Case study
- Shift Arcade Miami
- Sim racing venue
- Miami, FL
- September 14, 2025 – September 25, 2026
Shift Arcade Miami: 1,300 bookings in 12 months and a 46% lower cost per booking
Disclosure: Shift Arcade Miami is owned by the same group as Karbon Agency.
Shift Arcade Miami logged 1,300 bookings from Sep 14, 2025 to Sep 12, 2026 on $65,021 of Meta ads. Moving from a heavy daily budget (about $282 a day) to a lean one (about $83 a day) cut the cost per booking 46%, from $60.21 to $32.51. In the four full months run at roughly $100 a day in 2026 (April, May, July and August), the venue brought in $2.88 of revenue for every $1 of Meta spend.
- −46%
cost per booking, $60.21 → $32.51 [1]
- ~3x
venue revenue per $1 of Meta spend at ~$100/day (Apr–Aug 2026) [1]
- 1,300
bookings in 12 months (Sep 2025 – Sep 2026) [1]
The situation
Shift Arcade Miami is a sim racing venue where groups book racing sessions online. The goal for its ads was plain: fill more sessions for less money, and prove it against real bookings rather than ad-platform estimates.
Every paid reservation lands in the venue's booking system, so we matched Meta spend to bookings and venue revenue day by day for a full year.
What we ran
- Meta (Facebook and Instagram)
- Karbon first-party site tracking
- Meta only (Facebook and Instagram), sending people to the Miami site and straight on to online booking.
- Prospecting at $70 a day: a 1% lookalike of existing customers within 10 miles of the venue.
- Retargeting at $30 a day with an early-week offer, to fill the quieter Monday and Tuesday sessions.
- Creative built from the venue's own organic posts. One short action video carries most of the budget.
- Budget discipline: after running at about $282 a day through early February 2026, we ran a lean budget of about $83 a day from Mar 20, 2026 and tracked what each booking cost.
Results
The lean budget bought bookings 46% more cheaply: $32.51 each against $60.21 on the heavy budget. Group size held up too, at 2.82 seats per booking against 2.66.
At roughly $100 a day, the venue took in between $2.70 and $3.08 of revenue for every $1 of Meta spend in each of the four months, and $2.88 across all four.
The ads keep earning attention cheaply. Over the latest 28 days they held a 2.49% click-through rate at $0.80 per link click.
Cost per booking: heavy budget vs lean budget [source 1]
Hover or tap a bar to see every number for that period.
Cost per booking
46% lower$50.02All 12 months
Venue revenue per $1 of Meta spend
$2.06All 12 months
Spend / day
$179All 12 months
Seats per booking
2.71All 12 months
Bookings
1,300All 12 months
Meta spend
$65,021All 12 months
Show these numbers as a table
| Period | Meta spend | Spend / day | Bookings | Cost per booking | Seats per booking | Venue revenue per $1 of Meta spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy budgetSeptember 14, 2025 – February 3, 2026 | $40,342 | $282 | 670 | $60.21 | 2.66 | $1.72 |
| Lean budgetMarch 20, 2026 – September 12, 2026 | $14,725 | $83 | 453 | $32.51 | 2.82 | $3.22 |
| All 12 monthsSeptember 14, 2025 – September 12, 2026 | $65,021 | $179 | 1,300 | $50.02 | 2.71 | $2.06 |
Venue revenue per $1 of Meta spend, months run at ~$100 a day [source 1]
Hover or tap a bar to see every number for that period.
Meta spend
$11,738All four months
Spend / day
$95All four months
Bookings
316All four months
Show these numbers as a table
| Period | Meta spend | Spend / day | Bookings | Venue revenue per $1 of Meta spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026April 1, 2026 – April 30, 2026 | $3,171 | $106 | 97 | $3.08 |
| May 2026May 1, 2026 – May 31, 2026 | $3,018 | $97 | 74 | $2.70 |
| July 2026July 1, 2026 – July 31, 2026 | $2,827 | $91 | 64 | $2.72 |
| August 2026August 1, 2026 – August 31, 2026 | $2,721 | $88 | 81 | $3.02 |
| All four monthsApril 1, 2026 – August 31, 2026 | $11,738 | $95 | 316 | $2.88 |
Ad delivery, latest 28 days [source 2]
Click-through rate
2.49%
Cost per link click
$0.80
CPM
$12.02
Impressions
209,012
Meta spend
$2,511.96
Show these numbers as a table
| Period | Meta spend | Impressions | Click-through rate | Cost per link click | CPM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latest 28 daysAugust 29, 2026 – September 25, 2026 | $2,511.96 | 209,012 | 2.49% | $0.80 | $12.02 |
The numbers, month by month
Every full calendar month in each budget phase, from the venue's booking system. Switch between what was spent against what the venue earned, and what each booking cost.
Monthly Meta spend ran $7,485 to $9,734 on the heavy budget and $1,053 to $3,171 on the lean budget, while venue revenue per $1 of Meta spend rose from $1.29–$2.09 to $2.70–$5.46.
- Heavy budget (~$282/day)
- Lean budget (~$83/day)
Months shown are the full calendar months inside each budget phase (heavy: Sep 14, 2025 – Feb 3, 2026; lean: Mar 20 – Sep 12, 2026); the phase averages come from the table above. Revenue is shown only as a ratio to spend, and it is blended: all Miami bookings and revenue against all Meta spend, not ad-attributed. [source 1]
Show these numbers as a table
| Period | Budget | Meta spend per month | Venue revenue per $1 of Meta spend |
|---|---|---|---|
| OctOctober 1, 2025 – October 31, 2025 | Heavy budget (~$282/day) | $9,094 | $1.48 per $1 |
| NovNovember 1, 2025 – November 30, 2025 | Heavy budget (~$282/day) | $9,308 | $1.29 per $1 |
| DecDecember 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025 | Heavy budget (~$282/day) | $7,485 | $2.02 per $1 |
| JanJanuary 1, 2026 – January 31, 2026 | Heavy budget (~$282/day) | $9,734 | $2.09 per $1 |
| AprApril 1, 2026 – April 30, 2026 | Lean budget (~$83/day) | $3,171 | $3.08 per $1 |
| MayMay 1, 2026 – May 31, 2026 | Lean budget (~$83/day) | $3,018 | $2.70 per $1 |
| JunJune 1, 2026 – June 30, 2026 | Lean budget (~$83/day) | $1,053 | $5.46 per $1 |
| JulJuly 1, 2026 – July 31, 2026 | Lean budget (~$83/day) | $2,827 | $2.72 per $1 |
| AugAugust 1, 2026 – August 31, 2026 | Lean budget (~$83/day) | $2,721 | $3.02 per $1 |
| Period | Budget | Cost per booking, by month |
|---|---|---|
| OctOctober 1, 2025 – October 31, 2025 | Heavy budget (~$282/day) | $66.86 |
| NovNovember 1, 2025 – November 30, 2025 | Heavy budget (~$282/day) | $77.57 |
| DecDecember 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025 | Heavy budget (~$282/day) | $52.71 |
| JanJanuary 1, 2026 – January 31, 2026 | Heavy budget (~$282/day) | $50.44 |
| AprApril 1, 2026 – April 30, 2026 | Lean budget (~$83/day) | $32.69 |
| MayMay 1, 2026 – May 31, 2026 | Lean budget (~$83/day) | $40.79 |
| JunJune 1, 2026 – June 30, 2026 | Lean budget (~$83/day) | $18.15 |
| JulJuly 1, 2026 – July 31, 2026 | Lean budget (~$83/day) | $44.17 |
| AugAugust 1, 2026 – August 31, 2026 | Lean budget (~$83/day) | $33.59 |
1,300 bookings, month by month
Bookings added up month by month from Sep 14, 2025: 654 by the end of January, 1,006 by the end of April and 1,300 by Sep 12, 2026. Drag the scrubber to read any month.
[source 1]
Show these numbers as a table
| Period | Bookings, running total |
|---|---|
| Sep ’25September 14, 2025 – September 30, 2025 | 63 |
| OctOctober 1, 2025 – October 31, 2025 | 199 |
| NovNovember 1, 2025 – November 30, 2025 | 319 |
| DecDecember 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025 | 461 |
| JanJanuary 1, 2026 – January 31, 2026 | 654 |
| FebFebruary 1, 2026 – February 28, 2026 | 768 |
| MarMarch 1, 2026 – March 31, 2026 | 909 |
| AprApril 1, 2026 – April 30, 2026 | 1,006 |
| MayMay 1, 2026 – May 31, 2026 | 1,080 |
| JunJune 1, 2026 – June 30, 2026 | 1,138 |
| JulJuly 1, 2026 – July 31, 2026 | 1,202 |
| AugAugust 1, 2026 – August 31, 2026 | 1,283 |
| Sep ’26September 1, 2026 – September 12, 2026 | 1,300 |
Daily budget against cost per booking
Each dot is one full month. The four heavy-budget months ran $241–$314 a day at $50.44–$77.57 per booking; the five lean months ran $35–$106 a day at $18.15–$44.17 per booking.
- Heavy budget (~$282/day)
- Lean budget (~$83/day)
[source 1]
Show these numbers as a table
| Period | Meta spend per day | Cost per booking |
|---|---|---|
| OctOctober 1, 2025 – October 31, 2025 | $293 | $66.86 |
| NovNovember 1, 2025 – November 30, 2025 | $310 | $77.57 |
| DecDecember 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025 | $241 | $52.71 |
| JanJanuary 1, 2026 – January 31, 2026 | $314 | $50.44 |
| AprApril 1, 2026 – April 30, 2026 | $106 | $32.69 |
| MayMay 1, 2026 – May 31, 2026 | $97 | $40.79 |
| JunJune 1, 2026 – June 30, 2026 | $35 | $18.15 |
| JulJuly 1, 2026 – July 31, 2026 | $91 | $44.17 |
| AugAugust 1, 2026 – August 31, 2026 | $88 | $33.59 |
How it unfolded
Sep 14, 2025 – Feb 3, 2026
Heavy budget, about $282 a day
670 bookings at $60.21 each, 2.66 seats per booking.
From Mar 20, 2026
Lean budget, about $83 a day
Prospecting to a 1% lookalike of existing customers plus early-week retargeting, on the venue's own organic creative.
Mar 20 – Sep 12, 2026Result
Cost per booking down 46%
453 bookings at $32.51 each, with group size up to 2.82 seats.
Apr – Aug 2026Result
About $3 back for every $1
$2.88 of venue revenue per $1 of Meta spend across the four months run at roughly $100 a day.
Sep 12, 2026Result
1,300 bookings in 12 months
$65,021 of Meta spend, a blended $50.02 per booking.
Aug 29 – Sep 25, 2026Result
Still earning attention cheaply
2.49% click-through rate at $0.80 per link click over the latest 28 days.
What we learned
- Leaner daily budgets bought bookings more cheaply. Going from about $282 a day to about $83 a day cut the cost per booking by 46%.
- Lower budgets buy each booking more cheaply; higher budgets buy more of them. We set the daily budget to the number of sessions a venue needs to fill, and scale up only while cost per booking holds.
- Measure ads against the venue's own booking records. Every figure on this page comes from real reservations, not an ad platform's estimate.
Your turn
Want results like this?
The team that ran this campaign will look at your numbers and tell you what we would do next.
Book a free strategy callGet a free ad plan for your business
Tell us what you want more of. We reply within one business day with a budget, the channels to use and a realistic cost per lead. Free, no contract talk.
- Cost per booking and venue revenue per $1 of Meta spend divide all Meta spend by all Miami bookings and revenue in the booking system. They include repeat and walk-in customers, so they are blended figures, not ad-attributed ROAS.
- A booking is one paid reservation (one customer checkout), averaging 2.71 seats.
- [1] Meta Ads spend matched to the venue's booking system: Daily Meta Ads delivery joined to every paid Miami reservation and its revenue, Sep 14, 2025 – Sep 12, 2026.
- [2] Karbon's Meta Ads data: Karbon's daily copy of the ad account's delivery.
Published by Karbon Agency. Figures pulled September 27, 2026.