This comprehensive Planet Zoo Guide will assist you in learning about certain key money-making mechanics of the game – specifically to aid you in earning a profit and not going into debt. There’s a great deal to go over so let’s begin!
How to Make Money in Planet Zoo
First of all, you need to understand what exactly is needed to run a successful zoo. You have to manage your zoo (this includes building the proper facilities, employing a proper staff, and purchasing animals that don’t go over your budget) while maintaining animal welfare and, most importantly, keeping your guests happy; a pleased visitor will be more than willing to leave donations for the zoo which, in turn, will aid the growth of said zoo.
How to Save Money
When starting out the game and you begin the task of starting a new Franchise Zoo, you’ll be accorded $40,000; this may seem like a lot but funds dwindle expeditiously, and you’re going to have to take things very slow in the beginning to make full use of what you have in stock.
Before making money, it’s paramount that you SAVE money! Don’t adopt a gung-ho strategy and fly off the handle; be intelligent and shrewd in your purchases and investment. Therefore, when starting out, try to buy animals that don’t exactly have great genetics or high longevity; vie for the less than desirable choices. You can trade these out for a bit of cash later, but you’ll need something to start off with and this is the way to go.
It’s recommended that you not invest in more enclosures than necessary unless you have enough money to fall back on in case it doesn’t work out. If you buy an enclosure with not enough money left behind (at least $10,000) then you’re playing a dangerous game – one that won’t necessarily yield profits.
Also, for the buildings and facilities that you have built already, it’ll save a copious amount if you don’t decorate them. This may make them a bit unsightly but if you build them away from the visitor’s path then it won’t be too much of a problem.
One way of saving money on power is building some of the facilities in a special area. When you start up a new zoo, there is a small area by the entrance that has power, an infinite amount (you can check with the Power Overview, or the Heatmap for Power). You can build a few facilities in that small area, lessening the amount needed for power.
In regards to power, you will need to purchase and maintain several generators to power all the facilities not in that small area. Purchasing them isn’t too costly, but if you leave them idle for too long, they’ll waste away and replacing/fixing them will be far more expensive. It’s advised that you have a staff member constantly check the generators for each facility. This will save you a great deal of money in the long run.
The final bit of advice we can give you in relation to saving money is this: do not take on more than is absolutely necessary. This applies to your staff the most.
Despite their small number, if they are able to run the place efficiently, then there’s no need to hire anymore; if they seem overworked and are unable to maintain quality, then it’s time to get more workers. Keep a close eye on everything and take action when it’s necessary. A preemptive decision isn’t always the best course of action.
Making Money Tips / Road to Profit
Once you’ve saved up enough capital to move forward without the fear of going bankrupt, it’s time to set your sights on making a profit! The following tips will aid you in this endeavor, giving you all the information needed to build and manage a successful zoo.
The first thing we advise is in relation to your staff. As stated earlier, it’s beneficial to hire only when necessary (and that still applies) but when it’s time to make a profit, it works in your favor to invest in certain jobs.
You’ll want to invest in security guards and caretakers to maintain the quality of the zoo. After purchasing the appropriate personnel, have them patrol the highly dense areas of the zoo. Vandalism, unruly behavior, and garbage thrown around will annoy visitors, dissuading them from donating; this cannot be allowed under any circumstance, therefore have your Security Guards prevent any acts of vandalism, and the Caretakers will make sure the zoo is spotless!
Secondly, Educational Speakers and Guides will also help to maximize profits; visitors are more inclined to donate when they’re treated well and they feel as if they’ve went through a genuine learning experience.
However, simply having Educational Speakers won’t suffice – make sure that they don’t overlap; visitors will be annoyed by this. To know where to place the Speakers, check the heatmap and look for all the blue areas – these are the places you wish to place them; do not place them in the areas marked red!
Now that you’ve got a solid handle on what kind of staff will supplement your road to profit, it’s time we take a lot at the structural aspects of your zoo. Firstly, guests are turned off by the sight of imposing and obnoxious buildings – this is referring to staff buildings. Try to build such facilities away from the public eye – not only will guests appreciate this but they’ll be more than willing to donate.
Secondly, any facilities meant to cater to guests should be held off until you have a larger visitor base. What we mean by this is that such guest facilities won’t turn a profit in Planet Zoo unless there’s a certain number of visitors coming in.
For example, a drink shop will only turn a profit if there are more than 300 visitors; food shops turn a profit at +500 visitors, balloon stores at +800, and information stands will only make a profit when you have at least a whopping 1000 guests or more swarming in. Hold off on such facilities until you reach a certain number of visitors.
Once you do have that many guests coming in, make sure to build an ATM so visitors will never run out of cash! Furthermore, if it seems that you’re gaining a large amount from these guest facilities, it’ll work to your advantage to up the pricing to reflect the increase in business. Don’t increase it by too much or the visitors won’t be willing to pay.
As more and more people will start frequenting these facilities, you’ll need a bit more space so that other visitors aren’t encumbered by the queues formed near the aforementioned facilities. The remaining visitors will continue on the path, looking at the exhibits, donating, and eventually developing the desire to seek out other entertainment, i.e. the visitor facilities.
Finally, as mentioned earlier, maintaining generators can be quite a hassle, and it will only get more and more strenuous as your zoo grows in size.
Once you start making enough money in Planet Zoo, it works in your interest to invest in solar panels. Not only will they not require any maintenance, but they’ll generate enough power for you to focus on other things – it also has the added bonus of not being unsightly, meaning that the guests won’t mind seeing them, so you can build them wherever you want.
Animal Tips to Help Profits in Planet Zoo
Next up, we have certain tips to help maintain the health of the animals, which, in turn, increases the enjoyment of the visitors. Firstly, you need to build a source of water for the animals; without it, not only will they eventually perish, but their dwindling health will make the visitors feel uncomfortable.
To save up on money and get the most out of this, it’s advised that you build the water source as down into the ground as you can (the cost is based on the quantity of water – square meter – and not surface area).
Following that, we recommend that you purchase Enrichment Toys. This will increase the quality of life of the animals; however, the real trick is setting up these toys close to the glass, so that the animals play near the visitors, which increases their enjoyment and persuades them to donate even more to the zoo.
For the sake of enrichment, you’ll need to employ Vets and have them research the various enrichment necessities for different animals. Maintaining a high quality of life for the animals will ensure that they last for longer, breed more, and continue to draw in a crowd – the crowd will then donate more!
Eventually, the animals in your exhibits will begin to breed. You need to make sure that they parents are healthy and have an enriched lifestyle; you also need to make sure nothing happens to the babies. The offspring of any animal can draw in a large crowd, in fact they have the potential to be your biggest cash cows! Therefore, do everything in your power to enrich the lives of your animals so that they breed, and then make sure that the young continue to prosper.
The optimal way of setting up the zoo is to create the habitats close to the path the visitors are on. Create a glass panel in between so visitors can look at the animals as they’re walking by. Be sagacious and place a donation box right next to the window panel so that they donate right then and there.
Don’t be too conservative when it comes to donation boxes, having too many won’t lessen the number of donations you’ll receive; strategic placements of numerous donation boxes will only work in your favor!
When starting out, you’ll want animals that aren’t too expensive, don’t take too much to maintain, but is something that can draw in a crowd and keep them entertained. You’ll have to do a bit of research to see what exactly meets all those requirements. One such example of this is the Aldabra Giant Tortoise.
Sources of Income in Planet Zoo
Your two main sources of income are entry tickets and charitable donations. We’ve covered the various ways of increasing the number of donations received, so now let’s go over how to increase the amount of revenue generated via tickets.
There’s really only one way: increase the price of admission. The price of admission needs to be proportionate with what’s being offered to the visitors. If you only have a few exhibits and not much else in entertainment, guests will not be pleased will a hefty admission price.
Therefore, early on, keep the price at a minimum – enough to keep you afloat but not too high as to discourage people from coming in. As you grow in size and popularity, incrementally increase the price to match it. This will continuously increase the profit earned and will lead to long-term success.
You’ll know when you’ve raised the price too much (this applies to tickets and all other facilities) when the visitors start complaining. Be mindful of this and lower the price; do not double down or you might end up losing a large chunk of your clientele.
Now, there is another way of making a profit, although this is one only available to you later on: trading animals. You can sell off or trade animals to make a profit, however they need to have good genetics and longevity; if you’re willing to part with a few newborns then it’s possible for you to earn a large amount in a various short amount of time. You need to pick and choose the right moment to make the trade.
The final bit of advice we can give you is this: just be attentive. There’s no guarantee that everything will work out and you may run into some unforeseeable circumstances. Be vigilant, always have a contingency in place, and have fun. Follow the tips we’ve provided you in this guide, use your best judgement, and everything ought to work out the best for you!
