How to run a golf simulator bay without staff

Ba runs TURF, a multi-sport sim lounge, with a business partner, and he automated it himself. The question every sim owner asks is the same one he had: how do you take bookings at hours when nobody is behind the counter? This is how the pieces fit.

The door opens for the booking

Every booking gets its own door code, made ahead of the session and texted to the customer. The code works for that booking only. For the lock you need one that the system can set codes on: a local Z-Wave keypad lock with no monthly fee, UniFi Access, or RemoteLock.

The bay turns itself on and off

The bay's PC, TV and lights come on before the session and go off after it, through smart plugs and the PC's own wake-up. The bay screen warns the group near the end of their time. A bay with back-to-back bookings stays on in between.

The PC goes straight to the game

A bay PC that boots to the Windows desktop needs someone to start the software. Two free programs remove that step:

• BayLauncher shows big game cards instead of the desktop. Tap a card to play; one button closes everything and brings the cards back. A staff PIN opens the normal desktop.
• ProTee AutoStart, for GSPro bays with a ProTee VX, runs at boot: it clicks through the startup windows, opens the practice range and resets the aim. If the launch monitor will not connect, it power-cycles it through a smart plug and tries again.

The controls are at the mat

A wireless control box puts mulligan, aim, club and the camera views at the players' feet, so nobody needs the keyboard and mouse during a round. Players ask staff less, too.

The whole system, run by typing

BA Core 2 AI, coming soon, is the BA booking system for sim facilities with an assistant you talk to: the website, booking, memberships, the staff pad and counter, the doors and the bays, on a small AI computer in your own building. It is built from the system that runs TURF every day. Try the live demo at babookingsandbox.com, best on a computer.

What to plan for

• Your own Stripe account for card payments and an email service, with texts recommended.
• A door lock the system can set codes on, and smart plugs for bay power.
• Someone comfortable with your router and bay PC settings.

Every hour the bays run without someone at the counter is an hour of wages you do not pay, or an hour you can now sell. For example, 20 unstaffed hours a week at $15 an hour is about $15,600 a year in wages. Your numbers will be different.