Charleston, S.C. (January 15, 2020) - In a 62-page guide, Beware of Barter: The Ins and Outs of Trading Your Tee Times, released today, the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) has pulled back the curtain to reveal data, reviews, and narratives every golf course owner or operator should know about bartering tee times away for golf management software (GMS) technology, and tee time distribution services. The report is currently available for download at ngcoa.org/BewareOfBarter.
“Our market sentiment study in 2018 revealed the industry has a very complicated, love-hate relationship with the barter method of compensation for technology and tee time distribution,” said Jay Karen, NGCOA’s CEO. “We firmly believe the barter economy is allowing for deep, unnecessary and erroneous discounting of golf, as well as aggressive disintermediation with customers that golf courses have worked decades to cultivate. Through this resource, we are attempting to answer important questions about a questionable practice.”
The guide begins with a definition and discussion of barter; it then explores Calculating the Cost of Barter, Price Elasticity and Golf, Rate Integrity and Parity - Protecting Your Brand, Is the Technology Worth the Cost?, The Hospitality Handbook, and various case studies and best practices. Research included academic studies, case histories, and expert observations and analysis; the findings have developed over the years, not only through a recent member survey, but through discussions with GMS providers and Online Tee Time Agents (OTTAs), and general industry awareness.
Karen continued, “When the supply-and-demand realities of our industry are already causing historic challenges, we feel it’s important for course operators to fully understand this practice and seek alternative ways to work with GMS and OTTA companies. The resource is an important reminder that course operators are ultimately in control of the conversation and the terms.” Some of the most valuable parts of this study include hearing from course operators who quit bartering, and the positive impact seen to their bottom lines.
In conjunction with the release of this guide, the NGCOA is hosting a related one-hour education panel at Golf Business Conference 2020. “Beware of Barter” will be held on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 in the Orange County Convention Center, Room W330C from 11:00 am-12:00 pm. Harvey Silverman, the lead researcher and author of the barter guide, and a regular contributor to the Pellucid Perspective, will lead this panel discussion which will focus on key pieces of the publication, including the evolution of barter as an economic model, computing the cost of barter, and why discounting is a failed strategy. Registration is open; visit GolfBusinessConference.com for details.
About the National Golf Course Owners Association
The NGCOA is the leading authority on the business of golf course ownership and management. The association represents and promotes the interests of golf courses as the principal businesses and economic assets of the game of golf. The not-for-profit organization is the only trade association dedicated exclusively to golf course owners and operators. Through advocacy, education and information resources, purchasing programs and networking opportunities, the NGCOA helps golf course owners and operators run more successful businesses. For more information, visit ngcoa.org or call 800-933-4262.
Media Contact:
Renee Flowers
Director of Marketing and Communications
NGCOA
rflowers@ngcoa.org