Last Minute Tee Times and 48 Hour Rates
Do you use either of the terms Last Minute Tee Times and 48 Hour Rates on your website, in your email campaigns, or in any other marketing? If you do, you’re part of the problem rather than the solution. We continually hear golf course operators complain that golfers are not making advance bookings. Simply put, we have trained golfers to wait til the last minute to book. We’ve done that by dropping prices for unsold inventory and advertising “last minute tee times” or publishing a “48 Hour” rate. That’s not breaking news, and it is certainly not rocket science.
In any other industry prices increase the closer we get to consuming the product. As is normal for any good idea, so was this (last minute tee time) idea when it originated across the United States nearly 20 years ago. The golf industry is certainly not out of the woods yet, and continuing this practice of advertising will ensure the pain continues. Yes, you may get some short term relief, but you’ve prolonged pricing recovery.
We recommend that you immediately remove Last Minute Tee Times and 48 Hour Rates from your vocabulary, your website, your email blasts, and your marketing materials. It’s certainly OK to advertise “specials” in effort to sell extra inventory, but remove the incentive to wait. We hear the late booking complaints almost daily from folks in the golf industry, and then see an email from the same complainers adding fuel to the fire. Let me be the first to admit….we’re guilty of using these terms in the past to follow suit and to off a competitive view. But we have removed them from all current marketing, and suggest you do the same.
Somebody, somewhere needs to step up to the plate and take the lead. Is it you? Or, are you part of the problem? For more information about how to exit this profit-robbing round-about contact us HERE. Like us on facebook at httpss://facebook.com/iNetGolf ro follow us on Twitter @iNetGolf