An Exploratory Study of “Adults Only” Leisure Offers in France: Customer Motivations, Business Strategies, and Social Tensions

Une étude exploratoire des offres de loisirs « Adults Only » en France, entre motivations des clients, stratégies des entreprises et tensions sociales

Vincent Lagarde ()
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Vincent Lagarde: EHIC - Axe 2 - EHIC - Axe 2 : Espaces et altérités (pouvoir et contre-pouvoir) - EHIC - Espaces Humains et Interactions Culturelles - IR SHS UNILIM - Institut Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société - UNILIM - Université de Limoges

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Abstract: In recent years, "Adults Only" leisure offers have experienced significant growth in France. While the phenomenon has sparked numerous media reactions, it remains underexplored in the scientific literature, particularly in French-language research. This article presents the first investigation into customer motivations and the strategies adopted by businesses offering such services. Using an abductive approach, the study places theory in perspective with a French corpus comprising media-reported discourse, corporate communications, and comments from clients and readers. It highlights commercial strategies based on the exclusion of children, and the ethical and legal issues that arise from them. Customer motivations fall into three overlapping categories: the desire for peace and quiet, the wish for couple intimacy, and the pursuit of a premium experience. These expectations are deemed impossible to meet in the presence of children. For businesses, simply excluding children represents a form of differentiation from conventional competitors, enabling an affordable move upmarket while targeting clients willing to pay more. This strategy contributes to improved profitability. The development of these offers is marked by highly publicised social and legal tensions. Although "Adults Only" services do respond to a genuine demand — particularly from parents and some mothers — they also raise questions about discrimination based on age, class, and gender. The issue of children's place, though central, remains largely unaddressed. Political attempts at regulation appear inadequate. This first study of "Adults Only" offers in France sheds light on the phenomenon. It opens up perspectives on its social reception and its integration into broader societal dynamics that may be described as misopaedic.

Keywords: No kids; Misopaedia.; Discrimination; Adults Only; Leisure; Misopédie; Adults only; Tourisme; Loisirs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-09-19
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05501522v1
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Published in Misopédie. La domination adulte dans les discours contemporains, Le Hêtre Myriadis, 2025, 978-2488321020

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