Most indoor golf venues are not losing revenue because of poor marketing or bad locations. They are losing it because of booking configuration decisions that were made quickly when the venue opened and never revisited. These mistakes are common, easy to fix, and collectively represent a meaningful amount of money for most operators.
1. Session lengths that don't match demand
The most common slot length at indoor golf venues is one hour. It is the default in most booking systems and it feels intuitive. But one hour is often not the optimal slot length for your specific venue and customer base.
Venues that offer 90-minute and two-hour sessions alongside one-hour sessions typically see higher average booking values, because customers who want a longer session will take it if it is available. Venues that offer only one-hour sessions leave that revenue on the table.
Conversely, some venues find that 45-minute sessions fill more reliably during off-peak hours than one-hour sessions, because the lower price point attracts customers who would not commit to a full hour. The right session length configuration depends on your customer base and your occupancy patterns, and it is worth testing different options rather than accepting the default.
2. No peak pricing
Friday evenings and weekend mornings are worth more than Tuesday afternoons. If you are charging the same rate for both, you are subsidising your peak slots and leaving money on the table during your most in-demand hours.
Peak pricing does not need to be complex. A simple two-tier structure, with a standard rate for off-peak hours and a higher rate for peak hours, is sufficient for most venues. The key is defining your peak hours based on actual booking data rather than intuition, and reviewing the definition periodically as your demand patterns evolve.
3. No cancellation policy
A booking system without a cancellation policy is an invitation to no-shows. Customers who have paid nothing to cancel will cancel freely, often at the last minute, leaving you with an empty bay and no time to fill it.
A straightforward cancellation policy, such as full refund up to 24 hours before the session and no refund within 24 hours, significantly reduces last-minute cancellations. Customers who know they will lose their payment if they cancel late are more likely to show up or to reschedule rather than simply not appearing.
The specific terms of your cancellation policy matter less than having one and enforcing it consistently. A policy that is applied selectively creates customer service problems and undermines its own deterrent effect.
4. Booking windows that are too short or too long
How far in advance can customers book? How close to the session time can they book? These parameters have a significant effect on your occupancy and your operational complexity.
A booking window that opens too far in advance, such as six months, creates a long tail of bookings that may not materialise and makes it harder to see your near-term availability clearly. A window that is too short, such as same-day only, prevents customers from planning ahead and reduces your ability to forecast demand.
For most venues, a booking window of two to four weeks in advance, with the ability to book up to two hours before the session, works well. Adjust based on your specific demand patterns, but start with this range and measure the effect on occupancy before making further changes.
5. Not using buffer time between sessions
Booking sessions back to back with no gap between them creates problems. The previous customer may run over time. The bay may need a brief reset. The next customer may arrive early and find the bay occupied.
A 10 to 15 minute buffer between sessions eliminates these problems almost entirely. Yes, it reduces the theoretical maximum number of sessions per bay per day. But it reduces customer complaints, reduces the stress of tight turnovers, and makes your schedule more resilient to the small delays that are inevitable in any venue operation.
If you are running back-to-back sessions with no buffer and experiencing friction at handover times, adding a buffer is one of the highest-leverage operational changes you can make.
Written by Mathieu Morin, CRO at Golf O'Clock. Based on operating data from 200+ indoor golf venues across North America, the UK, and Europe.