ORLANDO, Fla. (Nov. 17, 2010) – Mike Loustalot, vice president of sales for Golf Channel Solutions, will discuss ways golf courses can increase revenues through online tee time reservation services and yield management strategies at the 2010 Golf Business Conference in Dublin. The Nov. 19 conference, billed as “The Road to Recovery,” is designed to help courses find ways to overcome the effects of Ireland’s severe economic slowdown on the golf industry.
“The Internet is not going away, and Irish owners and operators should embrace it as a tool that can help fill their tee sheets and increase the revenue opportunities that every tee time offers,” said Loustalot, who co-founded Golf Channel’s GolfNow.com online tee time service in 2002 and has been involved in marketing tee times online since 1998.
Citing consumers’ use of online reservation portals in the travel, dining and entertainment industries, Loustalot said golfers’ adoption of online tee time services managed by third-party marketers is “inevitable.”
“Consumers expect to be able to purchase whatever they want whenever they want to buy,” Loustalot said. “The challenge for today’s golf course operators is to make their product easily accessible to consumers who have multiple leisure time options and are looking for value in every purchase.”
Loustalot is among a number of respected golf and financial experts, including Dermot Desmond, chairman of IIU, an international private investment firm; Charles P. (Buddy) Darby, CEO of Kiawah Development Partners; and Marty Carr, chief executive of the Carr Group, one of Europe’s leading golf travel operators; who are scheduled to speak at the conference.
A service of Golf Channel, GolfNow.com uses its broad marketing and distribution resources to help golfers search for available tee times and make reservations that fit their schedules and budgets. In 2009, golfers booked 3.8 million rounds through the GolfNow.com site, generating more than $121 million in online revenues for partner courses. The service is now available at more than 2,400 courses in more than 50 U.S. markets.
About GolfNow.com
GolfNow.com is the Internet’s largest and most comprehensive online tee time booking service. Since its launch in 2001, GolfNow.com has expanded to more than 50 U.S. markets and now provides tee time access to more than 2,200 courses for nearly 1 million registered users. The site’s demand-based Dynamic Pricing Engine™ puts operators in complete control of their tee sheets and pricing. GolfNow.com is powered by Golf Channel, which is seen in 82.1 million homes and by 15 million monthly viewers; as well as by GolfChannel.com, the Internet’s No. 1 golf destination. The service is part of GolfChannel.com’s online platform of Internet sites designed to help the recreational player enjoy every aspect of the game.
Contact:
Dan Higgins
407-355-4018
dhiggins@golfchannel.com
