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Lobby vs Spreadsheets and WhatsApp

A sheet and a group chat
or a schedule players book themselves?

A shared spreadsheet and a WhatsApp group are free and everyone already knows how to use them. Lobby replaces them with a booking site on your domain where players book and pay, and the desk stops answering the same message all week.

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When Spreadsheets and WhatsApp may be better

  • -You have 1 court, a handful of regulars, and everyone pays in cash or by transfer at the desk.
  • -Your regulars book the same slot every week and the schedule rarely changes.
  • -Nobody needs card payments, reminders, or a waitlist, and the desk has time to keep the sheet tidy.

When Lobby may be better

  • -Double bookings happen because two people edited the sheet at once or a message got lost.
  • -Slots go unpaid because a booking in the chat is not the same as a payment on the card.
  • -Staff spend hours every week answering the same question about whether Tuesday at 19:00 is free.

Hours calculator

Count the hours,
not the licence.

A spreadsheet has no invoice. Its cost is the time someone spends confirming, chasing, and fixing bookings every week.

Your week

h / week
/ month
min

Over a year

Enter the hours your team spends on bookings each week. The result stays empty until you do.

Claim and evidence table

What is known,
what to verify.

Observable model differences first. Subjective positioning second.

Claim

What we know

What to verify

Lobby position

Staff hoursEvery booking in a chat is a message read, a sheet edited, and a reply sent by a person.Count the booking messages the desk handles in one week and the minutes each one takes.Players book themselves on the site. The desk sees the result.
Double bookingsA shared sheet has no lock. Two edits at once, or a missed message, put 2 groups on 1 court.How many times last month a court was promised twice.One schedule with holds, so a slot is booked once.
Unpaid slotsA chat booking is a promise. Payment comes later, or not at all.How many slots last month were played or held without being paid.Card payment at booking through Stripe, with refunds inside the cancellation window.
Reminders and no-showsA group chat sends nothing on its own. Reminders depend on someone remembering.How many no-shows you had last month and how many slots stayed empty as a result.Email and push reminders, waitlists that fill cancellations, and no-show reports.

Migration reality

Switching is work.
Plan it like work.

  1. 01

    Copy courts, opening hours, and prices from the sheet into the free Lobby preview.

  2. 02

    Import regulars and their weekly slots from the sheet as recurring bookings and check the rows Lobby skipped.

  3. 03

    Run 1 week with the sheet and Lobby side by side and let staff confirm every slot matches.

  4. 04

    Pin the booking link in the group chat, keep the chat for conversation, and retire the sheet.

Questions

Decide with
current facts.

Are spreadsheets and WhatsApp bad for clubs?
No. For 1 court and a handful of regulars who pay at the desk, a sheet and a chat are hard to beat on price and effort. The question is what they cost once bookings, payments, and no-shows grow.
Do we have to stop using WhatsApp?
No. Keep the group for conversation and pin the booking link in it. What moves to Lobby is the schedule, the payment, and the reminder.
What does it cost to try?
The Lobby preview is free for 30 days with no card. Set up your courts, invite a few regulars, and compare the week against the sheet.

Compare your contract

Bring the invoice.
Bring the export terms.

Start free previewMigration plan