The Challenge: Complex Processes, Not Enough Automation

Until October 2025, the PTCV relied on eTennis, a platform originally designed for traditional tennis clubs.
For a modern padel environment, it proved too rigid and overly complex.

Key issues included:

• A lack of mobile optimization and limited ability to match the club’s branding
• No automatic differentiation between members and guests
• Manual tracking of payments and bookings
• No integration with the club’s access control system

“We needed a solution that truly fit our needs — mobile, easy to use, and smart enough to tell members and guests apart automatically.
Most importantly, it had to control access to the facility without any manual work in the background,”
recalls Linus Berthold.

The Solution: Bookingbird

In late 2025, the PTCV switched to Bookingbird — a system built specifically for modern, digitally operated sports facilities.

The transition allowed the club to fully automate booking, payment, and access control — no technical knowledge required, no manual oversight needed.

Seamless Integration with Dormakaba Exivo

A key requirement was the connection to the club’s existing Dormakaba Exivo access control system.

Today, the entire process runs automatically through Bookingbird:
Once a booking is made, each participating player receives an individual access code, valid only for the booked time slot.
This means the facility operates fully autonomously — safe, reliable, and without staff involvement.

Smart Member Management and Booking Logic

One of the club’s biggest challenges was managing the different rights and payment models for members and guests — especially when they played together.

Bookingbird solved this elegantly:

• One player creates a booking and adds the other participants.
• The system automatically identifies which players are members and which are guests.
• Members play under their flat-rate membership, while guests are charged automatically for their share.

There’s still just one booking, but payments are split automatically among players.
No reminders, no manual checks — the accounting runs completely in the background.

Court Management and Daily Operations

With Bookingbird’s central dashboard, Linus can manage the entire club from anywhere — even on his phone:

• Create time blocks for maintenance, training sessions, or events
• Monitor changes and usage in real time
• Assign fixed time slots for members who play regularly
• Automatically mark blocked slots on the public booking page to prevent overlap

This setup gives the club full operational control while keeping the booking process flexible and member-friendly.

Results: A Fully Automated Club Experience

Since switching to Bookingbird, daily operations at the PTCV have transformed:

• 100 % automated bookings and payments
• Secure, hands-free access through Dormakaba Exivo
• Smart differentiation between members and guests
• Mobile control and real-time overview via a single dashboard
• Predictable court utilization and zero manual admin

The result: a club that runs entirely on its own.
Members and guests book online, receive their access code instantly, and can start playing — a frictionless experience that perfectly reflects the dynamic spirit of padel.

Customer Testimonial

“Since switching to Bookingbird, everything runs on its own.
I don’t have to send payment reminders or manually check anything — it’s all automated.
The setup was handled by the team, and now I just log in to see court usage.
Bookingbird takes care of the rest.
It’s made club management so much easier and gives me time to focus on what matters — training and court maintenance.”
— Linus Berthold, Co-Founder, 1st Padel Tennis Club Vorarlberg

Conclusion

With Bookingbird, the 1st Padel Tennis Club Vorarlberg has completely digitalized its operations.
From booking and payments to access control, every process now runs automatically — smoothly, securely, and without supervision.

The outcome: less admin, more transparency, and a professional experience for both members and guests.
Bookingbird proves that even small sports facilities can run like modern, automated clubs — efficient, scalable, and ready for the future.

‍