When you’ve got a growing pickleball business, pricing your court time effectively can be challenging. How do you make sure your pricing appeals to players, while also being profitable for your club?
How do you keep players coming back, without leaving money on the table?
As your club gets more and more popular, it’s tempting to just increase your prices. More expensive court time equals bigger profits, right?
But the last thing you want to do is turn players away because of the price. You’ll always get more profit from keeping your courts busy and your members happy, than from just increasing prices.
That’s why pricing your pickleball court time for maximum profit requires a strategic approach that takes into account demand, local competition, facility quality and a whole lot more.
1. Implement dynamic pricing based on demand
The first place to start with pickleball pricing is a peak and off-peak model.
If your courts are always busier and more in demand after 4pm on weekdays, then you’ll want to have higher prices then compared with quieter periods during the middle of the day or on the weekend.
2. Tier your courts based on desirability
If your club has different types of courts – some easier to access, some with more modern facilities, some with lighting, for example – then adjust your pricing to reflect that.
Those courts which are more desirable for players should be priced higher than those which would be a second or third choice.
3. Regularly check competitor prices
Make sure you spend time every couple of months looking at other clubs in your local area (and further afield) to see what they’re charging, and bring your prices in line to make sure you’re making similar levels of profit.
If you know of any clubs in other cities or regions that you aspire to be like, check out how they price their courts and see what you can learn.
4. Prevent dead sandwich time
Implement a court reservation system like CourtReserve that automatically optimizes court scheduling to prevent players booking slots that create unwanted gaps in your timetable.
For example, if most players book on the hour, you don’t want someone booking a 5.30 to 6.30pm slot, as that creates a half hour of dead time either side.
5. Adjust pricing to match seasonality
If your area sees an uptick in outdoor racquet sports during the summer, then make sure your pricing reflects this in advance of the new season.
If your town has a tourist season, or you have a regional tournament and you expect an influx of players, plan ahead and price accordingly.
6. Offer discounts for block booking or early scheduling
Reward your regular players with discounts when they book well ahead, or when they block out several weeks in advance for a weekly match with their partner.
They get to enjoy better pricing for being a regular member, and you get the benefit of knowing well in advance that a court is booked with guaranteed revenue.
7. Run special offers and promotions when demand is low
When your bookings are looking a little low, use a club management platform like CourtReserve to engage members and let them know about current availability.
Encourage bookings at those quieter times by offering a discounted price or a special offer (like a free drink).
8. Consider cross-sell and bundle opportunities
Instead of just focusing on selling hours on a court, think about potential bundles or packages you could offer to players based on the facilities available at your club.
Maybe you could promote a “Swing and Swim” option, with time on court and in the pool? Or a combined 30 minute lesson for two, one hour court time and then a meal in the clubhouse after?
The more you can bolt onto a package, the more you can increase your profits.
9. Automatically charge for last minute cancellations
When you can’t fill that slot after a player cancels at the last minute, it costs you money. It’s a wasted hour for your club.
Don’t be afraid to add cancellation conditions to booking and use pickleball club management software like CourtReserve to make sure your profits are protected by automatically charging for those cancellations.
10. Get the right platform to maximize your profits
The secret to optimizing court usage, maximizing profits and elevating your players’ experience is CourtReserve – the all-in-one court reservation and club management platform.
It helps you implement dynamic prices, adjust costs based on seasonality, notify members of special offers and keep players engaged.
See how it works for yourself.
Schedule an intro call today and find out more about CourtReserve.
Looking for more insight and advice on running your Pickleball Club?
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