Golf Club Management Software

from Vietnam Golf Magazine

December 2015

www.vietnamgolfmagazine.net

Vietnamese & English

Chuyên gia Bill Healey chia sẻ những lợi ích của việc sử dụng phần mềm quản lý CLB để các sân golf có thể tăng doanh thu, giảm giá chi phí cũng như thu hút nhiều người chơi ở Việt Nam.

Đặt chỗ chơi golf

Vietnam Golf Magazine
December 2015

Một trong những quan tâm chung của các CLB golf ở Việt Nam là tìm phương án tăng doanh thu từ những giờ ‘tee-time’ sẵn có hay CLB sẽ tối đa lợi nhuận của những giờ phát bóng này với mỗi ngày trong tuần bằng cách nào? Điều này được đánh giá bằng tỉ lệ lấp đầy sân và doanh thu (Tạm dịch: Revenue per Available Tee Time).

Quản lý doanh thu (RM) chính là công cụ có thể hỗ trợ các sân golf trong việc kiểm soát và cải thiện doanh thu từ phí green. Khi được áp dụng đúng cách, RM sẽ giúp CLB bán những giờ tee-time hợp lý tới đúng đối tượng chơi golf với mức giá phù hợp tại mốc giờ mà khách yêu cầu.

Bằng cách sử dụng dữ liệu từ phí green, CLB có thể phân tích các đối tượng golf thủ theo tâm trạng và nguyện vọng của từng cá nhân. Từ đó, CLB sẽ phát triển các mức giá khác nhau để đáp ứng yêu cầu của phần lớn các tay golf.

Nắm bắt thông tin khách hàng

Phần mềm của CLB nên đặt khách hàng ở vị trí trung tâm, dù đó là những nhu cầu của sân golf, nhà hàng hay hội viên. Hầu hết các hệ thống đều cung cấp những dữ liệu khách hàng cơ bản bao gồm thông tin chi tiết về địa chỉ, loại thẻ hội viên, thông tin liên hệ cũng như tài khoản trên mạng xã hội. Ở những hệ thống cao cấp hơn còn cho phép tìm hiểu những thông tin mở rộng hơn như về học vấn hay thông tin gia đình mỗi golf thủ.

Các thông tin trên mạng xã hội nên được tùy chỉnh bởi CLB, nơi người quản lý có thể xác định tài khoản của khách hàng tại các trang Facebook, Twitter, WeChat, WhatsApp hoặc những chương trình khác. Duy trì lượng khách hàng tham gia tích cực vào các hoạt động thông qua mạng xã hội của sân là phần quan trọng trong chiến lược kinh doanh của CLB.

Đặc trưng hệ thống

Duy trì dữ liệu mở rộng theo sở thích của khách hàng sẽ cho phép bạn kết nối tốt hơn với họ, và kết quả thu được là sự gia tăng doanh thu. Phong cách sống của khách hàng của bạn là gì? Lịch sử lên sân của họ ra sao? Họ có sở thích đi du lịch không? Đâu là caddie họ yêu thích? Đồ F&B họ hay dùng? Bất kỳ thông tin chi tiết liên quan đến những mối quan tâm và sở thích của khách hàng cần được nắm bắt để sử dụng cho những chương trình kinh doanh và tiếp thị trong tương lai.

Phong cách sống của khách hàng tại mỗi CLB sẽ rất khác nhau, vì vậy hãy đảm bảo chức năng này được xử lý linh động theo cơ sở dữ liệu của khách dựa trên giá trị của nó đối với những hoạt động của CLB và những điểm quan trọng.

Quản lý quan hệ khách hàng

Phần mềm CRM sẽ giúp thu hút và giữ chân khách hàng cho CLB thông qua việc theo dõi các chiến dịch email, bản tin, phí thành viên và các sự kiện quảng cáo. Được thiết kế như một phần không thể thiếu của một hệ thống quản lý, CRM cho phép CLB dễ dàng chạy các chiến dịch tiếp thị cho các thành viên và khách mời để tăng cường sự tham gia của họ vào các sự kiện.

Đa ngôn ngữ

Các CLB golf ở Việt Nam là sự kết hợp đa quốc gia trong nhiều vị trí - người quản lý và nhân viên có thể là người Việt Nam, Hàn Quốc, Singapore, Canada, Anh hay ở nơi khác. Do đó, nhu cầu cung cấp quyền truy cập vào hệ thống cần phải trên nhiều ngôn ngữ là một điều bắt buộc. Giải pháp quản lý CLB golf cần cung cấp quyền truy cập hệ thống cho những người quản lý theo ngôn ngữ thông dụng của họ.

===== ENGLISH VERSION =====

Numerous articles in global publications have highlighted methods for clubs to implement Golf Club Management software to help manage members, reduce costs and increase revenues.  During our recent national golf course review, we were able to chat with managers on the use of technology in their properties.  I’d like to focus on several particular items discussed with golf facilities here in Vietnam.

Golf Bookings - Managing Price of Tee Times

A common concern among clubs in Vietnam has been finding a way to increase revenues from their fixed and perishable tee time inventory.  Specifically, how the club can maximize the use of available tee times during each day of the week, and at different times on those days. This is measured through Occupancy rates and RevPatt (Revenue per Available Tee Time).

Developed in the 1980s in the airline industry, Revenue Management (RM) is such a tool that can assist golf facilities in managing and improving greens fee revenue.  Properly applied, RM would assist golf clubs in selling the right tee times, to the right golfers, at the right prices, and at the right time.  It provides the ability to match tee times with the golfer’s willingness to pay.

Utilizing the historical greens fee data, the club can analyze how different categories of golfers behave and what they expect.  From this, the club can develop differing price points to make full use of the tee time inventory to meet the greens fee expectations of a greater number of golfers.

Client Profiles

The club’s software should place the customer at the heart of the system.  Whether addressing the needs of the golf course, restaurant or membership, the solution should be customer-centric, where the needs of your guest come first. 

Most systems allow basic client data with multiple addresses, membership types, phone & email contacts as well as social media details.  More advanced systems would allow extensive detail inclusive of education, professional details, spouse and family information.

The social media contacts should be customizable by the club, where management can specify a client’s account with Facebook, Twitter, WeChat, WhatsApp or other programs.  Keeping guests involved through the ever-changing social media landscape should be a key part of the club’s marketing strategy.

For properties with parking security, the guest’s profiles should also maintain automobile information including brand, model, registration numbers and driver information.  The system should help track which cars and drivers have valid access to the parking facilities.

System Feature - Lifestyle Preferences

Maintaining extensive data on client preferences and history will allow you to connect in a more meaningful manner with customers, and as a result, drive revenue.

What are your client’s lifestyle preferences and past history with the property?  Travel preferences? Caddy preferences?  Food & Beverage preferences?  Any details of interest should be tracked and used for future sales & marketing programs.   

These lifestyle preferences would likely vary from one club to another.   Ensure the software’s Lifestyle Preferences module provides the flexibility to customize data based on it’s value to the club’s operations and the bottom-line.

Client Prospecting (CRM)

A top-level CRM will help the attract and retain clients for the club through the tracking of email campaigns, newsletters, membership fees and promotional events.  Designed as an integral part of a management system, CRM should allow the club to easily run marketing campaigns to members and guests in order to increase event participation.

Multilingual

Golf Clubs in Vietnam have a mix of nationalities in different positions -- whether the manager and staff are from Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Canada, England or elsewhere -- there is a unique need to provide access to the system in a variety of languages.  A sophisticated golf club management solution should be able to provide system access to managers from any countries in a language they’re fluent in.

for information on Golf Club Management Systems

contact healeywe@gmail.com 

Cambodia Golf Fam Tour - Four Days Golfing in the Land of Smiles

from Vietnam Golf Magazine

January 2016

www.vietnamgolfmagazine.com

Our journey into Cambodia was the first time most of us had crossed into Cambodia for a round of golf.  Good fortune had allowed us to experience five quality courses over a four-day period (26-29 November).

Vietnam Golf Magazine
January 2016

Flying with Cambodia Angkor Air we made our way from Hanoi to Phnom Penh with a short 20-minute stop in Vientiane.  Once in Phnom Penh we were met by Mr. Tamai Tsuguhisa, who would serve as our guide throughout the time in Cambodia.  (Mr Tamai is the Branch Office Manager for Southern Breeze Travel and Tourism).

After customs and immigration in Phnom Penh, we were shuttled straight from the airport to our scheduled dinner at the Hua Ham Restaurant and then across to the Pacific Hotel where we would spend the next two nights.

Early on Thursday morning, we made our way to the Garden City Golf Club for our 8am tee time.  The club opened to the public in April 2013 with a vision of being the best international standard golf course in Cambodia.

Garden City’s signature hole is the sixth, a long 439 yard par-4 with water entire left side of the fairway, with another lake on the right in front of the green. Accuracy and distance are required to get par on this hole.

Perhaps one of the more challenging holes on the course was the ninth, a long 444 yard par-4.  One of the hole’s unique aspects is a blind lake on the right side of the fairway which makes it difficult for most golfers to reach the green in regulation.

After the round we returned to the Pacific Hotel for a few hours and prepared for our “Dinner Cruise on the River”.  Boarding in Sisowath Quay, the 2.5 hour tour took us along the Tongle Sap river to its junction with the Mekong river. Along the way we enjoyed cocktails and dining along with a wonderful evening view of the Phnom Penh riverside.

Our Friday morning round was at the Royal Cambodia Phnom Penh Golf Club.  Though rather flat, this international standard 18-hole golf course provided a good challenge due to it’s numerous bunkers and water hazards.  

Laid-out amongst rice paddies and coconut palms, the designers ensured that each hole at Royal Cambodia Phnom Penh GC is unique, which made us “first time players” rely more on the exceptional caddies assigned to us.

With a late afternoon flight scheduled to Siem Reap, we had a quick lunch before heading to airport.  Flying with Angkor Air on an ATR 72, the domestic flight took a total 45-minutes.

On arrival in Siem Reap, we had a quick dinner at Neary Khmer Restaurant and over to the Ta Phrom Hotel where we would stay for two nights.

Saturday was another early morning, with an 8am round on the world renowned Angkor Golf Resort. Stepping out of the shuttle, we were warmly greeted David Baron (Director of Golf), his staff and dozens of their friendly, smiling caddies.  

Designed by UK’s legendary Nick Faldo, Angkor Golf Resort is the premier golf course in Cambodia and one of the best in Asia.  The par 72, 7279 yard championship course is a good test for all golfers and requires strategic play on every hole.

The final 3 holes are perhaps the most challenging at Angkor. The par-5 sixteenth is a long 588 that is likely not reachable in two shots for most players. The angle of the green together with the water on the left of the hole pose a real challenge for those wishing to get their approach shots close.

The seventeenth is the longest par-3 on the course and plays to a green guarded by water on the right. The hole requires a very well hit accurate tee shot, particularly when the pin placement is in the back of the green.

The 440 yard par-4 eighteenth is one of the best finishing holes in the region.  The hole is a slight dogleg to the left with water along the left side, affecting both the tee shot and the approach.

In the afternoon, we stopped at the Siem Reap Booyoung Country Club for a view of the course.  Mr. Kim Bong Ok (Director) and Ms. Eng Salao (Marketing Manager) met us on our arrival and arranged several carts for our course tour.  The layout features generous palm lined fairways and makes good use of the native surroundings.  There are meandering creeks crossing several of holes along with excellent greenside bunkering.

Sunday marked our final day in Cambodia. We departed the hotel at 6:15am for an early tee time at Phokeethra Country Club. The facility is Cambodia’s first international standard golf course, and offers guests the best of modern golfing while also maintaining a refined ambiance of an exclusive country club.

Upon arrival we were greeted by Mr. Robert Turvey, Golf Operations Director, his golf-management staff and caddies.  Making our way through the clubhouse and onto the first tee, I was surprised by the high-level of service we received.  

Phokeethra’s challenging layout features water on all but one hole, but perhaps the most unique and challenging hole is the closing eighteenth.  This lengthy par-5 requires two shots to carry water, with the final shot into an island green. For almost all golfers it requires a three-shot minimum into the green.

After the round we made a visit to the infamous UNESCO Angkor Archaeological Park, containing the magnificent remains of both the Temple of Angkor Wat and the Bayon Temple.  Covering more than 400 km2, including forested area, the remains date back to the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, ranging from the 9th to the 15th century.

Following the Angkor tour, the group returned to Siem Reap International Airport for a flight to Ho Chi Minh City on Angkor Air.  We’d like to thank Mr. Tamai Tsuguhisa at Southern Breeze Travel and Tourism for arranging this tour and for helping it flow along smoothly.

International Road Trip :: Vietnam Golf

from Gaming & Leisure Magazine

Winter 2015

www.gamingandleisuremagazine.com

For many seasoned golf travellers, Vietnam is typically not a destination that has made it onto their short-list.  More likely, it’s probably not even a country that even comes to mind as a golf destination. Golfers looking to Asia-Pacific for golf holidays have typically focused on areas such as China, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines.

Gaming & Leisure Magazine
Winter 2015-2016

I was fortunate to spend a few weeks in September and October (2015) traveling with Vietnam Golf Magazine to play, review and rank the top 25 golf courses and facilities throughout the country.  This trip took us from the island of Phu Quoc at the southernmost tip of the country to Hanoi in the north.

Aside from playing and critiquing each course, we were to also to review the clubhouse, service and management of the club.  I took particular attention to the IT used at the club in terms Membership management, golf bookings and other aspects of the club.

In Vietnam’s top resorts and hotels, one can generally find most of the major international solutions providers.  This would be driven by IT standards set by an overseas corporate office or by those who have had previous experience within an international resort.

At the golf club level, there hasn’t been much of an impact made by global leaders in golf management systems.   Rather, the vast majority of the clubs in Vietnam have implemented locally developed solutions.   These solutions cover many of the needs of the club, including membership, golf booking, golfer registration, caddie management and POS.

A few drawbacks I have seen in the use of these locally developed solutions:

• they were designed and developed to address the needs of the single club.  If the club is an 18-hole club, the booking system would generally be inflexible to be adapted to a 36-hole club without significant adaptation.

• a few of the systems were in Vietnamese only, making reporting to non-Vietnamese managers a bit more difficult.   Of the managers we met, several were from Canada, UK, Australia and Korea.   For the few that were managed by Korean firms, it would be helpful to have the system functional in multiple languages: English, Vietnamese and Korean for example.

• the locally developed systems likely had no export value, so the number of implementations for a given system were quite small.   It would have made it quite difficult to continue funding development and updating systems with little additional revenue in the pipeline.

• with limited systems investment, the tools employed will likely lag behind overseas systems.  Again, golf booking comes to mind.   The clubs in Vietnam have issues similar to clubs around the world in maximizing revenue from their perishable tee time inventory.  These clubs have the same need to set variable pricing structures --- different greens fees based on day-of-week and time-of-day.   Revenue management would help these clubs boost the club’s profitability.  Unfortunately RM hasn’t made its way into many of the locally developed software solutions.

As for other requirements at the club, there has been quite a heavy investment in internationally accepted products ranging from dining room, kitchen and locker room furnishings.  It seems as though its is only a matter of time and the more robust solutions will be making their way into Vietnam.

Back to our golf tour …

Based on schedules and flight plans, our tour began with a three day stop in Dalat, a city located 4,900 feet above sea level.  Set on the Langbian Plateau in the southern parts of the Central Highlands region, it is a popular tourist destination for both local and international travellers.

Our host for the three nights was the Sacom Golf Resort, a site situated on a 127-wide peninsula overlooking Tuyen Lam Lake.   This exclusive property provided our rooms, and was the one of the three courses we played in Dalat.

We were also fortunate to play the Dalat Palace Golf Club, the first golf facility in Vietnam. Built in the 1920s, this elite club once served as the personal course of Emperor Bao Dai, Vietnam’s last emperor. 

The third course we played was Dalat at 1200, so named since it is 1200 meters above sea level. The facility is rather new, but appears to be set to become one of the favourite destination courses in the country.

On our fourth day, we flew from Dalat to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), followed by a 2-hour shuttle ride to The Grand Ho Tram Strip.  I must say, The Grand Ho Tram is one of my favorite integrated resorts .. a property I’ve profiled in Gaming and Leisure in the Summer 2014 issue with a title “Ho Tram Strip - Vietnam’s Newest Seaside Gaming Gem”.  

In that Summer 2014 issue I had the privilege of interviewing Mr. Colin Pine, General Director and President of Ho Tram Project Company.   He was one of several directors and managers I met during our 3-days, 2-nights at The Grand.

The Bluffs Ho Tram
Vung Tau, Vietnam

Labeling the integrated resort as a seaside gaming gem was appropriate.  Labeling their golf course as Vietnam’s newest seaside golfing gem would also be appropriate.  This links-style course was designed by golfing legend Greg Norman and is considered by many as the top course in the country.

On the third day, we made our way back to Saigon (HCMC) for a day when we played the Tan Son Nhat Golf Course .. bordering the city’s international airport.  The Tan Son Nhat GC is a public golf course, perfectly located near the city centre.  It was busy the day we were there, as it is almost every day.

Without spending staying overnight, we made a flight to the island of Phu Quoc off the southern tip of Vietnam.  This was perhaps the most turbulent flight any of us had experienced.   Very strong winds pushed our prop-plane all over the skies. We were fortunate to land without incident.

For several of the golfers joining us, this was not only the first time they’ve visited the island, but it was the first time they’ve even heard of it.  Phu Quoc resembles Bali about 40 years ago.   It has one golf course on the Vinpearl Resort.  Rumors have it that Vinpearl plans an additional 12 or more courses for the resort property.

Two nights at the Vinpearl and we made our way back to Saigon.   Along with Hanoi in the north, the two cities hold 80% of the country’s golf courses in their metropolitan areas.  Most of the golf courses in Vietnam are listed as private or resort courses, but most are accessible through a standard booking.

Personal favorites in the Saigon include the Taekwang Jeongsan Country Club, Vietnam Golf & Country Club and Song Be Golf Club.

Taekwang Jeongsan Country Club

Five days in Saigon and we were off on flights for a few days in NhaTrang, a few more in Danang and then off to Hanoi.   More than a mention must be given to the three courses in Danang, as each offers an exceptional golf course with a very experienced management team.

First up in Danang was the Danang Golf Club, an exceptional links course bordering Vietnam’s East Sea.   The 18-hole course was designed by Greg Norman, the same designer responsible for The Bluffs links course at Ho Tram Strip.   Managed by American Joe Millar, the club and the course are well above international standards.

Montgomerie Links
Danang, Vietnam

Our second course in Danang was a neighboring course -- Montgomerie Links. Designed by the the English golfer Colin Montgomerie, this course puts up a good challenge as the region’s top course.   As with the Danang Golf Club, this one is also properly managed and maintained.

Our third course was the Laguna Lang Golf Club, part of the Laguna Lang Resort (sight of Banyan Tree and Angsana Resorts).   The course was designed by Sir Nick Faldo, and it may be one of his best designs. The stop here was special for several reasons including the golf, the sizeable suite with a private pool and perhaps my favorite, the General Manager’s full moon party on the beach.

One last flight from Hue to Hanoi for our last week of golf.   The most memorable courses we played here included two BRG golf clubs, the DoSon Seaside Golf Resort and King’s Island Golf Resort. Both championship level golf courses managed by Canadian golf professionals.   A third course of outstanding quality was the Sky Lake Golf Club about an hour’s drive outside of Hanoi.

The quality of golf in Vietnam has caught up with that in other parts of the world. The quality of management has also reached levels expected by international golf and club management societies.

Vietnam is still not in the travel plans of many international golfers, but it will be soon.