Succes story! “Hotels on the golf course” brand celebrates its 10th anniversary
The marketing cooperation “Hotels on the Golf Course”, which started in 2011 with 16 partner facilities, can look back on a decade of successful work this year.
The idea is simple but ingenious: spend the night directly on the golf course. The “Hotels on the Golf Course” group now includes 29 top golf courses in six countries. The criteria for admission are strict. On the one hand, the hotels may not be located further than a par-4 hole (maximum 430 meters) from the golf course and on the other hand, the associated courses must have an award for at least four stars by the International Golf Stars Classification. Furthermore, the golf course needs to have at least 18 holes and the hotel must meet all the criteria of the “First Class” category.
With this promise of quality, golfers can be sure that their expectations of a “vacation in a new dimension” will be met. The hotels and golf courses benefit: the successful network guarantees higher occupancy rates for all brand partners. Heidi Bohn, project manager for Hotels on the golf course, says: “We are very pleased that the brand has grown continuously over the last decade. Many hotel partners from the very beginning have remained loyal to the brand since it was founded in 2011. We are convinced that such a brand association will become even more important in challenging times. We will continue to consolidate the brand with strong, creative marketing and communication measures in the medium and long term”.
The brand partners are also convinced of the concept and further growth of the brand. Here are the opinions of two hotel partners.
Peter Hilla, business graduate & graduate economist and owner of the golf resort Gut Heckenhof, says:
„We teamed up with other hoteliers ten years ago, in the knowledge that golfers, especially when traveling in groups, are always looking for new destinations. Therefore, it seemed logical to focus on this business, the members of the brand and the partnerships. Also important is to draw attention to the offers of the other properties at each partner hotel. In addition, there are strict admission criteria and quality requirements that all hotels and golf facilities must meet in order to be able to offer golfers a high-quality product at all times. The unique selling proposition of the brand for hotels “no more than a PAR 4 away from the golf course” has meanwhile established itself and has brought inconsiderable additional business over the years. Through successful marketing and communication measures, the brand has been constantly supported and is now, with 29 hotels in 6 countries, on its way to a smooth internationalization, which can only bring benefits to all partners.”
Peter Hamacher, Managing Director Marketing & Sales, HAMACHER HOTELS & RESORTS, says:
“From the very beginning, we were very convinced by the concept and the idea of marketing hotels directly at or on the golf course in a network. A topic that is currently more relevant than ever. Guests want short distances to the golf course, yearn more and more for nature and prefer hotels that offer a generous amount of space and more room. Furthermore, the combination of golf complemented by an excellent offer in terms of culinary and wellness in well-managed hotels & resorts, is increasingly becoming the focus. The concept of Hotels on the Golf Course has proven to be very successful over the years and has brought us additional business. We are proud to be a brand partner and we are looking forward to continue to leverage the synergies of the brand in the future.”
For more information, visit www.hotelsaufdemgolfplatz.com
“Hotels on the Golf Course” – How the success story began 10 years ago! Interview with Thomas Hasak, Managing Director of BVGA Wirtschafts-GmbH.
Editor: Mr. Hasak, who actually came up with the idea for “Hotels on the Golf Course”?
It all started at the International Golf Congress at the Steigenberger Hotel Treudelberg in Hamburg. At the gala night, the golf course owners who also run a hotel on the golf course, sat together and concluded to establish a marketing cooperation in order to support each other in the best possible way. After a few strategy workshops, the time had come in 2011.
When exactly was the official birth of “Hotels on the Golf Course”?
On April 14, 2011, at exactly 12:00 p.m., the start of the marketing cooperation was officially announced in front of numerous journalists in the press center of the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle/Westphalia on the International Golf Congress.
Which partners were involved since the beginning?
We started with 16 hotels from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The first partner Hotels were:
- Dolomitengolf Hotel & Spa
- Steigenberger Hotel Hamburg-Treudelberg
- Gut Heckenhof Hotel & Golf Resort
- Golfhotel Schloss Lüdersburg
- Golfhotel Vesper
- Angel’s das Hotel am Golfpark
- Strandgrün Golf & Wellness Resort Timmendorfer Strand
- Princely Golf Resort Bad Waldsee
- Ahauser Land & Golfhotel
- A-rosa Golf Resort Bad Saarow at the Scharmützelsee Lake
- Golf hotel Gut Apeldör
- Land & Golf Hotel Gut Deinster Mühle
- Hotel Wutzschleife
- Hotel Gut Weissenhof
- Grand Resort – Bad Ragaz
- Wellness Hotel Golfpanorama
You are a man of facts. What can you provide for the brand “Hotels on the Golf Course?”
- Partner hotels: 29
- Countries: six
- Continents: two
- Turnover tournament series. € 50,000
- Added value press relations & marketing support: € 236.000,-
- Catalog circulation: 36.000
Added to this the catering revenue from the tournament series and numerous individual and group bookings.
How has the brand developed over the past 10 years?
We have almost doubled the number of partner hotels from 16 to 29. The same applies to the countries in which we are represent today. Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Italy have joined the three countries Germany, Austria and Swiss in 2011 by 2021.
What services have been ad for the partner hotels?
Today we have an excellent partner, the press agency “Helma Scheffler”, which uses our marketing budget efficiently and profitably for the brand and for the individual partner hotels. In addition, we have of course an international website with a direct link to the booking pages of our partner hotels.
We also have a SEO management, as a rating tool for guests and the International Golf Course Classification for quality assurance are also standard today, as is additional sales through a modern voucher tool! The constantly growing number of catalog inquiries and visitors to the website evidences the fact that we have noticeably increased our customer base and level of awareness.
What is your personal vision for the successful marketing cooperation?
The satisfied hotel guest and the satisfied hotel partner are still our top priority. For this reason, we will continue along the path of “soft” internationalization together with our partners. In concrete terms, this means growth of one or two partner hotels in international vacation regions. With the Robinson Club in Belek, we are already operating on two continents. I am convinced that more “Hotels on the Golf Course” from all over the world will be added in the future.
Thank you very much for the interview, Mr. Hasak!
Further information at www.hotelsaufdemgolfplatz.com.
