6 New Features to Run Your Simulator Business Smarter

New Feature Release

Eight updates to help you book more, earn more, and do less busy-work.

We've been shipping fast this spring. Here's a look at the eight biggest features we've rolled out over the past few weeks — from smarter payments to targeted marketing campaigns.

1. Card Hold Payments

No-shows are expensive. Card hold payments let you authorize a customer's card at the time of booking without actually charging it. When they show up and play, you capture the payment. If they don't? You can charge a cancellation fee or void the hold entirely.

It's a two-stage process built on top of Square's payment API:

✓ Authorize — Card is validated and funds are held when the customer books
✓ Capture — Charge goes through after the session (manual or automatic)
✓ Void — Cancel the hold if plans change, no charge to the customer

Why it matters: Customers have skin in the game, which means fewer ghost bookings. You still have full control — capture the full amount, a partial fee, or release the hold entirely from your admin panel.

2. NCAA Bracket Contests

March Madness is the biggest sporting event of the spring — and now your customers can fill out brackets right from your booking page. NCAA Bracket Contests let you run a full 64-team bracket competition tied to your facility.

✓ Full 64-team bracket with all tournament rounds
✓ Customers pick winners for every matchup before the tournament starts
✓ Live leaderboard tracks scores as real results come in
✓ Set your own prizes — free sim time, merch, food & drink credit

Why it matters: Bracket contests give customers a reason to come back, check scores, and talk about your facility. It's low-effort engagement that drives foot traffic during tournament season.

3. Auto Extend Reservations

Customers no longer have to call or flag down staff to add time. If the next slot is open, they can extend their reservation right from their phone — or an admin can do it from the dashboard.

✓ Real-time availability check before extending
✓ Pricing adjusts automatically based on duration and membership discounts
✓ Works for both customer self-service and admin override
✓ Payment processed inline — no need to check out again

Why it matters: More time on the simulator means more revenue per session. Making it frictionless means customers actually do it instead of just leaving when their hour is up.

4. Membership Custom Hours

Not all membership tiers are created equal. You can now set separate booking hours for each membership plan — giving premium members earlier access, later availability, or exclusive time slots that standard members don't see.

✓ Define unique open/close hours per membership tier
✓ Premium plans can book outside normal business hours
✓ Booking page automatically reflects the logged-in member's available hours
✓ Great incentive for customers to upgrade to higher tiers

Why it matters: Tiered access is one of the most requested features from facility owners running membership programs. It lets you reward your best customers and gives everyone else a reason to upgrade.

5. 24/7 Remote Access with Smart Locks

VTeeGolf now integrates with smart locks to give your customers unique, time-bound access codes for every booking. No staff required — customers get a code when their reservation starts and it expires when their session ends.

Works with August, Yale, Schlage, and dozens of other smart lock brands through our Seam integration. Setup takes minutes, and there's no extra cost.

Read the full breakdown →

6. Audience Segment Marketing

Stop blasting the same email to your entire customer list. Audience segment marketing lets you target specific groups of customers based on their booking behavior, membership status, league participation, and engagement level — so every campaign you send actually feels relevant.

✓ 17 built-in segments across booking behavior, membership, leagues, and engagement
✓ Smart targeting — reach lapsed customers, frequent bookers, at-risk members, non-members, and more
✓ Live recipient preview — see exactly who will receive your campaign before you send it
✓ Combine segments — stack multiple filters to get exactly the audience you want

Why it matters: A "we miss you" email to someone who booked yesterday is noise. A win-back offer to someone who hasn't played in 60 days is revenue. Segmented campaigns mean higher open rates, fewer unsubscribes, and more bookings per send.

7. Hot Deals

Fill empty bays during slow hours with Hot Deals — discounted time slots that show up on your booking page with a flame icon. Customers see the deal, book at a lower price, and your simulator stays busy instead of sitting idle.

✓ Set your discount — choose the percentage off (default 30%) and max session duration
✓ Pick your time slots — configure which days and times to offer deals on a recurring weekly schedule
✓ Limited availability — control how many customers can claim each deal slot, creating urgency
✓ Automatic pricing — customers see the original price crossed out with the deal price, no coupon codes needed

Why it matters: An empty bay at 2 PM on a Tuesday earns you nothing. A discounted booking at 2 PM on a Tuesday earns you revenue and puts a potential repeat customer in front of your simulators. Hot Deals turn dead time into income.

8. Free Business Website

Every VTeeGolf account now includes a professional website — hero images, photo gallery, hours, pricing, contact form, and custom domain support. It's built from your existing VTeeGolf data, so there's almost nothing to configure.

Already have a site you like? No problem. The website builder is entirely optional. But if you need one, it's there — free, fast, and mobile-friendly.