How Reservation Fee Responsibility Affects Guest Fees

INTRODUCTION

When creating a new Reservation Type — for example, Singles - Pickleball — one of the key settings you’ll configure is Reservation Fee Responsibility. This setting determines who is responsible for the reservation fee and how guest fees are applied when non-members are included in a booking.

While many clubs focus on how Reservation Fee Responsibility affects court costs, it’s equally important to understand how it impacts guest fees so that both members are billed correctly and consistently.

Note: True guests do not need a CourtReserve account and are not directly charged, but the registering member or the designated Guest Owner/member on the booking is responsible for paying their fees. To understand more about guests in CourtReserve, see the Guests Overview article here.

Reservation Fee Responsibility Options

There are four Reservation Fee Responsibility options to choose from in CourtReserve. They are configured under Settings > Reservation Settings > Reservation Type.

Reservation Owner
Each Player Equally
Each Player Based on Membership
Allow Player to Pay Full Fee or Split Fee Equally

Each option determines who pays the court fee and how guest fees are applied when a member books a reservation that includes a guest.

Real-Life Examples

In this article, we’ll walk through an examples using a Singles - Pickleball reservation type.

Under Settings > Reservation Settings > Reservation Type for Singles - Pickleball, the guest-related fields are set as follows, where the Guest Fee is $15:

Under Settings > Booking Settings > Costs > Court Courts, a pickleball court has an hourly rate of $30:

1. Reservation Owner

For the Reservation Type of Singles - Pickleball, when the Reservation Fee Responsibility is set to Reservation Owner, the person booking the court (the reservation owner) is responsible for the entire court cost and any guest fees associated with the booking.

Example:

Court cost: $30/hour
Guest fee: $15
Players: 1 Member + 1 Guest

Since the Reservation Owner is responsible, the member booking the court will pay $30 for the court and $15 for the guest fee, totaling $45.

The guest does not pay directly — the booking member is responsible for covering the guest’s fees.

2. Each Player Equally

For the Reservation Type of Singles - Pickleball, when the Reservation Fee Responsibility is set to Each Player Equally, CourtReserve splits the court cost equally between all players. Each player is responsible for their portion of the court fee, but if a guest is included, the booking member or designated Guest Owner is also charged the additional guest fee on top of the guest's share of the court cost.

Example for Singles - Pickleball:

Court cost: $30/hour
Guest fee: $15
Players: 1 Member + 1 Guest

The court cost is split evenly:

Member pays $15 (half the court fee)
Guest is allotted $15 (half the court fee) + $15 guest fee = $30 total

Total combined charges: $45.

The guest does not pay directly. If there is only one member on the reservation, the booking member will pay the fees. If multiple members are included on the reservation, the member designated as the Guest Owner is responsible for the guest fees.

3. Each Player Based on Membership

For the Reservation Type of Singles - Pickleball, when set to Each Player Based on Membership, the court cost is determined by each player’s membership type, while the booking member is responsible for paying the guest fee.

Example:

Court cost for “Basic” members: $40/hour
Guest fee: $15
Players: 1 Basic Member + 1 Guest

Note: The court cost is determined by the Court Costs configured for the booking member’s membership type. In this example, a "Basic" member has a pickleball court rate of $40 per hour.

The Basic member pays their membership-based court rate of $40, plus the $15 guest fee, for a total of $55.

The guest does not pay directly. If there is only one member on the reservation, that booking member will pay the fees. If multiple members are included on the reservation, the member designated as the Guest Owner is responsible for the guest fees.

Note: If a Custom Court Cost applies during the booking window, it will override the standard court cost. See examples here.

4. Allow Player to Pay Full Fee or Split Fee Equally

For the Reservation Type of Singles - Pickleball, when this option is selected, the booking member can choose at checkout to pay the full court cost or split it equally with the other player(s). Guest fees are handled based on that choice.

Example A – Reservation Owner Pays in Full:

Court cost: $30/hour
Guest fee: $15
Total paid by member: $45

Example B – Each Split Equally:

Court cost: $30/hour
Guest fee: $15
Member pays $15 (half the court cost)
Guest is allotted $15 (half the court cost) + $15 guest fee = $30 total
Total due: $45

More Complex Example: Doubles Pickleball Reservation with Three Members and One Guest

In this example, a Doubles - Pickleball reservation includes three members and one guest.

The total court cost is $30 per hour, and there is an additional guest fee of $15.

Since the Reservation Fee Responsibility is set to Each Player Equally, CourtReserve divides the $30 court fee evenly among the four participants — three members and one guest — resulting in $7.50 per player.

However, because one participant is a guest, an additional $15 guest fee is applied.

Here’s how the charges break down:

Member 1 (Guest Owner): Responsible for their $7.50 share of the court fee plus the guest’s $7.50 share and the $15 guest fee, totaling $30.00. (The Guest Owner is allotted their court portion and their guest fee.)
Member 2: Will have a fee posted for their share of the court fee — $7.50.
Member 3: Will have a fee posted for their share of the court fee — $7.50.
Guest: Does not pay directly; their court portion and guest fee are covered by the Guest Owner.

The Total Due for the reservation remains $30.00, but the system distributes costs according to each player’s responsibility and guest fee rules.