We want you to be ready for #golfpostcorona
For weeks now, we have all been cooked up in our houses and rightfully so, golf has taken a back seat while we're all trying to get a grip on the COVID19 pandemic. The immense sacrifices by the health care and other essential workers is not going unnoticed. Their hard work and the general public's diligence (in most cases) have now made a society restart in the near future possible and we have to thank them for it.
This restart will also include golf, the game we all love and the industry that brings employment, prosperity and joy to so many people. This restart will however come with conditions, the social element of golf will remain suppressed for some time with distancing measures to continue for the foreseeable future. The challenges that this will bring to our industry will require solutions, many of them technological, to allow us all to go back and play golf on courses worldwide.
The relationship between the golfer and the golf course and that particular tee time will change and in our opinion for the better. The 'rocking up' and throwing a bank note on the counter days are over. To play the game, golfers will have to book their tee time online and pay in advance. This allows golf courses to manage these tee times efficiently but will also bring the industry into the 21st century like hotels, flights, rental cars and others have done before them and will give golfers choice and ease of access.
It is also clear that golf courses will be looking to get in front of as many customers as possible in an efficient and cost effective way. Golf courses will also have to rethink their market reach as the way and frequency we travel will change as well.
At Zest.Golf we are at the heart of the technological change that will power that relationship between golf course and golfer. Our tee time channel manager solution allows golf courses to manage the various distribution channels all in one place. Courses will regain control of their availability and price and can get in front of both a local and international audience all via one platform.
Online connectivity for tee times has always been a difficult nut to crack in Europe given the number of software providers in the various markets. I know, I've been trying for over 15 years. Some systems are commercial, some are federation driven ... all with vastly different technology specs. This made the options for the golf travel industry very limited. Interfacing with many different software providers including in countries where you don't have as many rounds to book was never a viable option. Zest.golf takes away that issue as we are able to interface with all these different software systems and provide access to all sales channels. Zest.golf then becomes a cost effective solution for the courses and different channels who now have access to many more markets all from one platform.
The COVID19 crisis and the sudden closure of the golf markets at the start of the season made it very clear that operators/channels with live access to their booked tee times were able to manage changes quicker and more efficiently on behalf of their customers. Operators that still booked the conventional way, were struggling to get through to a golf course that was swamped by emails and phone calls.
Golf sales channels like Conventional Tour Operators, Online Travel Agents, media sites, DMC's, golf playing apps, local hotels, neighbouring courses and anybody that has a golf audience will now be able to sell tee times across various destinations. The connection between golf course and channel works via a simple (either way) invitation process. Golf courses approve a channel connection by allocating booking conditions and a rate structure. The relationship between course and channel is then managed online and bookings get posted directly and in real time into their own software system.
During the CV19 lockdown, our staff has worked tirelessly (from home) and have continued to improve the platform that will redefine the relationship between course and partner sales channels. We already have courses in various destinations connected and showing live tee times. We have close to 40 channels also working hard on solutions to be able to book live tee times for their customers. We are supported by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators who want to provide their members with the best solutions going forward.
Sign up is free of charge and can be done via this link. This allows us to set you up in our system. You will then have visibility on the platform and will be able to connect seamlessly to courses and channels and get ready to receive bookings.
We are ready for #golfpostcorona ... we want you to be ready as well.
