Rage rooms: demand is surging – and 90% of customers are women

Venues designed for people to smash things up safely are seeing an enormous rise in bookings. But why? And what explains the pronounced gender gap?

Name: Rage rooms.

Appearance: Full of old appliances and angry women.

Hang on, rage rooms aren’t new, are they? No, the idea of charging people to smash stuff up safely as a form of commercialised catharsis reportedly emerged in Japan in 2008, around the same time Chicago entrepreneur Donna Alexander started charging people $5 to break things in her garage. But it really went global in 2015 and 2016.

Ah, yes, the Brexit vote, the first Trump administration – angry times. Makes sense. So, what’s new? They’re booming again, especially with women. The Times reports bookings at Virgin’s Ultimate Xtreme Rage Room are up 219%. Weston-super-Mare’s Activity Dome has seen a surge of 150%, and 90% of them are women.