Easy tips and tricks for improving the design of your coat check room.
Chexology has designed and consulted on hundreds of coat check rooms, conducted case studies, and listened to thousands of customers regarding the coat check experience. In our quest to help everyone improve their coat check room, we want to share a few of our favorite tips for maximizing any coat check room.
These tips will work no matter the size of your coat check room—however, the bigger your coat room, the more dramatic the improvements you'll notice.
1. Coat check hangers
One of the quickest ways to improve your coat check system is to ensure you have suitable hangers. What are the best coat check hangers, you ask? Metal hangers.
Thick plastic hangers may be more affordable, but they are bulky, break easily, and are not user-friendly. Further, each plastic hanger is a half-inch thick, and metal hangers are a quarter-inch wide.
This means that 100 plastic hangers will take up 50 inches of space! In contrast, 100 metal hangers will take up half of that space at 25 inches, allowing you to fit ten more coats within that footprint conservatively. $3 a coat is an additional $30 a night in hanging capacity!
Here's a link to a metal hanger brand we recommend to our clients. At 50 cents each, that's a steal!
2. The best way to check bags and backpacks
Instead of the current shelving we frequently observe at coat check rooms, consider using S hooks for bags and hang them on your lower rail.
Cost-effective S hooks like these listed on Amazon give you the flexibility to hang bags, umbrellas, and other misc items while also saving you a ton of space. (These twisted S hooks are also a good option for even more space savings.)
Low shelves, cubbies, or counters dedicated to bags can be a big waste of real estate in a tight coat room. Most often, these areas are not filled frequently. By placing all miscellaneous items on the rails with your coats, you open up the possibility of having a second rail, which our research indicates is a game changer for nightclubs, museums, and concert venues.
3. Set the ideal height for hanging coats in your coat room
From our research, the ideal placement for coat check rails should be 42" off the ground for the bottom rail and hung 18" off the wall. That way, longer coats from the top rail can flow behind the bottom rail. Then, place your second level rail 36" above your bottom rail and hang it 12" away from the back wall.
The bottom rail's height placement allows both hip and waistcoats to fit comfortably. Longer coats, like peacoats, should always be placed on the top rail.
The reason the bottom rail should be placed 12" from the wall is that a coat hanger is 18" wide and, with the sleeves of coats, will become 22" wide. Divide that in half for the middle of the hanger, and you get 11" needed from the wall, which gives an inch of breathing room.
4. The ideal coat check hallway width
When designing a coat check room, you must incorporate "U" shaped coat racks and not "L" shaped coat racks when building a coat room for a nightclub or museum.
The above illustration shows the wrong way to design a coat check room. Everyone will have to share the coat rails outlined in red, which leads to coats getting mixed up between coat checkers and diminishes the number of coats you can check before your station is full.
In the above illustration, we now see the best way to build a coat check room. You create "U" shaped coat check areas by putting space between the isles. This means you can hang way more coats; each coat checker has its dedicated racks or rails.
One final note we want to share: we recommend that you put five feet between the rails to give the coat checker enough room to run the isles.
5. How to maximize a tight coat check space
Whenever space is tight, or you don't have a permanent coat check setup, go with Heavy-Duty Commercial Grade Double-Bar Rolling Z Racks to double the hanging capacity within a footprint.
Our company started as a mobile coat check service, so we know the challenges of setting up a temporary coat check space. After testing several brief coat check iterations, the double bar rolling Z racks linked above were the most effective for setting up coat check rooms in bars, restaurants, and nightclubs.
"Our coat check revenue increased by 10%, and we shaved 15 minutes off of getting everyone out of the building."
Frank Brayer, VP of Finance
6. Best place to store bags in your coat check
The best place to store bags, luggage, or any other bulky item is to create shelves for storage under your front counter. This area is often an undervalued space. Not only does it help keep your coat check room clean and clutter-free it also allows your team to retrieve bags with ease.
7. Reduce long lines and wait times
The best way to tackle a nightclub, stadium, or museum with long lines is to take advantage of Chexology. The paperless claim ticket system is a game changer for large crowds.
During arrival, the speed of our system is unmatched. Our interface allows the coat checker and customer to complete steps simultaneously for max efficiency. With our added ChexPass, customers "tap and go!" We are the claim ticket for Apple Wallet and Google Pay!
Gone are the days of slow lines caused by easy-to-lose paper tickets. Provide a faster, modern experience, build customer trust, and improve your bottom line. From neighborhood concert halls and museums to stadiums, Chexology moves crowds.
8. Cloakroom signs are a must
We all loath the pre-check process at the airport. However, you do have to give the TSA props for their ability to move long lines. The key to their success? Signs. Simple, informational signs.
"Have your boarding pass and ID read!"
Because of the airport's ability to inform everyone in line about the process ahead, the line moves more quickly since there are fewer passengers holding up the process. The same can be true with your nightclub's coatroom. If customers are aware of what is required of them, they will be more prepared when approaching the counter. This simple and often overlooked step can have a dramatic effect on your coatroom wait times.
Who exactly is Chexology?
If you've ever visited one of our client's coat check rooms, Chexology is serious about improving your customer's experience. If you haven't, it's nice to meet you.
Chexology is a global tech company headquartered in New York City. As seen on ABC's Shark Tank, the company's patented software disrupts the hospitality & entertainment industries by eliminating paper claim tickets in coat check, bell desk, rental, and valet services. Chexology's products have tackled colossal challenges caused by antiquated processes for some of the world's largest brands, including Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Accor Live Limitless, Live Nation, and AEG Worldwide, as well as premier venues like MoMA, ICC Sydney, Olympia London, and Barclay's Center.
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