6 months, 0 minutes of on-site staffing: how Alp Padel Mutters fully automated its padel facility
Padel tennis is growing rapidly across the DACH region. In Mutters, Tyrol, high staffing costs drastically limited profitability during off-peak hours. Alp Padel Mutters was designed for unmanned continuous operation and runs around the clock with Sport Access, without staff.
“With Sport Access, our padel facility in Mutters runs completely autonomously. A booking through Playtomic switches on the lights on time and opens the gate – we do not have to be on site even once for regular play. This saves us enormous staffing costs and gives us maximum flexibility.”
The key results at a glance
| Criterion | Without automation | With Sport Access (after 6 months) |
|---|---|---|
| On-site staffing | 15–20 hours/week (key handover & supervision) | 0 hours/week – fully autonomous 24/7 operation |
| Opening hours | Limited by staff hours (08:00–20:00) | Open 24/7 |
| Off-peak utilisation | Almost 0 % revenue during off-peak hours | +35 % additional revenue in early and late slots |
| Lighting & energy | Lights left on manually or rigid timers | Minute-accurate DALI switching, only during booked times |
| Access reliability | Physical keys / manual codes | 99.9 % delivery rate via WhatsApp & email |
Starting point & challenges
High staffing costs
Small facilities often cannot afford the high staffing costs for key handovers and manual floodlight activation.
Booking app without hardware connection
Playtomic could not open a door, control relays or switch floodlights on at the exact right time.
Wasted energy
Manually switched-on floodlight masts often stay lit for hours without being used.
Lost revenue during off-peak hours
Operating with staff before 08:00 or after 22:00 was hardly feasible from an organisational perspective.
The setup in live operation
- 1
Real-time synchronisation with Playtomic
Every booking and cancellation is transmitted to the middleware via API without delay.
- 2
Pre-assembled hardware bundle
A Sport Access access controller uses relay outputs to control the door and floodlights. A local electrician installed it within a few hours.
- 3
Lighting control with lead and follow-up times
The lights ramp up at the predefined time before play starts and switch off shortly after the playing time ends.
- 4
Codes via WhatsApp & email
Immediately after booking, the player receives a numerical code or QR code on their smartphone, depending on the selected locking system.
- 5
Operator app
Monitor status, open doors with a tap and switch lights manually – from anywhere.
Results after 6 months
100 % autonomous operation
Since commissioning, no staff member has had to be on site for regular play.
Lower operating costs
The floodlights are on only when a court is booked. Electricity savings compared with manual control are estimated at 25 to 35 %.
Revenue through 24/7 availability
Early slots from 07:00 and late bookings until 22:00 increased off-peak utilisation by more than 35 %.
No access blockages
There were no access blockages in 6 months; even spontaneous bookings received their code within seconds.
Technical process pipeline
- 1
Booking
The customer books the slot via Playtomic.
- 2
Webhook
Real-time API webhook to the Sport Access engine.
- 3
In parallel
Code delivery via WhatsApp & email and a timer process in the on-site controller.
- 4
On-site activation
Lights on 5 minutes before the slot starts; the door opens via PIN/QR during the booked time window.
- 5
Completion
Lights switch off automatically 3 minutes after the slot ends.
Would you like to automate your sports facility too?
Run a different sport? Become one of our next reference sites and secure special conditions through our early adopter programme. Planning a padel club? We deliver court construction and automation from a single source.