The Tee Time Market headed up by Jo Maes in cooperation with iMastergolfbooking based in Spain, provides the golf travel trade with live and real time tee time inventory access on selected golf clubs in Europe.
After having added 150 plus courses in Spain to the network, the Tee Time Market is now moving into other golf destination markets with Portugal being the obvious initial extension. With Monte Rei, arguably the best golf course in Portugal, already committed to the Tee Time Market, travel companies won’t be able to resist the benefits online tee time connectivity will bring to their organisation.
Jo Maes, Managing Director, says: “After having successfully tested the concept of the Tee Time Market in Spain, Europe’s main golf tourism market, the time has now come to move further afield and use our experience to enhance our course offering to the travel trade. Offering a live and real-time tee time on a dedicated secure website is now becoming the norm for the golfer but the trade on the other hand, who make up most of the bookings into the holiday destinations, have been left wanting for quite some time so the Tee Time Market aims to fill that B2B void.”
The 5* Monte Rei Golf & Country Club is one of the best golf courses in Europe and offers virtually unmatched service to the many discerning clients who find their way to the Eastern Algarve golf resort. The Jack Nicklaus signature course celebrates its 10th year in operation and has grown its green fee base steadily over those years while still maintaining enough room to offer a service other courses will find hard to match.
Darren Griffiths, Director of Golf at Monte Rei Golf & Country Club states: “We are always striving to provide better customer service and having the option to book rounds of golf 24/7 is something anybody struggles with, were it not for an online booking tool. We have known about the Tee Time Market and iMastergolfbooking for a while and we are pleased that, since the implementation only 24 hours ago, we already see a shift from golfers phoning us to booking via our website. On top of golfers booking directly, we pride ourselves in having a great relationship with the majority of the travel operators and giving them access to our tee sheet so they can service their customers quicker and better is something we embrace. It all fits in our quest for outstanding customer service and adds to the seamless golf experience we strive to provide to our customers worldwide.”
“At a time when most other tourism verticals have already embraced online connectivity, the golf industry has somewhat been lagging but the Tee Time Market was set up to address that void,” continues Jo Maes. “With both a booking engine for direct consumer bookings as a connection to a market place for travel companies, the Tee Time Market is quickly becoming the go to partner for golf courses and travel companies that are serious of moving with the times and providing a quick turn around on requests from their clients.
“With already several of the major golf travel providers connected via our API, many rounds are already coming through to the Spanish golf courses. We are convinced that this trend will continue and the Portuguese courses that will be coming on board quickly see the improved efficiency and the chance to avail of a bigger distribution network.
“Unlike other companies in the space, the Tee Time Market is not a ‘third party reseller’ and will not compete with its clients; the courses and the providers. The aim is to be the technological middle ground, the ‘market place’ between the golf course and the trade. This makes the Tee Time Market the ideal and neutral technology partner to work with and will see the network of courses grow significantly over the coming months plus confirm some other destinations that are already in negotiations to become part of the network.”
Jo Maes is also the President and founder of the European Golf & Travel Media Association.
For more information, contact Jo Maes, email: jo.maes@me.com