How to Price Your Golf Simulator Studio

Pricing is the single lever that affects every booking you take. Too low and you leave money on the table. Too high and your bays sit empty. Here’s a framework for setting prices that fill your calendar and maximize revenue per hour.

Start With Your Cost Per Hour

Before setting a price, know your floor. Add up your fixed monthly costs — rent, utilities, equipment payments, software, insurance — and divide by the total bookable hours in a month. That’s your break-even rate per hour. Your price needs to be above that number at your realistic occupancy rate (assume 40–60% to start).

Example: $8,000/month in fixed costs ÷ 200 bookable hours = $40/hour floor. You need to charge more than $40/hour at 50% occupancy to be profitable.

Typical Market Rates

Simulator studio hourly rates vary by market, but most fall in these ranges:

Market Tier	Rate Range	Description
Budget/Small Market	$25–$35/hour	Typically 1–2 bay studios in smaller cities
Mid-Market	$35–$50/hour	Most common range for suburban and mid-size city studios
Premium/Urban	$50–$75+/hour	High-rent markets, premium equipment, upscale experience

Check what existing studios in your market charge before setting your rate. You don’t need to undercut them — you need to be competitive while communicating your value clearly.

Peak vs. Off-Peak Pricing

Not all hours are equal. Friday and Saturday evenings fill themselves. Tuesday at 2pm does not. Charging the same rate for both leaves money on the table during peak hours and misses bookings during slow ones.

A simple two-tier structure works well for most studios:

1. Peak (weekends, weekday evenings after 5pm): full rate
2. Off-peak (weekday mornings and afternoons): 15–25% discount

Birdie’s utilization dashboard shows you exactly which slots are underperforming so you know where to apply discounts and where you don’t need to.

How to Price Memberships

Membership pricing should reflect the discount a committed customer earns — typically 15–25% off the standard hourly rate. If your walk-in rate is $40/hour, a 10-hour membership might cost $340 (15% off) or $300 (25% off).

The trade-off is cash flow vs. margin. Hour bank memberships bring revenue upfront, which helps cash flow even if the per-hour margin is slightly lower. Most studios find the trade worthwhile.

Don’t price memberships so aggressively that your best members cost you money. Know your cost per hour and price above it.

Group Pricing and Add-Ons

Groups of 3–4 golfers sharing a bay are your best customers per session — they fill a 2-hour block, generate good revenue, and often become regulars. Consider pricing for groups explicitly rather than just per-bay:

Group booking (up to 4 players): $60–$80/hour flat rate, regardless of individual count.

Add-ons at checkout increase average transaction value without raising your base rate. Common add-ons: BYOB allowance ($10–$15), club rental ($25–$50), extra time in 30-minute increments.

When to Raise Your Prices

If your bays are consistently above 70% occupied and you have a waitlist for peak hours, raise your prices. Most studios are undercharging. A $5/hour increase across 200 monthly bookings is $1,000/month in additional revenue with zero additional cost.

Raise prices gradually — 10–15% at a time — and monitor booking rates. Your regulars will accept modest increases if the experience is good.