Blackheath Wanderers is a sports club that has been running for 125 years based in Lee, South East London. Since the 21st May 2020, the club has been using the Bookteq Software package. Blackheath Wanderers have enjoyed the ease of uploading multiple slots to the dynamic calendar and connecting to new users through the Playfinder marketplace. The club hit the ground running by snapping up Playfinder’s venue of the month award just 9 days into the partnership.
Club Treasurer, Robert Fraser said, “Historically we did not hire out our tennis courts to the public and made the decision to maximise their use and increase Club income. We contacted Playfinder and a representative viewed the facilities and met with committee members within a matter of days. The Playfinder representative was very knowledgeable and understood the Club challenges and requirements. We concluded the agreement within a short period.”
Booking behaviour and habits
Since taking on the software package, Blackheath Wanderers Sports Club has seen the majority of slots taken up by coaches (49%). The most significant change for the club was 42% of bookings coming from new users through the Playfinder marketplace, leaving the remaining 9% of bookers being club members.
Robert commented on subscribing to the software, “Matters had been put on hold due to Covid and immediately we advised after LTA guidelines issued, Playfinder we wish to open. The system was up and running within days. Fantastic effort. The booking system is very simple, and you are able to view bookings online at the touch of a button. Playfinder deals directly with the hirers, no additional work for us.”
Off-peak Vs peak: Online bookings
- Peak (Mon-Thu after 18:00) – 18%
- Mid-peak (Fri after 18:00 and weekends) – 39%
- Off-peak (Mon-Fri before 18:00) -43%
Club visibility
One of the main benefits of joining Bookteq software is that it’s integrated with the Playfinder marketplace. Playfinder ensures they promote all of their venues across various marketing touchpoints to ensure the venue gains as much visibility as possible to help improve utilisation. Playfinder boasts a social media following of over 19k, which they use as a method of promoting their partnered venues.
Furthermore, Bookteq packages enable partners to access to high-ranking Google search terms. After signing up to the Bookteq Software package, Blackheath Wanderers Sports Club’s rankings were as follows:
Top 3 rankings on Google
- Tennis courts in Blackheath
- Tennis courts in Lee, Eltham
- Blackheath tennis courts
Top 5 rankings on Google
- Tennis in Greenwich
- Greenwich sports facilities
- Eltham sports facilities
“The partnership with Playfinder has helped to increase revenue for the Club without any significant additional time for us. It is fair to say that we would not have been able to obtain anywhere near the level of income generated had we tried to do this independently” – Robert Fraser
Results
The partnership has seen Blackheath Wanderers Sports Club make good progress in a short space of time. The Bookteq Software package has enabled the club to tap into a brand new market of tennis players and free up more time for their staff elsewhere.
- Improved SEO presence with top 3 rankings for key terms
- 42% of bookings from new users
- 8,000+ page views since May 2020
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