The European Golf Course Owners Association (EGCOA) has today released an official position statement and set of best practice guidelines for golf course owners and operators when dealing with third party tee time resellers.
The EGCOA now representing almost 1000 commercial golf facilities throughout Europe has developed the statement due to widespread concerns from their members on the growing impact and dominance of third party tee time resellers in the European golf industry.
The position statement & best practices have been developed based on the NGCOA (USA) & NGCOA (Canada) versions and have been adapted in response to the needs of the European market.
EGCOA President Alexander Baron von Spoercken said: “Like the airline and hotel industry the last few years has witnessed a significant shift in the golf industry to the trend of online booking. If managed correctly the power of the web and online booking platforms can be harnessed to drive additional revenue for a golf facility.
“We have released these best practices to provide clarity and direction for our members across Europe allowing them to see the big picture and make informed and educated decisions based on the facts when dealing with third party tee time resellers.”
He added: “Thanks to the experience of our American and Canadian Owners associations we have been able to learn from some of the negative implications that poor practices have had on their markets.
“With this insight we aim to be proactive in avoiding some of the pitfalls experienced in North America and to educate our members to the best of our ability.
“At our annual conference this year in Lisbon we will have a session dedicated to this topic with many of the industry’s leading experts on this area in a panel discussion.”
Some of the best practices outlined include:
- Clearly defined terms of agreement
- Signed written contracts
- Indemnification and regulatory compliance
- Brand protection
- Best-rate guarantees
- Payment terms
- Pricing
- Tee time auctions
- URL ownership
- Search Engine Optimization
- Data ownership
- Tee time inventory
- Loyalty and membership programs
- Online links and transferability.
