Food, Beverage, and Retail Pro Shop

Simulator time is the anchor of your venue, but food, beverages, and retail can represent a substantial portion of total revenue. Guests who settle into a bay for an hour or two are a captive audience for appetizers, drinks, and impulse merchandise purchases. SimulatorOps includes a built-in point-of-sale system that handles food and beverage orders, tab management, kitchen coordination, pro shop inventory, and bundled packages, all without requiring a separate POS vendor or reconciliation between systems.

Food and Beverage Ordering

Orders can originate from multiple points in your venue. The station kiosk is the primary channel, letting guests browse the menu, customize items, and submit orders without leaving their bay. The front desk POS handles walk-up orders from guests in common areas. Server tablets allow your staff to take orders tableside at lounge seating or in private event spaces. All orders flow into the same system regardless of where they originate.

The menu builder in SimulatorOps lets you organize items into categories like appetizers, entrees, non-alcoholic drinks, beer, wine, cocktails, and desserts. Each item can have modifiers for customization: temperature preferences, toppings, sides, and size options. Pricing can vary by time of day if you run happy hour specials, and member pricing can offer discounts or complimentary items as a membership perk.

When an order is submitted, it appears on the kitchen display system, a screen mounted in your kitchen or prep area that shows all active orders with their station number, timestamp, and preparation status. Kitchen staff mark items as in-progress and then as ready, which triggers a notification on the kiosk display at the corresponding station letting the guest know their order is on its way. For venues with dedicated servers, the ready notification routes to the assigned server's tablet instead.

Tab management ties food and beverage spending to the session. Guests can run a tab throughout their visit, adding items from the kiosk or through servers, and settle the entire tab at checkout. The tab is linked to their booking, so when the session ends, the kiosk displays the full bill including simulator time, food, drinks, and any retail purchases. Split tab functionality allows groups to divide the bill evenly or by item, handling the inevitable complexity of group outings.

Pro Shop and Retail Inventory

Many simulator venues operate a small retail space stocking gloves, balls, tees, apparel, training aids, and accessories. SimulatorOps includes inventory management for these physical goods. You add products with descriptions, photos, pricing, SKU numbers, and stock quantities. The system tracks inventory levels in real time as items are sold, and low-stock alerts notify your purchasing manager when it is time to reorder.

Pro shop items can be purchased at the front desk POS, through the station kiosk, or even through the online customer portal for pickup on the guest's next visit. This multichannel approach maximizes sales opportunities. A guest who just finished a golf session and noticed their glove is wearing thin can order a replacement from the kiosk before they leave the bay, and it is ready for pickup at the front desk on their way out.

For venues that sell branded merchandise like hats, shirts, and bags, the pro shop module integrates with the loyalty program. Points can be redeemed for merchandise, and merchandise purchases earn loyalty points, creating a virtuous cycle that increases both retail revenue and program engagement. Sales reports break down revenue by category, product, and time period, giving you clear visibility into which items perform and which should be discontinued.

Bundled Packages and Event Catering

Bundled packages combine simulator time with food and beverage into a single price, and they are one of the most effective tools for increasing per-guest spend. SimulatorOps lets you create packages like "Date Night" (two hours of simulator time plus a shared appetizer platter and two drinks), "Corporate Outing" (four bays for three hours plus a catered lunch), or "Birthday Party" (two bays for two hours plus pizza, cake, and soft drinks for up to twelve guests).

Packages appear as bookable options alongside standard session bookings, and guests see the savings compared to purchasing each component separately. The system handles the logistics behind the scenes: reserving the stations, placing the food and beverage order for the appropriate time, and processing the single bundled payment. Venue staff receive a prep sheet for each package booking that details exactly what needs to be prepared and when.

For larger events, SimulatorOps supports custom catering proposals. An event coordinator can build a tailored package in the admin dashboard, selecting specific menu items, station configurations, add-ons, and pricing. The proposal is sent to the client as a branded PDF or online quote that they can approve and pay for through the customer portal. Approved events automatically create the necessary bookings, food orders, and staffing notes in the system.

Venues that integrate food and beverage directly into the simulator experience see significantly higher per-guest revenue compared to those that treat dining as a separate operation. When ordering is as easy as tapping a button on the kiosk, guests order more frequently and the spending adds up over a multi-hour session.

What's Next

With revenue flowing in from bookings, memberships, coaching, food, and retail, you need clear visibility into how the business is performing. In the next post, we explore the SimulatorOps admin dashboard and financial reporting system, covering revenue dashboards, occupancy analytics, peak hours analysis, and the reports that help you make better business decisions.