Demand-based pricing and focusing on their most profitable hours drives growth
Phoenix, AZ – Emerald Lake Golf Club, outside of Charlotte North Carolina, has been a local favorite since it opened in 1995. Known for its impeccable greens, the course is playable for all types of golfers. General Manager Dee Pettit is leading the charge to introduce a higher level of hospitality, increase the quality of play and upgrade their digital systems from the restaurant to the clubhouse.
The Emerald Lake team was looking for a technology partner to analyze their green fee operations and grow revenue. Through several referrals, they discovered Sagacity Golf ‘s suite of revenue management tools that were already integrated with their Club Prophet tee sheet.
Focus on Barter
One of the first areas that Emerald Lake evaluated was their channel mix and how 3rd party tee time providers were affecting their bottom line. The goal was to drive more customers to book directly with the course, keep more of the tee time revenue, and add more golfers to their marketing database.
Using data from Benchmark, they found that although the 3rd party providers were delivering players, after factoring in the rounds that were bartered, those golfers were not delivering enough revenue to make it a viable channel.
After their review, Emerald Lake decided to stop working with all 3rd party providers and drive all golfers to book directly on the course’s website. The impact was immediate. Over the first year, their average rate doubled. This new profit was reinvested back into new equipment and course improvements. They also gained a closer connection to their customers and added many new golfers to their marketing efforts.
Identifying the hours that matter most
Emerald Lake next focused their efforts on identifying the hours that mattered most for revenue growth, their Power Hours. Power Hours are the 20% of tee times that drive 50% of Emerald Lake’s total green fee revenue and have the highest demand based on historical course and market data.
Once their Power Hours were identified, Emerald Lake could now optimize their pricing strategy to capture the most revenue. They found that 29% of their overall revenue growth for the year was attributed to the Power Hours price increases.
A better way to dynamically price tee times
Emerald Lake was interested in the next generation of dynamic tee time pricing. Existing systems were using a rules-based approach that only solved part of the pricing equation. If the demand is high, the pricing rules would increase the rate, but those rounds sold quickly, minimizing the revenue growth. Dee wanted to capture more of the upside, so she turned to Sagacity’s Forecaddie platform. It includes TruDemand technology, which makes price changes in real-time depending on demand and anticipated pickup. The course increased its revenue by 33% using the Forecaddie platform with only a 2% increase in rounds.
When tee time demand is trending down during different parts of the day, Forecaddie’s Daily Deals widget takes over and promotes only the rounds where demand is behind pace. This targeted adjustment prices only the tee times that need promotion. Once the course is back on pace, the adjusted times are automatically removed. These Daily Deal widget rounds were played 77% of the time during off-peak hours, strategically filling the whitespace on the tee sheet only where demand was down.
Launching Forecaddie and the Widget was easy, and no technology changes were needed. Forecaddie integrates with the Club Prophet tee sheet, so the course was able to keep its existing tee sheet and booking engine.
Read the Emerald Lake Success Story
About Sagacity Golf:
Sagacity Golf helps daily fee golf courses unlock new revenue in everyday tasks. Its simple performance tools help golf course owners & managers price with confidence, stay on track with bookings, and gain new insight into their course’s performance. Powered by historical data and market demand, Sagacity is a never-before-seen window into your golf course’s earning potential. Learn more at http://www.sagacitygolf.com.
Media Contact:
Matt Arnzen
VP Marketing
Sagacity Golf
marnzen@sagacitygolf.com
