One of Stuart Lindsay’s observations in the ’23 State of the Industry (SoI) was, “Our recent Golf Revenue growth has been primarily driven by volume increases, the end of that relatively easier money gain is likely upon us in ’24.” He went on to explain that as rounds likely plateau somewhere around our current mark short-term, revenue gains will have to come from rate card pricing, rate structures and better managing the tee sheet (what he calls in-fill or eliminating costly gaps in high rate windows).
In this issue I’m going to build on Stuart’s thinking regarding smarter rate strategies and moves and what our crystal ball says about golf pricing and inflation for the upcoming season:
- How much could/should we push up rate cards in ’24?
- Is dynamic pricing “the” or “part of” the solution?
- Is it time to make major modifications to your “special interest groups” pricing? (season pass, seniors, juniors?)
- How much money are no shows costing you; is advance pay/refund an answer?
As I’ve said previously, pricing is always a tug-of-war between retailers and consumers and the balance of power shifts so your strategies and tactics have to align with that. We’re currently in a high demand, inflationary environment with lots of precedent in differentiated pricing so we need to take (reasonable) advantage of it while it lasts. Having lived through 15+ years in this industry where we had no pricing power, lagging demand and rampant discounting, we know what the other side of this coin looks like and it will be back at some point in the future; of that we can be assured. Subscribers, keep scrolling down to get the supporting facts and insights while everyone else can get in on the conversation one of three ways:
- Subscribe to the comprehensive Pellucid Publications Membership for $495/yr or $45/mo (annual term), subscribers get access to the following:
- Outside the Ropes monthly digital newsletter
- Annual State of the Industry report portfolio (75-slide PowerPoint presentation plus online access to Jim/Stuart Orlando presentation video)
- 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 $25/mo (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
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