Sports Facility Management: Client Scheduling
Your sports facility management strategy should focus on keeping your sports complex in prime condition, keeping employees happy and qualified, and changing with the times to provide the best customer experience. Scheduling technology continues to increase, and your sports facility management strategy needs to take new software and new ideas into account to stay within your margins. Today, the Sports Facilities Advisory blog takes a look at online scheduling and client scheduling.
Moving Beyond Spreadsheets
Some of you might cringe at the thought, but the Sports Facilities Advisory team knows some recreation center and sports facility management teams still use the old excel spreadsheet method of scheduling. Employees continue to log into color-coded spreadsheets and tinker with times and filling slots for clients wishing to reserve racquetball courts and baseball diamonds. This cost-effective strategy worked for years, and it will continue to. But the generation of athletes coming of age now expect online functionality and more control.
Sports Facility Management Strategy Offering Clientele Versatility
Think about it in these terms: would you rather call or drive to local sports facilities to book a court, or would you rather check availability and book said courts from the comfort of your home? When put in these terms, online client scheduling sounds like a no brainer. So, why do many sports facility management teams hesitate to switch over? We’ll go over a few of these concerns and discuss the advantages. Hopefully, we can persuade most of you of the importance of client scheduling by the end of this blog
Clients Don’t Want the Hassle of Scheduling Themselves
In times past, this proved a valid argument, and it is still a concern worth voicing. Usability and control continue to grow in importance to customers everywhere. The population of young people who grew up with computers continues to move into the main demographic of sports facilities’ target consumers. Millennials and generation z prefer the control of purchasing online, and they interact with websites and online forms on a regular basis. You don’t have to turn to only online scheduling. Cater to the full range of your clientele by continuing to schedule people who wish you to do it for them.
It’s Too Complicated for Clients
This concern piggybacks the previous section, but the truth is scheduling software continues to improve and streamline. The highest quality software available provides an intuitive experience anyone can navigate with a little initial help. Your sports facility management team can ease the transition by offering tutorials or assistance. After a period of transition, your clientele will find it easier to book their courts and fields. This will bring in more guests, eliminate redundancies, and free up your sports facility management team to get back to more important concerns.
Scheduling Rules Conflict with Software
This depends on the software but, yes, certain scheduling rules and concerns can cause issues with offering do-it-yourself scheduling. Every sports complex and recreation center deals with scheduling differently and, if you believe your rules are too complex for scheduling software, you might reach out to the company and see what options are available. Some issues may not be resolvable with the technology available today, but this should not turn you away from offering this service in the future. This industry continues to grow, so check up on the available options from time to time.
Sports Facilities Advisory Knows Sports
Sports Facilities Advisory helps you expand your sports complex or build a new one. We conduct feasibility studies and facility planning to ensure you get the most from your sports complexes. Our sister corporation, Sports Facility Management, can take your pre-existing recreation center to the next level of profitability.