7 growth lessons from one of Las Vegas’ most unique attractions

"You really need to build relationships with the key people that are going to support your business."

Ed Mumm
Founder of Dig This

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Digging up an idea that people couldn’t resist

Most tour operators don’t build a business around bulldozers and excavators.

For Dig This founder Ed Mumm, that’s exactly where the story began.

While building a home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Ed spent time operating heavy equipment and quickly realized he was having far more fun than he expected.

“If I’m having this good of a time, imagine the amount of people that want to actually come and do this kind of activity.” 

Rather than dismissing the idea, Ed decided to test it.

The result was Dig This, a hands-on attraction where guests operate real earthmoving equipment in a safe, five-acre adult-sized sandbox. Today, visitors can climb into bulldozers, excavators, and other heavy machinery for an experience unlike anything else in tourism.

But before becoming a Las Vegas attraction, Dig This was a small experiment in a Colorado mountain town.

The principles behind Dig This’s growth

1. Test your concept, then find the right market

Many operators focus entirely on the experience they’re creating. Ed believes success also depends on finding the right market.

Dig This launched in Steamboat Springs, where the concept quickly attracted visitors from across North America. Guests were willing to travel long distances for the experience, proving the idea had potential. But, their main challenge was seasonality.

Steamboat’s long winters made it difficult to sustain year-round growth, so the team started looking for a destination that could support the business at scale.

“We knew we had to get it into a larger destination. A year-round destination.”

In 2011, Dig This moved to Las Vegas. For Ed, the decision was about more than visitor volume. Las Vegas offered a strong mix of leisure travelers, convention groups, corporate events, couples, families, and visitors seeking unique experiences.

2. Build something memorable, then make quality the standard

Creating a unique experience is one thing. Delivering it consistently is another. Since Las Vegas is one of the most competitive tourism markets in the world, businesses don’t succeed simply because they’re different.

“Vegas does not put up with any fly-by-night businesses.”

Instead, Dig This has focused on creating an experience guests can’t stop talking about.

“It’s about quality first — and offering an experience that people will never forget.”

Today, Dig This offers experiences for guests ranging from ages 2 to 102, with options for families, couples, corporate groups, and private events. One of its most popular offerings, the Aggression Session, even lets guests use an excavator to crush a full-size vehicle.

The common thread across every experience is creating a lasting memory.

3. Don’t underestimate the impact of your booking system

As the business grew, Dig This needed technology to support online bookings, improve reporting, and help the team make smarter business decisions.

The company initially used FareHarbor for several years before exploring other reservation platforms. Eventually, they came back.

“We basically did a full circle through some of the other booking agencies.”

Ed says one of the biggest differences was finding a partner that understood the realities of operating in the American tourism market.

Beyond understanding the market, Dig This needed a platform that could support online bookings, provide visibility into performance, and continue evolving alongside the business. For Ed, that combination of booking tools, reporting, and industry expertise ultimately brought the company back to FareHarbor and the impact was immediate.

“When we did switch back to FareHarbor, there was a noticeable increase in online bookings that happened straight away.”

Beyond the booking flow itself, Ed values access to reporting and analytics that help the team understand performance and make informed decisions.

“I think the most important one is being able to follow your spend. You need all the analytical information you can get to make better decisions.”

4. Track marketing spend instead of guessing

Like many operators, Dig This experimented with a variety of marketing channels over the years. “Marketing is brutal,” Ed says. “It’s probably the hardest thing for a lot of operators to get their head around because things are evolving and changing all the time.”

“We did print. We did social media. We did a lot of things that we probably shouldn’t have done, knowing what I know now.”

Today, the company focuses heavily on digital marketing because it provides measurable results and clearer visibility into performance.

“We can get analytics and make better decisions about how we spend our marketing dollars.”

That shift has helped the team better understand which audiences are converting, where bookings originate, and how to allocate marketing resources more effectively.

For Ed, marketing success comes down to replacing assumptions with data.

5. Prioritize hiring individuals with great people skills 

Operating heavy equipment may sound intimidating, but Ed doesn’t hire instructors based solely on technical experience. Instead, Dig This looks for employees who know how to connect with guests.

“Once we identify those with great people skills, it’s easy to train them on how to run the equipment.”

The team recruits from a wide variety of backgrounds, including teachers, ski instructors, race car drivers, retirees, and recent graduates. What matters most is the ability to communicate, teach, adapt, and create a positive experience.

6. Create an experience that guests leave proud of

Many guests arrive at Dig This unsure of what to expect.

Today, Dig This welcomes roughly 10,000 guests each year, ranging from families and couples to corporate groups and private events. Some received the experience as a gift. Others booked through a corporate event. Many have never operated heavy equipment before.

The instructors’ job is to help guests feel comfortable from the moment they arrive.

“Our guys put them at ease straight away.”

Over the course of the experience, guests build confidence, develop new skills, and often surprise themselves.

“99.99% of guests leave with a massive smile on their face and a huge sense of achievement.”

According to Ed, that sense of accomplishment is part of what makes the experience so memorable.

“They forget about everything in their lives because they have to focus on the equipment. It’s very therapeutic.”

7. Growth doesn’t stop once you’re successful

Even after more than a decade in Las Vegas, Ed continues looking for new ways to improve the business.

That’s one reason he attends Spark.

At this year’s event, he explored several new FareHarbor tools that could help Dig This continue to grow, including Buy Now, Pay Later and Dynamic Pricing.

“Your Pay Later promotion is going to really work well for us, especially with people on tight budgets. And, Dynamic Pricing is one we really want to look at as well because we know that’s going to make a big difference.”

For Ed, Spark is about more than product updates. It’s also an opportunity to come together with a community of peers and learn from other operators who face similar challenges.

“Everybody is really open about just showing us what they do.”

The willingness to keep learning, testing, and improving is the same mindset that helped transform a simple idea into one of Las Vegas’ most memorable attractions.

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