Tee Time Reseller Explained
Tee time resellers have revolutionized how golfers find and book their games, making it easier to secure a spot on the green. Here's a quick overview:
- Tee Time Resellers: Companies like GolfNow and TeeOff aggregate available tee times from various golf courses, allowing golfers to book spots online easily.
- How They Work: Resellers partner with golf courses to list tee times, often during off-peak hours, and handle the booking process, taking a commission for their services.
- Pros and Cons: For golfers, resellers offer convenience and the possibility of discounts. For golf courses, while they help fill unused tee times, they also take a portion of the revenue.
- Best Practices: Golf courses should prioritize direct bookings and maintain control over their inventory and pricing.
- The Future: The industry is moving towards more personalized and on-demand golf experiences, leveraging technology to meet golfers' evolving needs.
Understanding tee time resellers can help both golfers and golf courses make informed decisions, balancing convenience with direct engagement and profitability.
The Evolution of Tee Time Reselling
Tee time resellers started to pop up in the early 2000s when it became easier to book spots online and manage golf course schedules digitally. Companies like GolfNow were among the first and are still big names in the game.
Some key moments:
- Early 2000s: Digital tools made it easier to book spots online
- 2008: GolfNow started, gathering spots from different courses
- 2010s: People using smartphones and apps wanted more mobile booking options
- Today: Tee time resellers are reaching more people
The demand for easy online booking options helped tee time resellers grow quickly in recent years.
Tee Time Resellers' Role in the Golf Industry
By bringing together spots to play from many golf courses, tee time resellers make it easy for golfers to find and book games. But they also change how prices are set and how golfers and golf courses interact. Their influence is getting bigger.
Key roles and impacts:
- Make it easy for golfers to find and book spots to play
- Help golf courses fill spots that might go unused
- Their fees can take away from what golf courses earn
- Can make the direct connection between golfers and golf courses weaker
Tee time resellers now handle a big chunk of all bookings for spots to play, and their influence is expected to grow as more people book online. It's important to know how they work and how they partner with golf courses.
How Do Tee Time Resellers Work?
Tee time resellers are like middlemen between golfers who want to play and golf courses that have open slots. They make deals with golf courses to list certain times for golfers to book online. They handle the booking process and get a cut from the golf courses for their work.
Securing Tee Time Inventory
Resellers make deals with golf courses to get a set number of tee times to sell. These times are often when the course isn't busy. They might have a fixed number of slots each day or adjust based on how many people want to play.
The way they share tee times can be:
- Two-way - This means the reseller's website and the golf course's schedule update each other in real time.
- Extranet - The golf course has to manually tell the reseller about available times, without automatic updates.
Sometimes, resellers get special times to sell at a discount in return for helping the course in other ways.
Connecting Golfers to Tee Times
Resellers help golfers find and book tee times at different courses through one website. They offer:
- Information and photos of courses
- A way to see when you can play and book online
- Tools to sort by date, time, location, and price
- A mobile app
- Deals and alerts for last-minute bookings
Some also help golf courses show off their tee times to a lot of golfers, helping with their marketing.
Facilitating Transactions and Play
Resellers take care of the payment for the golf course. They make sure the booking shows up right away in the course's schedule.
They can also handle:
- Confirming your booking
- Arranging for golf carts
- Booking caddies
- Offering extra services like equipment rentals
This makes everything smoother and lets golfers add more to their experience.
Compensating Golf Courses
Resellers usually keep a part of the booking fee, about 10-30%, instead of charging the golf course a regular fee. This way, they're motivated to sell more tee times.
Some use special deals for busy times as another way to get paid. They sell these times at a discount and keep the difference.
The Pros and Cons of Tee Time Resellers
Let's look at the good and not-so-good sides of using tee time resellers, from both the golfer's and golf course's point of view.
| Good Points | Not-so-Good Points |
| ------------- |:-------------:| | Easy to book many courses at once | Might reduce direct bookings and loyalty | | Gets your course seen by more golfers | Hard to control prices and keep your brand consistent |
| Helps fill up empty tee times | Can make you too dependent on them | | Helps promote your course | You lose some money through fees |
For golfers:
- You can find and book tee times at lots of courses easily without having to check each one.
- You might find some good deals for last-minute tee times.
- The apps and online tools make booking simple.
- You can also arrange for extra stuff like renting gear or getting lessons when you book.
For golf courses:
- You make some money from tee times that might have stayed empty.
- Your course gets seen by golfers who might not have found you otherwise.
- You get some help with marketing, like emails and making sure people can find you online.
But, there are downsides too:
For golf courses:
- You have to give up a part of each booking as a fee.
- Giving away tee times at a discount means you're making less money.
- You might not get to know your customers as well if they always book through someone else.
- If you're not careful, your prices and how your brand looks can get messy.
For golfers:
- You might not get as much personal advice or service as booking directly.
- Prices and available times might change if they're not updated in real-time.
- The focus is more on quick and easy booking rather than rewards for being loyal or knowing a lot about the course.
Overall, using tee time resellers means you're trading some control for convenience. Golf courses need to think about what's best for their business. And golfers should know what they're giving up for the ease of booking.
Best Practices for Managing Tee Time Resellers
When golf courses work with tee time resellers, there are smart ways to make the most out of this relationship. Here's a simple guide:
Focus on Direct Bookings First
- Try to fill up your tee times by promoting your own website and taking phone bookings first.
- Only give tee times to resellers after you've taken care of your direct bookings.
Maintain Rate & Brand Parity
- Use smart scheduling tools to keep your prices consistent wherever they're listed.
- Make sure any special deals from resellers are clearly marked as limited-time offers.
Define Allotment Terms to Control Inventory
- Be clear about how many tee times, and when, you're giving to resellers.
- Change these numbers as needed, based on how busy you are and what your goals are.
Ongoing Relationship Management
- Keep in touch with your reseller contacts. Let them know if anything changes with your course, prices, or available times.
- Work together on marketing and make sure what they're offering matches up with your overall plan.
By carefully choosing how many tee times to give to resellers, keeping control of your prices, and staying in close contact, golf courses can get the word out about their tee times to a lot of people without losing out. Putting your own bookings first and adjusting based on how things are going can help you make extra money without messing up your prices or how people see your brand. With the right tools and a good plan for working together, you can make booking easy for golfers while keeping control over your customer experience.
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Key Factors In Selecting a Reseller
When picking a tee time reseller, golf courses and golfers should think about a few important things to make sure they're making the right choice.
For Golf Courses:
- Integrations: Choose resellers that can easily work with the systems you already have, like your scheduling software and point of sale (POS). This means less manual work and up-to-date information.
- Inventory Control: You should be able to change how many tee times you give to resellers based on how busy you are. Keep control over how many slots you're offering.
- Marketing Reach: Pick resellers that can help get your course in front of more people. More bookings mean more money for you.
- Support: It's important to have someone you can call when you need help and to get fast answers to your questions.
For Golfers:
- Breadth of Inventory: A good reseller has lots of tee times at different courses, giving you more choices.
- Booking Experience: Their website and app should be easy to use, with clear pictures and ways to sort through options.
- Reliability: They should handle your money safely and send you booking confirmations right away.
- Pricing Clarity: Deals with big discounts should be clearly marked as short-term offers so you know when prices are different from usual.
Looking at these points can help golf courses and golfers find a tee time reseller that fits what they need. Reading reviews and talking to others who have used the reseller can also give you a good idea of what to expect.
The Future of Tee Time Reselling
Enabling On-Demand Golf Experiences
Resellers are making it easier for golfers to book tee times whenever they want, thanks to new pricing models that change based on demand. This means golfers can find and book spots to play even at the last minute.
Some updates include:
- Prices that change based on the time of day, weather, and how many people want to play
- Quick booking for spots that suddenly become available
- Working with services like Uber for fast rides to the golf course
By using modern technology, resellers can offer more flexible and convenient ways to play golf.
Personalization Driving Loyalty
To stand out, resellers are using data to offer deals and course suggestions that are just right for each golfer. This helps build a closer connection between golfers and the booking platforms.
New ways to do this include:
- Deals and offers based on what you've booked before
- Suggestions for courses that fit how you play, your budget, and where you like to go
- Using smart devices to track how you play and offer tips to get better
Offering a more personalized experience helps resellers keep golfers coming back.
Reserving the Entire Golf Experience
Now, resellers are offering more than just tee times. They're putting together packages that include everything from renting clubs to eating at the course. This makes planning a day of golf easier.
For example:
- Packages that include your game, club rentals, and vouchers for food
- Extra services like getting a caddy, a cart, or even a massage after your round
- Discounts for playing again or spending in the pro shop
By offering everything in one place, resellers make it simpler and more convenient for golfers to enjoy their day.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
To wrap it up, tee time resellers have become a big deal in the golf world. They make it easier for golfers to find and book games, and they help golf courses get a little extra money. But, there are some downsides, like making it harder for courses to keep prices steady and stay close to their customers.
Key takeaways:
- Tee time resellers connect golfers with courses online, helping to fill up slots that might otherwise be empty.
- They're good for getting courses in front of more people and making some money from spots that wouldn't get used. But, they take a part of the booking fee and can mess with the course's direct relationship with golfers.
- Courses should try to book as much as they can on their own first, keep an eye on how many times they give to resellers, and make sure prices stay the same everywhere.
- When picking a reseller, courses need to think about how well they work with their systems, how much control they keep, how many people they can reach, and the kind of support they get. Golfers should look for a wide choice of times, an easy booking process, safe payment, and clear prices.
- Looking ahead, we might see more services that let you book golf anytime, offer deals just for you, and even plan your whole golf day.
In the end, if courses manage their relationships with resellers smartly, they can meet what golfers want and still make some extra cash. It's all about finding the right balance to keep the sport growing.
Related Questions
What does tee time mean?
A tee time is when you're scheduled to start your golf game at a course. You usually need to book this time ahead of your visit, which can be done online, in person, or over the phone. Getting the tee time you want, especially during busy hours or at popular courses, means planning ahead.
How can I save money on tee times?
To spend less on tee times, try these tips:
- Play during less busy times, like weekdays or later in the day, to get cheaper rates.
- Use golf apps and websites that sell tee times to find deals and last-minute openings.
- Look for discounts for booking multiple games or getting a season pass at your regular course.
- Join email lists and loyalty programs for special discounts and early booking opportunities.
- Play during the shoulder seasons in spring and fall when prices are usually lower.
Who owns Tee Times USA?
Tee Times USA was started by Thomas and Roseanne Stocker in 1995 in Florida. They wanted to make it easier for people to book golf games at top courses. The company is still run by their family and has grown to over 100 employees, offering services in many golf spots across the U.S.
How do golf tournaments decide tee times?
In professional golf tournaments, players' tee times for the next day depend on when they finished their round the day before. The idea is to keep players with similar scores together and make sure no one gets a big advantage from the weather or course conditions by playing much earlier or later than others.