· 3 min read · Jason Youngjin Koh
Selling out a holiday camp
Parents book holiday care weeks in advance. A camp that starts advertising a week before the break is competing for whatever is left.
Start advertising holiday camps four to six weeks before the break, to parents within a short drive, with clear dates, times, ages and price. Show real children having fun at your courts and make booking possible in a minute. Then treat every camp child as a future term enrolment, because that is where the real value is.
When do parents book holiday camps?
Earlier than most academies advertise. Working parents plan holiday care as soon as the dates are known, and the most organised book the first options they see. By the final week, the parents still searching are choosing between whatever has places left. Advertising early does not cost more. It reaches the parents before their plans are fixed.
What do parents need to see before booking?
- Dates, daily hours and whether before and after care is available.
- Age groups and whether beginners are welcome.
- The price, per day and per week.
- What a day looks like: tennis, games, breaks, lunch.
- Who looks after the children, and their qualifications and Working With Children Checks.
Hide any of these and the parent moves on to an option that shows them. Put all of them on one page with the booking button.
What creative sells camps?
Footage from the last camp. Children laughing, playing games and hitting balls, with a coach in the frame. If there is no footage yet, film the first day of this camp and use it for the next one. A short clip of a parent saying their child asked to come back does more than any description.
Should camps offer early bird pricing?
Yes, if it has a real deadline. An early bird rate that ends on a stated date gives parents a reason to book now instead of keeping options open. Sibling rates and multi day rates also lift the size of each booking.
How do camps turn into term enrolments?
Camp is the best trial lesson an academy ever runs: five days of the child and parent getting to know the coaches. On the last day, give every family the recommended term class for their child, a time and an enrolment link. Follow up the same week. The camp fee pays for the week; the enrolments pay for the year.
The same ad system that sells camps fills term programs. Meta ads for tennis coaching