How Marketing has Helped the Al Kruse Pickleball Center Expand Membership and Continue to Grow
How Marketing has Helped the Al Kruse Pickleball Center Expand Membership and Continue to Grow
How Marketing has Helped the Al Kruse Pickleball Center Expand Membership and Continue to Grow
With over 1,700 paying members and thousands of drop-in members, The Pickle Lodge in Cincinnati, Ohio, has found a successful formula for keeping its 17 indoor courts full and their membership steady.
Player Experience Coordinator Ethan Shutte says keeping members happy is key to their success.
“We make sure the members have what they need and put them first by catering to them as much as possible,” he says.
Since its soft opening in June of 2023, The Pickle Lodge has used the Court Reserve booking system that allows all players to select their own court time. Ethan says the system is easy to use and every player is encouraged to download the app in order to book through their phone. Players who don’t want to use the app can also book online through the website. The app allows players to book open play, round-robins, clinics, leagues and lessons. Ethan says he hasn’t heard any complaints from members about the app that proves it’s working as it should.
The newly opened Pickleball Warehouse in Pittsburgh is based on the idea of the fun, spontaneity and fellowship of open play. Since July 2024, Pickleball Warehouse has been Pittsburgh’s largest indoor pickleball facility with two private courts and 17 courts dedicated to open play.
Husband and wife Bryan Wigginton and Alexa Gervasi saw a gap in the pickleball market with a lack of indoor playing space. With that observation, the idea for Pickleball Warehouse started to form. Nearly six months into the open play business model they are having a great time and their players seem to feel the same way.
Most business owners share a common struggle regardless of the industry and pickleball clubs are no different. That struggle is seasonality. Weather changes, holidays and the fluctuating habits of your members can all cause seasonal changes in your bookings and thereby fluctuations in your earnings. We reached out to Andrea Cancro, owner and lead pickler at Prestige Pickleball Club in Northvale, New Jersey, to gain some insight on ways to stabilize revenue year-round.
A keen focus on what keeps their members happy – and returning – has led to great success for Pickleland in Austin Texas.
With nearly 400 members and nine state-of-the-art pickleball courts, Pickleland is making its mark in the Austin area pickleball community since opening in September.
Pickleland CEO Alejandro Rioja put the work in up front in order to start strong by researching a wide variety of clubs from around the country. Taking a user design approach allowed Alejandro and his business partners to see what was important to them, what they liked in other facilities and determine the best business plan for them.