The International Laser Tag Association, Inc (ILTA) has been developing and maintaining the laser tag industry's most comprehensive database of all known locations, open and closed. The database was started in 1996 and has information on locations that have had laser tag as either an attraction or the main revenue draw going all the way back to 1984 when the first Photon opened in Dallas, TX. To date, the ILTA has spent over $50,000 in the development and maintenance of the Site Database.
This page is made available to lay out in the open the policies and procedures regarding the ILTA Database and Site Verification. This is to help avoid any issues or questions regarding the ILTA's mission of maintaining the healthy growth of the laser tag industry.
First, let us examine the reason the database was created. Back in 1996, laser tag manufacturers were (and sadly still are) misleading and deceiving potential purchasers of laser tag equipment by overstating the number of locations that the manufacturer has opened or sold. By overstating or blatantly lying to the prospect, the company could seem more secure then what it was or to give the impression of larger market share.
The ILTA discovered that a number of locations that select companies claimed to have did not, in fact, exist or ever exist. Lists provided to potential customers turned out to be filled with non-existent or false locations. Some manufacturers even placed locations on their own site lists that were using competitors laser tag equipment.
In 1997, the ILTA formally required that any laser tag company that was to be a member of the association had to supply a site list for independent verification. This was unheard of in the family entertainment industry amongst associations. All other associations, other then the ILTA, gladly cashed the supplier's check without any effort to verify or validate the marketing claims of their new members. This is still the norm today where even the family entertainment center trade association still contributes to potential customers getting ripped off because they do not make any attempt to ensure the truth of their members.
The side effect of the database, but the strongest, most powerful element was that the ILTA could start to create a true, accurate growth and decline rate of the laser tag industry. This enabled the ILTA to see how many locations opened and closed in any given calendar year. This growth information became invaluable to those persons looking to secure funding from banks and financial institutions.
Another effect of the database was that it allowed the ILTA to have staff members visit locations and secretly shop the facilities to determine the overall health of the operations. If the facility were a member, they would receive a copy of the secret shopper report and were often grateful for the ability to improve their operations. If the facility were not a member location, the report would be placed in the permanent file on that location. The ILTA maintains a row of 4-drawer file cabinets dedicated to holding and preserving all information about each specific location throughout the world.
Now, let us cover specific policies and procedures of the ILTA Site Database:
DATABASE
Release of the Database
The ILTA, nor any employee, staff member, volunteer, board member or any other representative of the association may release, or allow the release or disclosure of the ILTA Database in full.
Creating a New Entry
The ILTA shall add a new entry for any business utilizing laser tag or laser game equipment for commercial purposes. The ILTA shall ensure that no entry exists for that location under the equipment type and if no listing exists, shall create a listing.
How is a Site identified
All locations throughout the world shall be given a unique identification code, referred to an ID Code based first on the laser tag equipment the location utilizes and then the actual city the location is physically located. For example, a facility in Indianapolis using Laser Storm equipment shall have the ID Code "Laser Storm Indianapolis". The ID Code may be abbreviated regarding the word "Laser" since it is a common word and therefore the ID Code would then become "LStorm Indianapolis". Only the ILTA assigns the ID code but is open to suggestions from either the laser tag manufacturer or the location in question.
VERIFICATION
Site Lists Requests
At least annually, the ILTA will request from all known laser tag manufacturers in the world a list of the locations that utilize that particular manufacturers equipment. The submitted lists shall be deemed confidential and proprietary unless the information is (1) available on the manufacturers website; (2) available in the manufacturer's sales literature or trade show information; or (3) discovered by the ILTA through its own resources including, but not limited to, web searches and conversations with ILTA Developer Members or Prospects.
Non-Disclosure Agreements
If a manufacturer believes that their site list is a competitive trade secret and will only release a list to the ILTA if the ILTA is willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), then that is acceptable as a general condition. If the ILTA has signed a non-disclosure agreement with a manufacturer, then the NDA is in effect as long as that company exists. To date, the only company with a NDA standing valid with the ILTA is Veqtor, based in the UK. Any sites list submitted by Veqtor immediately receive the protection of the past NDA. NDA's are not valid on locations discovered by the ILTA in its normal course of business.
Corrections by Manufacturers
Before the ILTA releases the verification information for the time period, it will offer to every manufacturer the ability to correct any misinformation. If the manufacturer disagrees with the ILTA findings, then the manufacturer is allowed to submit a current site list for the ILTA to once again verify. The ILTA and manufacturer can go through the results of the ILTA research and compare it to the list submitted by the manufacturer to the ILTA so that if there are any discrepancies, they may be corrected under mutual agreement. Ultimately, the ILTA search results shall be the final results published by the ILTA based on its research.
Manufacturer's whom Fail to Correct
Select companies may choose not to provide a site list to the ILTA. The decision is respected by the ILTA but the ILTA can only provide information that it can gather through its own independent research. If the manufacturer fails to provide a site list, and the manufacturer is given the opportunity to correct the results of the ILTA research before it is made public, then the manufacturer waives all claims, legal and trade, against the ILTA for slander or libel. The ILTA will only present true, factual statistics and if the manufacturer chooses not to aid, correct or change those statistics, then all correspondence between the manufacturer and the ILTA shall be made public to alleviate or disperse any potential negative or harmful issues arising from verification.
Costs for Verification
The ILTA shall not charge any fees, dues, permits or other such measures to a manufacturer for the verification of the site lists. Site verification is done out of the internal budget of the ILTA and the costs shall not be assessed to the manufacturers for the independent review of locations.
