Indoor golf is quickly becoming one of the most popular social sports of our generation. As demand continues to rise, we’re seeing more and more venues open for business. Backing this trend, the National Golf Foundation reports a 73% surge in golf simulator usage from 2019 to 2023, and that number’s only expected to grow.
Much like the game itself, competition between facilities is becoming increasingly tight. Tiger Woods, COVID, and Instagram may all be to blame, yet regardless of why the market’s become so saturated, venues still need a way to stay competitive. That’s where strategy, and software, can help.
Here are some must-have features for a booking software to maintain a competitive edge:
- Custom booking rules
- Custom pricing rules
- Direct payment integration
- Customizable user tags
- Space attributes
- Automated access control
- Reporting dashboard
- Embedded scheduler
- Map-based booking view
- Integrations
Custom booking rules
This is undoubtedly one of the most powerful tools available in indoor golf booking software. Set customized booking rules to support your venue’s overall strategy, giving you full control of which spaces are available when, to whom, and at what time. Perhaps more importantly, these features can help you manage access, enforce duration constraints, specify booking blocks, or completely deny access at specific times. Let’s take a look at how this feature can be used to power your venue.
Use cases:
- Limit access to allow only premium members to book select spaces at specific times, creating exclusivity, and encouraging others to upgrade to a higher tier membership. See how one of our customers did it.
- Allow only coaches to book specific spaces, supporting your staffing plan
- Limit booking for discounted members to specific spaces, allowing you to keep more desirable spaces open for full-price bookings
Custom pricing rules
Price to support your strategy. Do you charge more for spaces during peak hours, or offer different prices to attract customers with a variety of budgets and needs?
Whatever your model may be, your system should drive its success. Opt for indoor golf booking software equipped with custom pricing rules, so you can control pricing to be a variable or fixed rate, and dependent on user type, time of day, day of week, space, or duration. If you don’t currently have a strategy in place, consider implementing one using the examples below.
Use cases:
- Capitalize on demand by pricing spaces higher when your venue is most active. See how Transition Golf did it.
- Create a sense of exclusivity by pricing premium spaces higher than others. Customers who’d like a more elevated experience will have the option to purchase it.
- Keep income steady, yet flexible, by pricing longer bookings at a fixed rate, and shorter bookings at a variable rate.
Direct payment integration
Keep all your bookings and payments in one place by opting for a solution that’s all-in-one. Look for an indoor golf booking software that is directly integrated with a payment processor so that both you and your customers enjoy the benefits of a seamless transaction process.
What does this look like in practice? A customer completes their booking directly on your platform by entering their credit card or using a mobile wallet (without redirects or separate payment links) for a smooth payment experience.
While the obvious benefit of this process is faster cash flow, there are also several, less-obvious advantages. Administrative tasks, which Forbes notes occupy more than one third of an entrepreneur’s work week, can be fully automated with the right system, freeing up your time to focus on tasks that have been put aside. Manual report preparation, payment follow-up, and other bookkeeping tasks are taken care of, so you can get back to the business you know and love.
Customizable user tags
User tags are a must-have feature for your booking software, giving you the flexibility to segment your customer database in ways that align with your business model. Features like these allow you to categorize customers or team members based on user type, such as skill level, pricing tier, or team role. But, what does this actually look like in practice? To explain, it’s helpful to take a look at some examples.
Use cases:
- Give early-access booking to premium members.
- Control which coaches can book specific spaces at certain times.
- Limit the number of times a user can book.
- Decide which users can view available spaces in your facility.
Space attributes
How many times have customers called your facility and asked you what kind of simulators your venue uses, how many people can play in each bay, and what kind of analytics the system offers? Probably a lot.
If you’re looking for an additional touch that makes your user experience that much better, look for a software for your golf simulator business that allows you to designate space attributes. This functionality allows you to specify features that are unique to each of your spaces, so that users know exactly what’s included in their reservation at the time of their booking.
Automated access control
Generate additional income by making your business available beyond traditional business hours. Choose an indoor golf booking software that’s compatible with smart lock integrations, so your customers can access bays at their convenience, without staff having to be physically present to unlock doors. Plus, as demand for your facility rises, and you grow and scale, you’ll have more availability to offer members.
Reporting dashboard
Keep analytics and reporting top of mind when evaluating software options for your golf simulator business. While these features may seem secondary at first, once you start using the platform, you’ll quickly realize how you can leverage data to make educated decisions on behalf of your business. A feature like this is a must-have in booking software to get insight into how each space is performing, who your top users are in each space, and whether booking is trending upward or downward.
Embedded scheduler
User experience is everything, especially in today’s convenience-driven world. If someone visits your website, and they can’t easily book with you, there’s a good chance that they might abandon the process and look elsewhere. Avoid scenarios like this by using a software for your golf simulator business that allows you to directly embed the booking interface onto your website. Not only will this streamline the booking process, but it will also enhance brand perception, positioning you as a professional, reliable venue.
Map-based booking view
It’s human nature to take the path of least resistance, which is why it’s critical that you choose a software for your golf simulator business that accommodates for this. Interactive venue maps provide a visual floor plan of your whole facility, allowing users to click into individual areas to book directly, check availability, or see details about each space. The simple, intuitive functionality is a customer-favorite—making it an essential addition to your list of must-have features in booking software.
Integrations
The software you choose for your golf simulator business should work with the other tools you use to run your venue. That said, it’s important to choose a platform that supports API integrations, which allow smooth data exchanges between different software to keep operations at your facility tight. Let’s look at it in practice.
Common API integrations we see:
- Automatically control lights and climate systems based on bookings to reduce costs
- Remotely unlock your facilities based on bookings, eliminating the need for onsite staff
- Integrate with Slack to notify your your team members about upcoming bookings
- Sync your booking calendar with your personal calendar, so you see all of your day’s events at once
Now that you’re armed with a list of all the must-have features in a booking software, you’re ready to take the next step to drive your business forward. Why not start right here and give AllBooked a try using the link below?
