The details behind the famous booking platform in the US: ”The club owns the experience”
In recent years, Playbypoint has become one of the leading racket sports booking platforms in the United States. In an interview with Padel Alto, founder Andres Robelo discussed how the company can use data to help clubs grow and digitize the customer experience.
Interest in Padel is growing globally. The sport's growth in the US is an important part of this global trend. Padel in the country has become a reality, and there is potential for the sport to grow significantly further.
One person who knows the US market is Andres Robelo, the CEO and founder of the booking platform Playbypoint. The company has made great progress in recent years in improving the booking experience for customers and clubs.
— We started the company Playbypoint in 2016. The original idea was to create software for booking tennis courts, as many racquet clubs used pen and paper for their bookings. When we started working with our first customers in 2017, we realized that the industry hadn't changed in 50 years. Everything was still done manually, from bookings to payments, says Andres Robelo.
He continues:
— In 2020, we started to grow in the tennis space, but it was only then that padel started to become known in the US. Our first padel club client was Wynwood Padel here in Miami. Padel was a perfect sport for us, with its similar booking structure to other racket sports. It became our entry into the padel world as a platform.
Playbypoint has always focussed on making its product as user-friendly as possible. Andres Robelo says that many of their first customers were aged between 65 and 95:
— It's very easy to use. I always tell the story of how our company is based in Florida, where it's known as a big 'retirement state', where older people come to retire. Many of our first clubs and users were between 65 and up to 95 years old. It really shows that even a 95-year-old could use it. So if someone who is 95 years old can use it, then it's really simple and easy to use, says Andres Robelo.
"We do it for the benefit of the club"
The company focuses on using data to improve the experience for both the customer and the club. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI), the company is able to match players with each other and help the club attract more customers.
— So our vision and our whole motto is that the club owns the experience, where we basically just charge the club for the use of our services. I tell a lot of clubs is that PlaybyPoints data belongs to them. Obviously, it's a shared platform, so profiles can be shared between multiple clubs, but the neighboring club doesn't have access to your information until you play there or add it as your club.
He continues:
— We're building tools so you can take advantage of that player database and generate more interest for your club, whether it's through smart messaging, through AI and analytics based. For example, if Eric plays at 2pm every day, on this court, at this time, and André too. So why don't we connect them and suggest a match. All these things we do to the benefit of the club.
How do you see the future of the company?
— In that case, we are a very product-orientated company. If we were to enter other markets, it would be because clubs are looking for a solution that we offer, because the request is not being met locally or through other software. For us, it's just about continuing to build the product where the club experience is at the centre. This means that when Eric goes to the club, the experience doesn't start and end with the booking. It goes beyond that. Our vision is to digitise that whole experience, where the club owner can also manage the whole process directly, says Andres Robelo.
”The chances are very high”
Last year, Monitor Deloitte released an optimistic prediction that by 2026, there will be around 85,000 padel courts worldwide, more than double the current 40,000. Of course, the United States is an important part of this development. Andres Robelo believes there are great chances for the sport to grow in the US.
— I think the chances are very high, but there is still a lot of work to be done. There are many barriers that need to be overcome. We need to build more infrastructure. That's one thing. But infrastructure alone is not enough. Why is that? Because we need to start educating the market to introduce them to the sport and get a racket in their hands. There are other big sports in the US, like tennis and pickleball, that are growing a lot and getting a lot of interest. And we are not competing with them. We compliment.
He continues:
— But at the same time, club owners need to create pathways so players can get into the sport. If we only target the current player base, I think we're hurting ourselves in the long run. We need to educate the kids, have junior camps, and give lessons. So I think we need to see the whole experience where we attract everyone to the sport. I think a lot of clubs see this as something positive. In the US, you don't see courts being built, you see clubs being built. And the clubs we work with know this and they create that experience. So I think, having said that, the chances are high, says Andres Robelo.
