Since its release, interest in the ESP Internet Reservations system has been steadily growing, and this module is now a very popular addition to the ESP Elite point of sale and management system.
David Ross, ESP’s MD explains, “When we first developed our Internet bookings module three years ago it was somewhat ahead of its time. Consumer confidence in the Internet was not great and our customers, the golf and leisure operators, were understandably reluctant to implement a service that they did not think their members would want to use.
“Three years later, however, there’s a different story to tell. More and more people are using the Internet and confidence is high. Research has shown that over 65% of the UK adult population have used the Internet and over 12.9 million households have Internet access at home. More and more of our customers are enquiring about out Internet bookings module as they now recognise the benefits of such a service.
“I must admit I have been surprised at the number of clubs enquiring about the service purely to take members bookings. We had initially developed the product with the intention of making it easier for overseas golfers to book in advance and had not anticipated the high level of interest for ‘local’ and members-only bookings,” concluded Mr Ross.
The system works in real time, which ensures that clubs maximise the opportunities to book, and its 24-hour availability means that bookings can be made outside of normal opening times. Payment for the booking, if applicable, is taken via a secure card payment service and confirmation of the booking is emailed directly to the individual at the same time as the club’s tee sheet is updated.
The booking facility is set up by a link directly from the clubs’ own website, and they remain in complete control of their booking timetables. Different rates and fees can be offered to encourage bookings to be made on-line. Other incentives such as allowing Internet bookings to be made earlier than would usually be permitted (i.e. 10 days in advance instead of 7 etc) is another good way to promote the service and encourage people to ‘give it a go’.
The experience so far suggests that once golfers realise how easy and effective the service is it will become their first choice for reserving tee times even during normal club opening times.
Set up of the service is easy and all that is required is a broadband connection to the club. Visit www.book-a-tee.com for a demonstration of the system, or call Nicci or Lee on 020 8251 5100
ESP www.e-s-p.com
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