Mon Jan 11 2010

RevPAR: How to use the golf rounds' data

The rounds played at a golf course are the one common denominator that helps you best analyse your financial performance for any given time frame. These can be compared with prior time periods and against other facilities anywhere in the world.

One of the main industry initiatives launched last year was the push for clubs across the nation to start tracking their golf round's data on an ongoing basis. This new initiative is being promoted by the Australian Golf Industry Council (AGIC) and administered via Golf Australia and Golf Link Partners. (The details of the program can be found in the Media Release below.)

The rounds played at a golf course are the one common denominator that helps you best analyse your financial performance for any given time frame. These can be compared with prior time periods and against other facilities anywhere in the world. The soundest budgets are compiled by first setting monthly rounds targets (based on prior data) and then working your way towards achievable financial targets.

It is still hard to believe that many facilities are not already tracking this critical rounds data. The new initiative will help improve everyone's tracking practices, as there would also be a need to change practices in the future with the recently adopted USGA slope rating system fully coming into effect. The new system will allow most rounds to be counted toward individual handicaps, which in turn will actually make the entire process of tracking a bit easier.

Rounds tracking is the best place to start but a new term should now be introduced as a way of best capitalising on the new data being tracked.

RevPAR

Though this is not a new term to the hotel industry, it may be new to the golf industry in Australia. RevPAR or 'revenue per available rooms' has been an important metric in the hotel industry for years (Source: eHotelier) and has been adopted by most of the big international golf management companies.

RevPAR in golf terms is 'revenue per available rounds'. RevPAR numbers represent a measure of performance in terms relative to a property's past results, and especially in comparison to competitors within a custom defined market. What we are really talking about here is your facility's Key Performance Indicators (KPI's), but looked at in a slightly different perspective. Once rounds are being regularly tracked, you can now start tracking each revenue line item against these figures to start compiling your RevPAR numbers. 'Revenues per average user' is another way of looking at these KPI's and is used to measure things such as revenues produced by each golf customer, member or other visitor to your facility.

Successful RevPAR numbers differ from market to market based on demand, cost of living, and other factors and are best compared across like time periods.

RevPAR = Green fee revenue/tee times available

Here are few "best practices":

• It is best to compare RevPAR on a Friday only versus other Fridays.
• It is best compared across similar seasonal time periods. For example, comparing results from the Christmas week with the same a year previous is more credible than with a non-holiday week.
• Financial reporting should include these comparisons against prior time periods. I.e. February 2009 against February 2008.

This new industry initiative is a start but you will continue to miss the full financial picture and opportunities at your property if you only track the 'competition' rounds and not all the social and other types of rounds that are really necessary to understand your overall business. You should track every single player that steps onto your course, no matter how many holes they play, or what format they compete in.

There are numerous strategies that can be implemented to improve your overall RevPAR figures for your facility, ultimately improving your overall revenue figures.

If you have any questions, comments or need help in improving your RevPAR, contact Mike Orloff at morloff@golfindustrycentral.com.au

Written by Mike Orloff © Copyright 2009 Golf Industry Central 

MEDIA RELEASE 

Monday 15th June 2009 

AGIC launches data research project

The Australian Golf Industry Council (AGIC) is requesting the help of golf clubs nationally for an innovative data research project that aims to help the industry 'stay ahead of the game.' The new national research project is reliant on the collection of monthly round data from clubs across Australia so that industry trends can be tracked and reported regularly for the benefit of the entire industry.

The research project will be delivered by Golf Australia in conjunction with Golf Link Partners, on behalf of the AGIC, with the AGIC Research Group overseeing the project. With over 1200 clubs currently using Golf Link, individual competition round data is already available nationally, however other competition rounds (for example: Foursomes/Match Play etc) and noncompetition/ social rounds,) have never before been collected at such regular intervals.

Utilising the Golf Link system these rounds will now also be calculated, with all courses, including those not using the Golf Link system, invited to be part of the project. An AGIC statement on the research project reads: "The AGIC is aware that many golf clubs across Australia already collect information regarding rounds played at the club and this is analysed at management and Board levels regularly." "We now wish to activate the collection and reporting of both competition and non-competition round data on an industry wide basis with reports generated and distributed quarterly to the entire industry." "This is a critically important project and is highly valued by all member organisations of the AGIC - but we need your support to make it a success."

Golf Australia is currently building the data mechanism, (through Golf Link software,) so participating clubs can generate their own reports and benchmark against other clubs nationally, within a state/region or against other "like clubs" as a cluster. No individual club will be identified in the reports which will be available to participating clubs in an electronic format.

The AGIC will soon release further details on the project which is scheduled to commence in July 2009.

Further details about the AGIC are available at www.agic.org.au

About the AGIC:

The AGIC was established in late 2006 to provide a forum to help unite the industry on agreed industry wide initiatives. The AGIC has continued to operate as an unincorporated not for profit partnership between the key industry administrations and membership organisations - Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association (AGCSA), Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG), Australian Sporting Goods Association (representing golf equipment suppliers & manufacturers) - ASGA, Golf Australia (GA), Golf Management Australia (GMA), PGA of Australia (PGA), Society of Australian Golf Course Architects (SAGCA), and golf and real estate development. Individual experts from the industry have also been invited to participate in the activities of the AGIC.

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