A new golf technology company, with offices in Scotland and the Netherlands, has set its sights on revolutionising the industry by transforming the global online tee-time marketplace.
Zest.Golf Technologies is this autumn launching an exciting channel manager that provides a 100% open connection between golf courses, tee-sheet providers and distribution partner platforms.
The connection is independent and without conflict, meaning courses can maximise their online revenue without losing control; they simply choose which distribution channels can sell their tee-times and set the price and availability with each separately.
The company believe their customer focused technology has the potential to revolutionise the golf industry – in much the same way channel managers have done for the airline and accommodation sectors – and literally connect a golf course’s tee-sheet to the world.
There are no upfront costs or complex contracts, just a fixed €1 fee per player booked when the connection is used to make the booking.
“The Zest.Golf Channel Manager can transform the industry creating a more competitive and balanced online tee-time marketplace by providing an open solution that works for all golf courses,” said Oliver Dury, Commercial Director at Zest.Golf. “We are very excited to be launching our Zest.Golf products in the coming months.”
Zest.Golf was launched after industry research demonstrated a frustration among golf courses at the lack of opportunity to sell tee-times. The technology can benefit all courses, as it allows each to work with partners that can effectively target the customers they value most.
“The technology is of value to courses that wish to attract any number of visitor golfers, as they have complete control of the tee-sheet access provided to their distribution partners,” continued Dury. “Courses can sell times via any business that has a golfer audience; including golf websites, federations, media companies, local accommodation providers, tour operators and even airlines.”
Distribution partners benefit by having a real-time connection to golf course tee sheets, meaning they can develop revenue opportunities through direct consumer booking options on their digital platforms and can also integrate the platform to add value to existing products or services, strengthening their customer offerings.
Dury added: “Our biggest challenge is conveying to golf courses the scale of the opportunity open to them. The channel manager provides real-time distributor access to their course tee-sheet, meaning bookings can be made in real-time by the customers of the partnering organisations.
“We feel our technology will completely change behaviours across the industry. Take golf travel as an example, the connectivity provided by our channel manager can transform the way the industry operates as it allows tour operators to log into multiple tee-sheets and book tee-times simultaneously. This saves a huge amount of time and resources when compared to the current requirement of emailing and calling golf courses when pulling together an itinerary.”
Duncan Rougvie, Director of The Revenue Club, is among those excited by the opportunities and he said: “The Revenue Club is delighted to be working with Zest.Golf Technologies as we have a shared aim to help golf course operators achieve a greater degree of flexibility in the management and sale of their tee-times inventory online. The Revenue Club and Zest share the same vision of openness, connectivity and high-quality technology which works in the best interests of the golf course operator.”
Zest.Golf have partnered with Rotterdam-based company, Lunatech Labs, to develop their technology. Lunatech use the very latest tools and programming language to provide solutions for their clients, and has offices in Amsterdam, Paris and Niort with world renowned customers including Audi, ING and EuroDisney.
The Zest.Golf Channel Manager is launching in the autumn and golf courses and distribution partners can register now at www.zest.golf