Teeofftimes.co.uk, the UK’s largest tee-time booking service, has announced three important staff appointments, made necessary by the continued rise in golf clubs keen to fill tee-time availability, and to manage the hundreds of UK golfers booking last-minute rounds of golf.
Statistics released by the Windsor-basedbusiness, formed in 2007 by Europe’s largest golf travel company, Golfbreaks.com, show that in May 2011 the number of golfers using the Teeofftimes.co.uk service rose by 87% year-on-year, with 55% of customers booking to play golf on the same, or next, day and 67% playing Monday to Friday.
To cope with this surge in demand, Teeofftimes.co.uk is delighted to announce the appointment of Matt Shaw to the newly created role of Product Manager – Scotland; Duncan Rougvie, Account Manager – North of England; and Robert Corcoran, Account Manager – North Midlands and North Wales.
Matt Shaw has more than 10 years’ experience in the hotel and leisure industry and will work across Teeofftimes.co.uk and parent company, Golfbreaks.com. He joins the business from Marriott Dalmahoy where he served as Director of Sales.
Duncan Rougvie, who has previous golf-industry experience, joins Teeofftimes.co.uk from Yell.com where he was as an Account Manager. Robert Corcoran brings valuable knowledge gained from previously working for a luxury travel company.
The appointments effectively double the size of the Teeofftimes.co.uk account management team and allow the business to further develop relationships with golf clubs, and provide them with enhanced levels of service and support to drive additional revenues.
Richard Barker, Head of Business Development at Teeofftimes.co.uk, commented: “We have seen substantial growth in 2011 bookings which, in turn, brings more customer demand for new clubs. We are planning to grow our portfolio to over 1,000 clubs over the next 12-18 months and the account management team will be tasked with signing up more clubs in new, developing areas to match this increasing demand.”
Underpinning the Teeofftimes.co.uk growth strategy has been the launch of a series of nationwide educational roadshows, giving golf course owners, operators and managers an in-depth understanding of the online marketplace and how it can boost their revenues.
The purpose of the roadshows is to give key industry stakeholders a much clearer understanding of the market, how best to utilise the current website functionality available to them, and how best to position themselves, both in terms of pricing and business management, to maximise this clear opportunity.
Richard Barker added: “Our new recruits are not only integral to the development of our own business strategy, but are required to support existing and new clubs in their drive to deliver the sales of their available tee-time slots. It is vital we ensure the number of golfers we are sending to golf clubs are in line with their expectations and we continue to fit around each club’s own visitor and revenue strategies.”
Teeofftimes.co.uk www.teeofftimes.co.uk