Toronto Royal Ontario Museum | ?m | ?s | Daniel Libeskind

The ROM has an operating budget of approx 60M - about 10M comes from admissions - would the increase in admission numbers be sufficient to compensate for the loss of income from lowering admission price? I am not hugely convinced.

jje1000 said:
What about the old malting silos?
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Not exactly a convenient spot to get to even with EWLRT.

AoD
 
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The ROM's 5:30pm closing hours limits their earning potential to school children and tourists. It excludes nearly everybody else who work 9-5. I can imagine the ROM being an excellent date night in the middle of the week or just a nice way to pass some time after work and maybe a good strategy to wait out rush hour for office workers nearby.
 
MetroMan said:
The ROM's 5:30pm closing hours limits their earning potential to school children and tourists. It excludes nearly everybody else who work 9-5. I can imagine the ROM being an excellent date night in the middle of the week or just a nice way to pass some time after work and maybe a good strategy to wait out rush hour for office workers nearby.
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Their hours are fairly standard even in comparison to similar museums in the US (take AIC and Field in Chicago) - would anyone go to a museum just to visit for two hours? I am not so sure if the expense would be worth the additional cost (attendance doesn't necessarily translate into net income)

AoD
 
jje1000 said:
The Queens Quay streetcar passes by the site.
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Oh I meant the Victory Soy Silos at the other end. Same (if not worse) problem though - the area isn't that easy to get to, and certainly isn't that compelling a setting. I think you need a location that is ideally much more "knitted" to a surrounding area with lots to offer if you aren't an necessarily an institution that is compelling enough as a "must go"

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Their hours are fairly standard even in comparison to similar museums in the US (take AIC and Field in Chicago) - would anyone go to a museum just to visit for two hours? I am not so sure if the expense would be worth the additional cost (attendance doesn't necessarily translate into net income)

AoD
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http://museumtwo.blogspot.ca/2011/11/what-hours-should-museums-be-open.html

Interesting discussion of this subject here.

My sense is that evening hours on Saturday would be a big hit; weekdays not as much, but I still think 7pm would be a worthwhile move.

Its also correlates w/the potential for high-end resto success in the museum. If you close @5:30 the museum can't act as a support for a dinner crowd and vice versa.

Personally, I'd be interesting in attending lectures combined w/admission in the evening. (w/lecture being paid)

While I'm not every patron, I think I do represent a lot of their potential market.
 
I should add that I would certainly take in the ROM in 2 hour chunks.

I have no desire to endlessly walk around anywhere all day, and I enjoy walking.

The lure of a low price, along w/convenient time is I can just stop by to see what's new, and avoid the big weekend crowds. Love that idea.

I'm a strong proponent of places getting w/the times and offering touch screens near exits where you can either pwyc or donate by just 'tapping' on the way out.

Creating a mindless you made me happy, here's $10 option.

And/or offering options on the screen where you can target a donation. Touch upper left, donate to collections; lower-left donate to visitor experience, lower-right donate
to educational programming etc.
 
Northern Light said:
I should add that I would certainly take in the ROM in 2 hour chunks.

I have no desire to endlessly walk around anywhere all day, and I enjoy walking.

The lure of a low price, along w/convenient time is I can just stop by to see what's new, and avoid the big weekend crowds. Love that idea.

I'm a strong proponent of places getting w/the times and offering touch screens near exits where you can either pwyc or donate by just 'tapping' on the way out.

Creating a mindless you made me happy, here's $10 option.

And/or offering options on the screen where you can target a donation. Touch upper left, donate to collections; lower-left donate to visitor experience, lower-right donate
to educational programming etc.
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You could take the ROM in 2 hour chunks as a member - but a $20 a pop single admission it's not going to be that desirable. As to PWYC/microtransaction type of financing - I hate to say it, but Torontonians are cheap.

Northern Light said:
http://museumtwo.blogspot.ca/2011/11/what-hours-should-museums-be-open.html

Interesting discussion of this subject here.

My sense is that evening hours on Saturday would be a big hit; weekdays not as much, but I still think 7pm would be a worthwhile move.

Its also correlates w/the potential for high-end resto success in the museum. If you close @5:30 the museum can't act as a support for a dinner crowd and vice versa.

Personally, I'd be interesting in attending lectures combined w/admission in the evening. (w/lecture being paid)

While I'm not every patron, I think I do represent a lot of their potential market.
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Friday and Saturday definitely agree - 9 to 10 would have been perfect.

AoD
 
Johnny Au said:
The Met has very long opening hours (and uses PWYC).

The ROM could take cues from the Met (especially with Friday evenings).

Good thing about being an Access 2 member (such as myself); support workers get free admission, while the Access 2 card holder pays.
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But the Met is the Met - ROM is definitely not the Met, and even the Met is having some fiscal issues of late as well:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/04/arts/design/met-museum-financial-troubles.html?_r=0

AoD
 
Some evening hours would be great. For the weekdays -- Maybe the museum can close in the middle of the day like everything in Spain after lunch, and then reopen early evening. For the weekends, people would love to have the AGO and ROM as options for an hour or so before or after a dinner out. Yes the staff might not like that, but we want to serve the public better by being open when they are most likely to want to see it. The school kids and retired people can visit in the mornings and be out by lunch time (afternoon closing).

As far as funding, a good strategy is to encourage annual memberships. I know that a lot of people do this, and it probably brings in a lot of money. I don't know anyone who wants to see an entire museum in one visit, and being able to break it up into several visits is so much more satisfying. The big exhibits have also been good at bringing people back.
 
It's actually busier here tonight after 6 than I've seen it since I returned as a member earlier this month. Maybe because it's Friday but I think they could use an 8pm closing time during weekdays or at least 10pm on Saturdays too.

ponyboy said:
As far as funding, a good strategy is to encourage annual memberships. I know that a lot of people do this, and it probably brings in a lot of money. I don't know anyone who wants to see an entire museum in one visit, and being able to break it up into several visits is so much more satisfying. The big exhibits have also been good at bringing people back.
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I already got my membership but I must say that I'd be more inclined to renew if I could come by for a couple of hours after work throughout the week. Even though I work from home, coming during business hours or anywhere near the 5:30 closing time, I feel rushed.

I really love evenings here. I'll be coming every Friday if possible.
 
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In regards to a previous comment about extending the hours. The AGO has changed their hours, they are open until 9 on Fridays now. Which is really nice I've been a few times now. Perfect spot for a date night and great view of the city from the barnacle. Also no children, perfection. I agree that they should all stay open until 7.
 
Well, nevermind.

yscoULe.jpg


Hoardings have come down, nothing new. Looks like they were repairing the mullions on the slit windows.
 
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