System and method for integrating operation of an indoor golf facility into operation of an airport concourse

An apparatus for use in operating an entertainment facility within an airport terminal, comprising:

• an entertainment facility located within the airport terminal, said entertainment facility being accessible to customers including travelers and other individuals in the airport terminal and being configured for accepting customer reservations for use of portions of the entertainment facility;
• and
• a reservation and data storage system communicatively linked to said entertainment facility and to service providers, wherein said reservation and data storage system includes a local computer terminal at said entertainment facility communicatively linked to a remote host computer, said local computer terminal including a reservations database for storing said customer reservations and said remote host computer including a customer information database for storing information on use by the customer of said entertainment facility;
• wherein, said entertainment facility is operable to accept said customer reservations from said service providers through said reservation and data storage system.

A method of operating an indoor golf facility within a airport terminal including at least one airline using a computer reservation and data storage system including a CPU and memory having a reservation database, comprising the steps of:

• interconnecting said computer reservation and data storage system, said indoor golf facility, the airline, and at least one service provider with a communications link;
• receiving with said computer reservation and data storage system a reservation request from the service provider for a customer or directly from the customer to use a portion of said indoor golf facility;
• operating said computer reservation and data storage system to access said reservation database, to process said reservation request, and to make a reservation for the customer, based on said reservation request, to use said portion of said indoor golf facility;
• receiving from the customer at said indoor golf facility flight schedule information for customer's travel with the airline;
• determining a customer notification time based on said customer flight schedule information;
• and
• notifying the customer at said customer notification time.

A system for operating an indoor golf facility within an airport terminal or concourse, comprising:

• an indoor golf facility positioned within an airport concourse or an airport terminal, the airport terminal housing at least one airline;
• a computer reservation and data storage system having memory for storing a reservation file;
• and
• a communications system for communicatively linking the computer reservation and data storage system, the indoor golf facility, the airline, and at least one service provider;
• wherein the computer reservation and data storage system is adapted for receiving a reservation request from the service provider for a customer or directly from the customer to use a portion of the indoor golf facility, for accessing the reservation file, for processing the reservation request, for making a reservation for the customer based on the reservation request to the portion, for receiving from the customer at the indoor golf facility flight schedule information for the customer's travel with the airline, for determining a customer notification time based on the customer flight schedule information, and for notifying the customer at the customer notification time.