Dynamic pricing means charging different rates for different slots based on demand. The most basic version is two prices: peak and off-peak. The most sophisticated version varies the rate by hour, day-of-week and season, sometimes even per-court when one court has a clear quality advantage.
Why static pricing leaves money on the table
Charging the same rate at 8pm Tuesday as at 11am Wednesday means the 8pm slot is underpriced (it would sell at a higher rate) and the 11am slot is overpriced (it sits empty when a small discount would fill it). A two-tier peak / off-peak split usually captures most of the available upside without the operational complexity of fully-dynamic systems.
Common pitfalls
- Discounting peak slots "to be fair" to members — this trains players to wait for the next discount.
- Over-engineering the price tiers to the point where players can't predict what a slot costs.
- Ignoring the impact on perceived fairness — a regular player who finds out the same slot was sold cheaper to a stranger feels cheated.
A practical place to start
Identify the three or four time bands where utilisation is consistently below 40%. Trial a 15–25% discount for those specific bands for a defined period (e.g. four weeks), measure both the bookings added and any peak-rate cannibalisation, and decide whether to keep, expand or roll back.