GolfOkay Knowledge Vault

commission_model

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Commission Model

How golf booking revenue works. Foundation of GolfOkay’s unit economics.

Standard Golf Booking Commission

Typical structure:

  • Golf course list price: ฿3,000 green fee
  • Agent/platform books on behalf of customer
  • Course pays 12-20% commission to agent
  • Customer pays ฿3,000 (same as list price)

Agent margin: ฿360-600 per booking

Or markup model:

  • Course gives agent “net rate”: ฿2,400
  • Agent sells at ฿3,000
  • Agent keeps difference: ฿600

Both models exist. GolfOkay will encounter both.

GolfOkay Package Model

Average package value: ฿100,000 (~$3,000)

Revenue breakdown:

  1. Golf commission (15%): ~$450

    • 2-4 rounds per trip
    • Average ฿2,500/round net rate
    • 15% commission per booking

  2. Transport margin: ~$200

    • Airport pickup: ฿1,200
    • Course transfers (4× round-trip): ฿4,800
    • Hotel transfers: ฿800
    • Total transport: ฿6,800 ($200)
    • Investor’s transport network provides at cost
    • Platform keeps margin

  3. Ancillaries: ~$100-200

    • VIP fast-track: ฿70-100/person
    • Equipment rental: ฿800-1,200/trip
    • Travel insurance: 3-5% of package value
    • Caddy tips pre-booking: ฿1,000-1,500

Total margin per package: ~$750-850

Why This Beats B2B SaaS

Direct package economics:

  • $750-850 margin per package
  • 20 packages in 90 days = $15K-17K revenue
  • Scales with volume (more packages = more revenue)

B2B SaaS comparison:

  • $300/month per agent
  • 10 agents in 90 days = $3K MRR
  • Capped by agent count (not volume)

5x difference in first 90 days. Package model wins when TAT license allows direct sales.

Commission Variation by Course Tier

High-end courses (Blue Canyon, Siam Country Club):

  • List price: ฿5,000-8,000
  • Commission: 10-12% (lower % due to high demand)
  • Absolute margin: ฿500-960

Mid-tier courses (most Pattaya, Bangkok courses):

  • List price: ฿2,000-3,500
  • Commission: 15-18%
  • Absolute margin: ฿300-630

Budget courses:

  • List price: ฿1,000-1,800
  • Commission: 18-22% (higher % to incentivize bookings)
  • Absolute margin: ฿180-396

Strategy: Mix of all tiers. High-end for prestige/margins, mid-tier for volume, budget for price-sensitive customers.

Aggregator Commission Impact

If using aggregator APIs:

  • Course commission: 15%
  • Aggregator takes: 3-5%
  • Net to GolfOkay: 10-12%

Direct relationship:

  • Course commission: 15%
  • No aggregator cut
  • Net to GolfOkay: 15%

Break-even: If course generates >10 bookings/month, direct relationship saves ฿90-150 per booking × 10 = ฿900-1,500/month. Worth negotiating direct.

Transport Margin Deep-Dive

Investor advantage: Operates transport/concierge network in Bangkok & Pattaya

Cost structure:

  • Driver + vehicle: ฿1,500/day
  • Airport pickup (Suvarnabhumi → Bangkok): ฿1,200 (1.5hr)
  • Course transfer round-trip: ฿1,200 each (4 rounds = ฿4,800)
  • Total cost: ~฿6,000-6,500
  • Charged to customer: ฿8,000-9,000
  • Margin: ฿2,000-2,500 per package

40% attach rate target: If 40% of packages include transport, adds ~$80-100 per package across all bookings.

Ancillary Revenue Opportunities

VIP fast-track (airport immigration):

  • Cost: ฿70/person (via provider)
  • Sell: ฿150/person
  • Margin: ฿80/person × 2 people = ฿160

Equipment rental:

  • Cost: ฿600/set (4 days)
  • Sell: ฿1,200/set
  • Margin: ฿600 (if 30% take rate)

Travel insurance:

  • Cost: 2% of package value
  • Sell: 5% of package value
  • Margin: 3% = ฿3,000 on ฿100K package

Caddy tips pre-booking:

  • Convenience fee: 5%
  • Customer pays ฿1,500 for caddies (4 rounds × ฿300 tip)
  • Platform charges ฿1,575
  • Margin: ฿75

Total ancillary potential: ฿3,835 per package (~$115) if all attach.

Realistic: 50-60% of packages have ≥1 ancillary = ~$60-70 blended margin per package.

Seasonality Impact

High season (Nov-Mar):

  • Course prices +30-50%
  • Commission % same, but absolute margin higher
  • Example: ฿4,000 green fee × 15% = ฿600 (vs ฿450 low season)

Low season (Apr-Oct):

  • Prices drop 40-50%
  • Volume increases (budget travelers, expats)
  • Lower margin per package, but higher volume compensates

Blended margin: ~฿25,000 per package year-round (฿30K high season, ฿20K low season)

Corporate/Group Bookings

Different commission structure:

  • Groups of 8-16 players
  • Negotiated rates with courses (typically lower green fees)
  • Higher volume = better terms
  • Commission: 10-12% (lower %) but larger absolute numbers

Example:

  • 12 players, 3 rounds each = 36 bookings
  • Net rate: ฿2,000/round (discounted from ฿2,500)
  • Total: ฿72,000 green fees
  • Commission (12%): ฿8,640
  • Transport for group: ฿15,000 (2 vans, 4 days)
  • Total package margin: ~฿10,000-12,000

Corporate attach rate: 15-20% of volume, but 25-30% of margin (larger packages).

Path to Profitability

Month 3: 20 packages × ฿25,000 avg margin = ฿500K revenue ($15K)

Month 6: 40 packages × ฿25,000 = ฿1M revenue ($30K)

Month 9: 75 packages × ฿25,000 = ฿1.875M revenue ($56K)

  • Burn rate: ฿480K (CTO ฿200K + Tan ฿200K + ops ฿30K + dev ฿50K)
  • Profit: ฿1.395M (~$42K)

Commission model enables profitability at 75-80 packages/month when combined with transport margin + ancillaries.

See Also

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