Online & Mobile Reservations – A Winning Strategy: Even for members preferring NOT to use them?

The art of managing activity at a private club has three general “catch-all” methods:  The first, often referred to as “pencil & paper”, is still widely used by many clubs. The second is characterized by an upgrade to something electronic; perhaps something as simple as Excel spreadsheets or in some cases a staff-operated scheduling software. Method three involves a web-based reservations system that not only provides ease and speed for the staff to manage their members’ activities, but offers the option for their members to also book reservations into the same system online and through mobile devices.

For clubs looking to distinguish themselves with member service levels beyond other clubs in town, it becomes a challenging task (at best) to accomplish without an online & mobile reservation system strong enough to capture the majority of members’ booking transactions.  Interestingly enough, the end result of a club choosing such a system is quite obvious and in some cases a little ironic if you consider this:  Perhaps the biggest fans of online & mobile reservations are members who never make those types of “newfangled” reservations, simply because they’re competing for a fixed amount of “good old fashioned staff attention” over the phone against 70% fewer fellow members that are now booking online.

In the end, it all boils down to the importance of implementing an online & mobile reservations system that earns enthusiastic applause not only from the staff that uses it every day, but more importantly from the members whose ultimate opinion of the system you purchase will “make or break” a winning strategy.