COVID surge slowly subsiding: Did you beat the industry performance in May?
May is a pivotal “starting month” for the industry as the full national season officially gets underway and those of us in the northern climes get extended daylight and more consistent daily temperatures around which to plan our golf. I just finished compiling the final May submissions by our Golf Market Research Center (GMRC) subscribers’ “portfolio” and they had a surprisingly solid month on a weather-adjusted basis. The Golf Datatech numbers came in concurrently and their larger sample managed to pace the weather while our portfolio beat it soundly in their respective geographies (aided by the fact that we’re the only service provider in golf which can equivalize weather impact moving across markets).
In this issue I’ll give you a summary view of what our GMRC participants see monthly for their facility, the GMRC portfolio and, in select markets, their market (defined as one of 210 Designated Marketing Areas (DMAs, think major metros/suburbs):
- Based on the 3 inputs they provide monthly (Rounds, Golf Revenue, Weekend GF Rate), we provide them with 7 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Rounds, Golf Revenue, Golf Revenue per Played Round, Capacity Rounds, % Utilization, Golf Revenue per Available Round (GRevpAR) and % Discount. This scorecard augments the basics they track (Rounds, Revenue, Rate) and provides diagnostics of what’s driving favorable/unfavorable performance
- The May results tell a story of increases in the key metrics of GRevpAR and % Utilization, pricing power and similar discount levels to the successful ’21 season. I’ll share the scorecard table of the numbers as the core topic of this issue. This is a very different picture than the single-dimensional “rounds down 6%” view that everyone else in the industry got for May (that’s the Public figure for comparison because our GMRC universe doesn’t currently track Private)
- I’ll close by sharing a preview of where we’re going to better automate the monthly data input process for participants (i.e. it happens automatically at month’s end if you’re on one of the 4 pilot PoS platforms in our blueprint) which we think will accelerate the expansion of the network. We’re going to get easier, faster and more expansive which will make the portfolio results more representative of the US as well as unlock better market-level comparative reporting for our participants
Since this topic and the storyline is relevant to the vast majority of both facility operators and industry stakeholders and the fact that I’m going for broad solicitation for more operators to join our GMRC effort, I’m providing the full issue to our full distribution list this month. If the facts and my persuasion skills so move you to join the world of Pellucid for this journey, you can do that one of three ways:
- Subscribe to the Pellucid Publications Membership for $495/yr (most comprehensive coverage & detail) – Annual subscribers get access to the following:
- Outside the Ropes monthly digital newsletter
- Annual State of the Industry report portfolio (PowerPoint presentation, PDF commentary report, access to Jim/Stuart video of presentation)
- Geographic Weather Impact Tracking (US, 45 regions, 61 markets) or Cognilogic for Golf Playable Hours/Capacity Rounds for individual facilities
- National Consumer Franchise Health Scorecard (expanded data and tables underlying this issue’s summary figures)
- Subscribe to OtR, 12 monthly issues for $250/yr (or you can opt for monthly payments of $25, annual term) with a money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied at any time during your subscription. Subscribers also get access to the historical archive of past issues (last two years) via the members-only section of the Pellucid website
- Subscribe to Golf Market Research Center (for operators wanting a combination of insights and action tools) – Here’s what’s included in the current “promo package” for either $500 annual or $450 for NGCOA members (or $45/mo or $41/mo respectively):
- Full suite of Performance Tracking reports (Market profile, comparative trends report and 7 KPI scorecard for any month and Year-to-Date for data provided by facility
- Facility-level Cognilogic historical weather impact portal/reports access, Golf Playable Hours & Capacity Rounds by day in current month, by months in current year and by day-of-week in current year with comparisons to Year Ago and the 10-Yr Norm
- Facility-level Foresight 60-day Capacity Rounds forecast, select forecast weather elements (hi/lo temp, daily precip etc.), variance to last year and long-term Normal. Not infallible but better than guessing or trying to collect all that yourself and organize it manually…
- Outside the Ropes monthly e-newsletter (consider this a sample of topics and treatments)
- State of the Industry Presentation, PowerPoint presentation slides of quantitative results and qualitative trends-to-watch as well access to 90-minute PGA Show presentation video
To learn more:
- Click here for 2-page program overview or
- Click here for 15-minute video demo (you do have to register to see video; don’t worry, you’re not signing up for anything)
- Click here to subscribe for a single facility
- Email me for multiple facilities or special situations
On to the topic of the month and answering the question of whether you have current visibility to our 7 KPIs and, if so, how did you stack up in May vs. the GMRC portfolio?
