Golf Resorts Across the Country Need to Adjust to the Slow Economy
Florida is the home of golf resorts. When you want to go golfing in Florida on vacation, chances are that you are going to end up staying at one of the popular golf resorts in the area such as TPC Sawgrass, Champions Gate, Sandestin or PGA National Resort and Spa. All 4 of these places are amazing, and honestly, I really cant say anything bad about TPC Sawgrass. Who really can anyway?
The problem with these 4 resorts is that they are catering to the same individual all of the time, high class golfers making $150,000 plus a year. They don’t allow the real people such as you and I the time of day to come and play at their course, or stay at their resort. Can I blame them no I really can not? People are paying the money to play and stay there and they are taking advantage of it just like any good business would do.
Now things have started to change in the golf resort world, especially in Florida. When the economy started to slow down, the amount of golf being played, and the amount of people staying at Florida golf resorts also started to slow down as well. The 4 popular golf resorts I mentioned above probably haven’t changed their ways yet, but I can guarantee you that since they haven’t changed their ways and are probably losing large amounts of money because they haven’t adjusted to this new economy.
In reality, what did this economy do to the golf world? How has it changed it? Will it ever get better? To tell you the truth, I don’t have a truthful answer I can give you because a lot of golf resorts and golf clubs aren’t being honest with themselves or other professionals in our industry. The economy has started to slow down play in all areas across the country. The economy has made golfers start to play at cheaper courses, or look for special offers that are occurring at particular resorts. No longer can resorts rely on regular customers because a lot of those regulars have ditched their home course in search of the best deal.
What can they do about this problem before it gets to bad? It is very simple; in fact it is really a no brainer. They need to come up with an astounding promotion that drives traffic to their resort. Need an example? I thought you might want one.
Juliette Falls is a new Florida golf resort in Dunnellon. It is only about an hour away from both Tampa and Orlando and is roughly 15 minutes way from Ocala. Its a very secluded place. Juliette Falls has a beautiful course and the Florida golf homes are jaw dropping. So what does a golf community do when the economy slows and homes stop selling? They come up with a plan to supplement their lost income. Juliette Falls decided to start selling packages that allow you to stay in a million dollar golf home and play a round of golf and enjoy all of the resorts facilities for $199 a night. Who could refuse this offer, I know I couldn’t. What this does is create a new stream of money using assets that they already have. If they sell only 2 stays for every night of that year, that’s $145,000 a year in pure profits! It also could supply a steady stream of potential home buyers! Why aren’t other resorts thinking this way?
Golf Resorts need to start thinking outside of the box. In this economy it may be the only way to keep a positive income!
Roy Williams reviews golf resorts in Florida and Florida luxury golf homes. He contributes to multiple golf review sites across the internet. He is a consultant for many golf resorts across the country.
