Off-peak occupancy is the share of court-hours sold during slots that aren't naturally in demand. For most clubs, evenings and weekends sell themselves; the strategic problem is filling weekday mornings, early afternoons and the late-evening tail.
Why off-peak is where the money is
Peak hours are already close to fully booked at most healthy clubs. The available upside is in the empty hours — which is also where pricing can be more flexible without cannibalising peak revenue. Moving overall utilisation from 60% to 70% almost always means filling off-peak slots, because there's nowhere else for the gain to come from.
Who plays off-peak
- Retired players and shift workers who prefer weekday mornings.
- Coaches running junior or beginner programmes.
- Corporate groups looking for team activities during work hours.
- Americano and mixed events designed to bring social players together.
Tactics that actually move the number
Discounting alone rarely moves off-peak. What works is a combination: a slightly cheaper price point, a programmed activity (clinic, americano, ladder) that gives players a reason to come, and direct outreach to players whose history suggests they're available at that time. A targeted message to twenty likely players almost always outperforms a broadcast discount to the full member list.