Some escape room owners are a little peeved that the administrators of the Escape Room Owners Facebook group haven’t approved their membership requests.
After we published 13 Tips for Opening an Escape Room, which included a recommendation that owners join that community, we received a few messages from frustrated owners who haven’t been approved to join the group.
I reached out to Brian Warner (Evilusion), one of the administrators of the group. Here’s what I learned:
Why Aren’t Applications Being Approved?
The Escape Room Owners Facebook group is only for people who own escape rooms. We aren’t in the group and have never asked to join.
The administrators need evidence that each applicant is actually an escape room owner. They currently have a backlog of over 3,000 applicants, most of whom are spammers, bots, and non-owners.
Brian, Nate Shane (Escape Room Master), and Erick Gyrion (Escape Room Wisconsin) are the only three people who administer applicants. It’s a lot of work for three guys who also work a lot and, ya know, have lives. (We can relate.)
How Can I Expedite My Approval?
Brian recommend the following:
- Send him a Facebook message with proof of escape room ownership.
- Reply to his Facebook messages.
If you communicate, you’ll get approved a whole lot faster.
What constitutes evidence of escape room ownership?
Brian says, “Send a picture of yourself with a business card in your control room.” He’s open to other proof if you want to get creative; just make it easy on him.
He added that, “The hard part is screening everyone. I’ve had people not respond to my messages for over a year.” These people sit in limbo forever.
Why Isn’t This Stated Clearly?
Well… it kind of is. However, most people aren’t accustomed to having to read a Facebook group’s description in order to learn the proper means of entry.
The description of the group opens with the following paragraph:
“Escape Room Owners is for current owners ONLY (not employees) of Escape Room Adventures. You will not be approved to join unless you have a location and are open/operating. Message Nate Shane, Brian Warner or Erick Gyrion for admission screening. All owners must prove that they are affiliated with operating and owning an escape room before an admin will approve. If you feel someone should be removed from the group, please contact one of the admins. You must have a profile picture, real name (no company as personal accounts) and be an owner. This group is not for anyone who is not an owner.”
If you belong in the group and want to be a part of it, make it easy for the group administrators to confirm that you own an escape room.
If all else fails, join the other escape room communities. There’s plenty of conversation there too.
Been trying to join for over a year. I sent proof and responded to message and still nothing. Will try one more time. Thanks for the article.