Court three is taken, again
Your tennis coaching business runs group sessions and a steady stream of private lessons. Players text their coach to book: can I do Thursday at six? The coach checks their own diary and says yes. They forget to book a court in the club's system. On Thursday at six, court three is taken by members playing a match, and the lesson starts late on a court borrowed from the juniors.
Meanwhile, a player bought a package of lessons in the spring, and neither they nor the coach are sure how many are left. Another cancels on the morning, and the coach does not know whether your policy says they pay. Month end means working out which coach taught which lessons for pay and which packages were used.
Why private lessons are hard to run
- The coach's diary and the court booking live in different places.
- Bookings are made by text with each coach separately.
- Packages are tracked on paper or in a coach's head.
- Cancellation rules exist but are applied case by case.
- Pay for coaches depends on reading several diaries.
The cost of clashes and loose packages
Clashes waste lesson time and annoy both players and members. Lost track of packages leads to disputes, or to lessons given for free. Inconsistent cancellation handling means some players are charged and others are not, which players notice and talk about at the club.
Coaches also spend their evenings replying to booking texts, which is time they could spend coaching or resting.
Private lesson booking tied to courts
- Each coach sets their lesson availability, and players see free slots online for the coach they want.
- A slot is only offered when a suitable court is also free, checked against your court booking system where it has an API or calendar feed, or against a court calendar we manage for you.
- Booking a lesson books the court at the same time, so the two cannot drift apart.
- Players buy packages online, and each lesson booked draws from the package, with the balance visible to player and coach.
- Cancellations follow your rules automatically: free before your cut-off, charged or deducted after it, with the player told at the time.
- Coaches see their day on their phone, and lessons taught feed coach pay and your income records.
| Booking check | Against | If it fails |
|---|---|---|
| Coach available | Coach's availability and existing lessons | Slot not offered |
| Court free | Club court booking or our court calendar | Slot not offered |
| Package balance | Player's package | Pay per lesson or top up |
| Cancellation timing | Your cut-off rule | Rule applied and explained |
Where your club's court booking system does not allow outside bookings, we set up a clear handover, such as a daily list of lesson courts for the club to confirm.
A week of lessons without the clashes
Players book with their coach online and the court is held with the lesson. Coaches wake up to their day on their phone with player names, courts and any package balance. A player cancelling late gets the rule applied and a polite explanation, and the coach does not have to have that conversation.
Group sessions and private lessons can share the same courts without clashing, because both are booked through the same check. When the club needs courts back for a members' tournament, the affected lessons are listed straight away and players are offered another slot.
At month end, coach pay comes from lessons taught, package balances are accurate, and nobody reads back through text messages.
Do private lessons look like this?
- Lessons are booked by text with each coach.
- Courts are sometimes taken when a lesson starts.
- Nobody is sure how many lessons are left on a package.
- Cancellation rules are applied inconsistently.
- Coach pay is worked out from diaries and messages.