By the MeetAndPlay editorial team · · 5 min read
Every padel, tennis or pickleball club knows the pattern: courts fill up at peak hours and sit empty the rest of the day. Off-peak hours (mid-morning, early afternoon or weekdays) are capacity you already pay for that earns no revenue. This guide suggests practical ideas, none requiring big investment, to fill them. There are no magic formulas or guaranteed figures: every club has its own community, so test, measure and adjust.
Start by understanding your off-peak
Before acting, measure:
- Which hours are empty and on which days. A Tuesday at 11 is not the same as a Thursday at 3 pm.
- Who could play at that time. People working from home, retirees, students with gaps, non-traditional shift workers, visitors and tourists.
- What your competition offers in those same hours.
With those three facts, design offers for specific people, not for "everyone".
Ideas that work in most clubs
1. Retas and open matches by level
The biggest obstacle to playing midweek is not price: it is getting four people of the same level together at the same time. If the club puts the match together, you solve the player's problem. Set a recurring slot ("Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 to 12, intermediate level") and let players sign up. Over time it becomes a habit. A match that is already set up, with a clear level and time, turns a vague intention ("I will play some day") into a concrete booking.
2. Themed americanas
An americana in an off-peak slot can fill several courts at once. Give it an identity: morning americana, mixed americana, beginners' americana. We have a guide to organising them. A good format is a short americana of an hour and a half, which leaves everyone wanting to repeat the following week.
3. Group lessons and introductory clinics
Introductory classes are an excellent way in: they fill courts in low-demand hours and turn the curious into regular players. A beginners' pickleball or padel class, with a paddle lent, lowers the barrier to entry. If you also offer a second class on special terms for those who come back, you create a reason to return.
4. Packages and passes for specific hours
An off-peak offer (for example a multi-hour pass to use on weekday mornings) encourages flexible players. You decide the price and conditions; what matters is that it is simple to understand and easy to book. Avoid complicated conditions: if it takes a paragraph to understand the offer, most people will not use it.
5. Programmes for specific groups
- Companies: agreements for teams to play in off-peak hours. A team that plays once a week mid-morning can become a regular customer.
- Schools and universities: classes and internal tournaments. A school league in the early afternoon can keep several courts busy for weeks.
- Tourists and visitors: introductory packages or matches for people passing through, especially in tourist cities.
6. Padel, tennis and pickleball in the same club
If you have more than one sport, cross the offer: someone who plays tennis can try padel or pickleball in an off-peak slot.
Make it easy to find you and to book
An offer nobody sees fills nothing:
- A visible, up-to-date schedule showing real court availability.
- Complete listings in directories and maps: address, sports, number of courts and how to book.
- Frictionless booking: if booking means calls or unanswered messages, the player goes elsewhere.
- Constant communication: a weekly post with the open slots and the week's retas works better than a one-off announcement.
Measure and adjust
Try one idea at a time for a few weeks:
- How many courts filled in the slot where you tried something new?
- How many players are new and how many came back?
- Which offers repeat and which do not?
Keep what works and replace what does not. An off-peak slot that becomes a weekly habit beats a one-off promotion. Record results on a simple sheet: date, time, players and comments. In a few months you will have your own data, better than any hunch.
Look after the experience
A player who comes off-peak should find the same quality as at peak time: courts in good condition, fresh balls, friendly service and punctuality. A good first match is the best advertising. It also helps when staff greet regular visitors by name: in a quiet slot it is easy to give that personal touch.
How MeetAndPlay can help
MeetAndPlay connects clubs with players looking for matches: players see open matches by sport, time and level, and join those with space. For a club, that means reaching people who already want to play and are looking precisely for a flexible slot. Learn more on the clubs page.
Frequently asked questions
- What are off-peak hours at a sports club?
- They are the low-demand times, usually weekday mid-mornings or early afternoons, when courts sit empty while the capacity is already paid for.
- What is the simplest way to fill an off-peak slot?
- Run retas or open matches by level at a fixed time, so players do not have to gather four people on their own.
- Do you have to cut prices to fill courts?
- Not necessarily. A recurring slot, an americana or an introductory class can solve the real problem, which is getting players together. If you offer a pass, keep it simple and easy to understand.