Scheduling Tips for Managing Fall Sports Cancellations

As the summer months fade away, you may be realizing that the good intentions of your clients may be just that — good intentions. COVID-19 has led to questions about fall outdoor sports, and indoor recreation is certainly precarious. While schools have been careful in their reopening processes, the fact is that fall sports and fall and winter indoor activities could face modifications, delays, or even complete cancellations. It is important to know best practices to managing cancellations.

You need to be more prepared than ever before to rearrange your schedules on an almost daily basis. Facilities that can do this effectively are the ones that will survive in the new norm.

Here are some planning tips to make sure your facility remains as profitable as possible in the coming months.

Double Bookings and Uneven Scheduling

With sports facilities already limited in their capacities due to social distancing measures, the last thing they need is to lose out on cash because of a double-booking mishap.

Conflicts might arise from two teams or athletes being scheduled in the same space, or from being scheduled in two different spaces at the same time.

But an even timelier issue — especially in the face of COVID-19 — is having uneven schedules. If most of your teams, coaches or athletes are using the space on one particular day of the week, that leaves little time for required maintenance and cleaning between uses.

Free software claims to help you manage these things. However, these tools don’t often let you set any custom parameters to manage this new normal. Additionally, updates to a schedule may not happen in real-time, leading to complaints from clients who think that they are due preferential treatment.

Last-minute Registrations, Refunds, and Cancellations

Last-minute scheduling changes due to COVID-19 have increased the need to find a flexible organizational tool. If your facility still relies on spreadsheets or pen and paper, last-minute registrations, refunds, and cancellations can become a cumbersome challenge.

The fear of getting sick is much higher on your client’s radars. Refunds might take up a much larger chunk of your staff’s time. Most scheduling software makes it easy to offer refunds to your customers. Some even provide a customer-facing portal — allowing your clients to self-service and initiate cancellations and automatic refunds on their own.

Other facilities have opted not to allow cancellations, instead only allowing clients the option to reschedule. For teams to be rescheduled, everything — from participants to coaches/instructors to staff — must realign to fit a particular time slot. Powerful scheduling software with the right features can optimize your schedule with just a few clicks.

Support Where You Need It

While scheduling and registration software should be a priority for effective facility management, what a lot of facilities look for — specifically during the new normal of COVID-19 — is an experienced support network.

At eSoft Planner, we understand the pain you’re experiencing and the true challenges of scheduling because we’ve been there. We built the software out of necessity to manage a sports facility. When you join eSoft Planner, you’re getting a team of dedicated experts who specialize in your specific industry to help you navigate these unprecedented times.

eSoft Planner’s team of client implementation specialists have had years of experience in a range of sports industries. In addition, our CEO owned a sports facility for years. Our automated software offers safeguards that protect against double-bookings by providing clear visibility of class and lesson registrations — allowing you and your clients to make the most of your facility hours of operation.

If you’re tired of cumbersome scheduling software — or worse, pen and paper — eSoft Planner is a robust solution for the cost-conscious sports facility. Contact us for a demo of eSoft Planner today to see how you can spend less time and hassle on administration and more time supporting your club and your members.

For more tips on successfully managing cancellations, book a free consultation with our experts.