Hotels here cashing in on pickleball craze to draw guests

They offer courts that help address noise and booking issues, while boosting revenue

- Sharon Salim Business Correspondent

Some hotels in Singapore are cashing in on the pickleball boom, offering courts and lessons to entice guests to play the popular paddle sport on their premises.

By addressing issues like the difficulty of booking courts and noise complaints from residents in HDB estates, these hotels not only provide a solution for players, but also tap into new revenue opportunities.

The Fullerton Hotel and The Fullerton Bay Hotel in May added a pickleball court on the rooftop of One Fullerton, their two-storey waterfront development, offering players a chance at games with a scenic view of Marina Bay Sands.

Novotel and Mercure Singapore on Stevens, which operate as a dual-hotel complex with shared facilities, have also repurposed their underused outdoor tennis courts into pickleball courts, which are now managed by gym franchise Anytime Fitness.

Since the courts were made available to both in-house guests and the public in February, bookings have gone up by 30 per cent.

More than half of the bookings came from non-staying guests, and demand is particularly high during evenings and weekends, said Mr Piotr Kupiec, general manager of the two hotels.

There has been a steady increase in the number of inquiries, including one regarding the pickleball courts’ floor surface area to determine whether the area is suitable as a tournament venue, he said.

A couple who held their wedding at Novotel Singapore on Stevens also requested to have their photo shoot at a pickleball court as both of them are pickleball enthusiasts.