reflect in-park guest attendance numbers. Operational flexibility is enhanced through a variable cost framework.
- Consolidation of media agencies and enhanced utilization of in-house creative resources will lower marketing costs. Developing right-sized media spend and flexing that responds to current market conditions and relevant restrictions.
- Continued emphasis on company-wide utility cost reductions with the ongoing adoption of energy-efficient practices and negotiated utility rate savings.
- The utilization of undeveloped land facilitates the completion of targeted construction initiatives, increasing warehouse space while decreasing leased building expenses. Complete cessation of off-site equipment rentals and storage facility use.
Sustained Health and Safety Emphasis
While pursuing desirable revenue enhancement and cost reduction goals, SeaWorld will continue to prioritize guests’ and team members’ health and safety. The Management Team will consistently devote all needed resources to this goal, and funds allocation will not be affected by cost reductions and/or operational limitations.
SeaWorld will continue to follow health and safety recommendations from state and local health authorities. To inform the Management Team’s decisions, updated scientific knowledge about COVID-19 transmission and evolving protocol recommendations are regularly reviewed.
Through an ongoing emphasis on maintaining stringent health and cleanliness standards, SeaWorld has allowed guests to keep enjoying memorable park experiences, while every effort is made to ensure their collective well-being.