Western Athletic Club
Community-focused software to support a community-focused athletic club
6 pickleball courts
converted and managed
52 paper court sheets
eliminated overnight
4 years of savings
with cost-effective software
Angela Wilson is no stranger to the tennis community in Cincinnati, OH. With a background in collegiate and competitive tennis, Angela has devoted her skills to training and supporting players from all generations - running classes, teaching programs and encouraging as many people as possible to take up the sport.
When the opportunity to buy Western Athletic Club came up in 2004, Angela and her family jumped at it.
As general manager, Angela has overseen huge changes in expanding their community offer, converting two of the nine tennis courts into six dedicated Pickleball clubs, building a successful group fitness program and growing the club’s membership to new highs.
And it all started with a move away from paper court sheets.
The Challange
Finding a court reservation tool that supported both the club’s needs and their values
“Back in 2018, we were still using paper court sheets and color-coded pens. We’d bring a master sheet out to reception at the start of the week, and members would have to call in to reserve their place.”
When Angela was in a class one day, she realized they had a problem. Their existing court reservation process of paper court sheets and color-coded pens wasn’t sustainable if they wanted to expand.
Western Athletic Club already had some software in place, but it didn’t have reservation features. The staff couldn’t see court details or court bookings on screen.
Tennis Source was recommended by a consultant, Angela and her team tried it, and it seemed to do the job they needed.
But it couldn’t quite do everything, and when Tennis Source was bought out by Daxko, the problems and challenges of dealing with the software worsened. And the price increased.
“I knew we needed to do something different,” says Angela. “We’re a family-owned and operated business, and we wanted to partner with organizations and providers that share those same values and focus. We wanted to work with people who have the same small business philosophy and community focus as us.”
The Solution
Court reservation software built to serve the tennis and pickleball community
After speaking with a fellow club owner in a similar situation, Angela was pointed to CourtReserve.
“I called CourtReserve, I spoke with them, and I really liked what they had to say. They shared our outlook, they understood our challenges and most importantly, they were willing to work with us to get the results we wanted.”
With the club closed in early 2020 as a result of COVID-19 measures, Angela used the time to switch to CourtReserve.
The team had online training and the transition was complete by June 1st.
“We had lots of online training, and that was a big help for us. Any kind of software can be challenging for the older generations we have on staff, but CourtReserve helped us keep things simple.”
That’s how Western Athletic started, with simple court reservation software to help streamline the management of bookings, lessons and events.
As they got more and more comfortable, they added more features, like direct online reservations for members, push notifications and a members app.
“We wanted members to be able to check in on their phones, we asked CourtReserve and we got it. ”
The Results
A flexible system that works for the club, for the staff and for the members
“Our industry is not a cookie cutter business, and at our club, we needed a solution that could work for our tennis courts, for pickleball, for our fitness centre and even our outdoor pool. CourtReserve gives us all the flexibility we need.”
With CourtReserve in place for almost four years now, Angela says the difference is huge.
“The phone’s not ringing off the hook, members can sign up for classes or courts whenever they want, and there’s more time for the team to focus on customer experience.”
For Angela and her team, CourtReserve means making admin changes is really easy. They can move courts around, reschedule where required and work remotely. Angela doesn’t have to be on-site to see what’s going on and make changes, and she can use the software for all areas of her business.
It gives her the tools to support the community, and the freedom to engage with members and reach more players in her area.
As Angela says, “We’ve got to be up to date if we want to grow, and CourtReserve lets us do that.”
But what’s perhaps most important to Angela and her team is the small business and community focus of CourtReserve.
“We’re still learning, and still finding new tools and features to use, and CourtReserve are always there to help. They’re always willing to listen and always willing to improve if we need the software to do something it currently doesn’t.”
Would Angela recommend CourtReserve? She already does.
When pickleball clubs come to her and ask for advice, she sends them straight to CourtReserve.
“They offer pretty much everything you’d need, and the price is good. For smaller to mid-sized clubs, CourtReserve fills all of our needs.”
Put simply: “They do an excellent job.”
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