How Much to Charge for Golf Simulator Time: A Pricing Guide

How much to charge for golf simulator time comes down to three things: what your market will bear, when people want to play, and how full your bays already are. Most venues land on a per-bay hourly rate, with higher prices at peak times, lower prices when the bays sit empty, and a better rate for members. The exact number matters less than having a structure you can adjust. Here is how I think about it after years of tweaking prices at our own venue.

Per bay hour vs per person pricing

This is the first decision, and it shapes everything else.

Per bay hour means the group rents the bay. Four friends pay the same as one person. It is simple to explain, simple to book and it is what most guests expect.

Per person means you charge each player. It captures more from big groups but makes booking more complicated, invites arguments at the desk ("he is only watching") and can scare off larger groups who are exactly the customers you want on a Friday.

We charge per bay hour. The one tweak I would consider is a group size cap per bay (say, six players), not because of revenue but because rounds with eight people drag and nobody has fun.

Price the bay, not the golfer. It keeps booking simple and makes groups feel like a deal.

Setting your base golf simulator pricing per hour

Start with your local market. Look at what other sim venues, driving ranges and entertainment spots in your area charge. You are not trying to be the cheapest. You are trying to be a clear value for what you offer.

Then sanity check it against your costs. Here is a simple worked example:

• Say you have four bays and your monthly fixed costs (rent, utilities, software, insurance, loan payments) are around $12,000.
• If your average rate works out to $45 an hour after discounts, you need about 267 paid bay hours a month to cover fixed costs.
• Four bays open 12 hours a day for 30 days is 1,440 available bay hours. So you break even at roughly 19 percent occupancy, before staff and bar costs.

Your numbers will be different. The point is to know your break-even occupancy, because it tells you how aggressive you can be with off-peak discounts. If you want a fuller picture of startup and running costs, see what it costs to open an indoor golf facility.

Peak and off-peak pricing by day and time

This is the single biggest pricing lever you have. Demand at a sim venue is lumpy. Weeknights after work and weekends are packed. Weekday mornings and early afternoons are quiet.

A structure that works for a lot of venues:

• Peak: weekday evenings from about 5 to 10, and weekends from late morning onward.
• Off-peak: weekday daytime and late nights.
• Shoulder (optional): Sunday evenings or the first hour of weekday evenings.

A worked example with illustrative numbers:

• Peak: $60 per bay hour
• Off-peak: $40 per bay hour
• Late night after 10 on weeknights: $35 per bay hour

The first winter we were open, we charged one flat rate all day. Evenings sold out weeks ahead and mornings were empty. Splitting peak and off-peak did two things at once: people who could flex moved to the cheaper times, and the peak hours we still sold earned more.

A good rule of thumb: if a time slot is sold out most weeks, it is underpriced. If it is empty most weeks, price is only part of the problem, but it is worth testing a lower rate.

Seasonal rates and premium bay pricing

Seasonal rates. Indoor golf is seasonal in most places. Winter is your high season and summer is usually a slump. Consider a higher peak rate in your busiest months and a lower summer rate to keep people coming in. I wrote more about that in surviving the indoor golf summer slump.

Premium bays. If some of your bays are bigger, have better screens, a lounge area or a more private setting, charge more for them. Something like $10 to $15 more per hour than your standard bays is a common range. People booking for birthdays or client outings will happily pay for the nicer room, and your standard bays stay accessible for regulars.

Just make sure the difference is obvious on your booking page. Guests should see why the premium bay costs more.

Member pricing and promo codes for slow nights

Member pricing. Members should always get a better rate than the public, even if their membership also includes free hours. It is the most tangible perk you can offer. A common approach is 15 to 25 percent off the public rate, or a flat member rate like $35 an hour at any time. Some venues also give members an early booking window so they can grab prime slots first. For more, see golf simulator membership ideas.

Promo codes. Promo codes are a targeted tool, not a permanent discount. Use them to fill specific slow periods:

• A Tuesday night code you send to your email list.
• A code for a local business or golf team.
• A code for first-time guests who found you through a specific channel, so you can track what works.

Give every code an end date. Open-ended codes turn into your real price without you noticing. If weeknights are your problem, I have a longer piece on how to fill slow weeknights at your sim venue.

Minimum booking lengths

A minimum booking length protects your tee sheet from fragmentation. If people can book 30 minutes anywhere, you end up with awkward gaps that nobody can use.

What works for most venues:

• A one-hour minimum, with 30-minute increments after that.
• A longer minimum on weekend peak hours if you are consistently sold out, like 90 minutes or two hours.
• Shorter, flexible slots on off-peak times where you just want bodies in bays.

Also think about how long a real round takes. A foursome playing 18 holes can easily need two to three hours depending on the software and how chatty the group is. If you set expectations on your booking page ("a foursome usually needs about three hours for 18 holes"), guests book the right length and you avoid bays running over.

How to test and adjust your prices

Pricing is not a one-time decision. Here is the process I use:

1. Pick one change at a time. Raise Friday peak by $5, or drop Wednesday afternoon by $10. Not both at once.
2. Run it for four to six weeks. A single week is noise, especially around holidays or big golf events on TV.
3. Watch occupancy by time of day, not just revenue. Did the slot fill better? Did peak demand hold?
4. Look at who booked. New customers or regulars? Members or public?
5. Keep it or roll it back. Write down what you changed and what happened, so you are not relying on memory next season.

The mistakes I see most often: never raising prices even when peak is sold out for months, discounting everything instead of specific slow slots, and making pricing so complicated that staff cannot explain it at the desk. If your front desk cannot say your prices in one breath, simplify.

Putting your pricing into practice

Start simple: one base hourly rate per bay, a peak and off-peak split, a member rate and a premium bay rate if you have one. Add seasonal rates and targeted promo codes once you have a few months of data. Review occupancy by time of day every month and adjust one lever at a time.

Your booking software should make this easy, not fight you. In SimBook, you can set peak and off-peak pricing by day of week, seasonal rates by date range, different prices per bay type, member pricing and promo codes, then check the occupancy and rounds by time of day reports to see what is working. If you want to try it with your own numbers, there is a 14-day free trial.

FAQ

How much should I charge per hour for a golf simulator?

It depends on your local market and costs, but many venues charge a per-bay hourly rate with a higher peak price and a lower off-peak price. Research local competitors, calculate your break-even occupancy and set a structure you can adjust.

Should I charge per person or per bay for golf simulator time?

Most venues charge per bay hour because it is simple and groups like it. Per-person pricing can earn more from big groups but complicates booking and can push larger groups away.

What is peak and off-peak pricing for a golf simulator?

Peak pricing is a higher rate during your busiest times, usually weeknight evenings and weekends. Off-peak pricing is a lower rate during quieter times like weekday daytime, to fill bays that would otherwise sit empty.

How often should I change my golf simulator prices?

Review pricing monthly using occupancy data, but only change one thing at a time and give each change four to six weeks before judging it.