Lighting Fees

Introduction

At the KCTC AGM on 2nd March 2023, it was unanimously passed on a vote put to members to introduce lighting fees at a rate €4 per court per hour (or €2 per court per half hour) where lights are required. These fees only apply to members booking courts at hours that require court lighting and do not apply to club organised events such as leagues or social tennis. While a significant element of leagues costs are related to lighting, league entry fees have not increased.

Why are Lighting Fees being Introduced?

These lighting fees are being introduced as the unit price for electricity for KCTC has increased in the last 18 months from €0.16 per unit to over €0.47 per unit (excluding PSO level and VAT). These rates are no longer sustainable to offer court lighting as part of the current membership fee. While such lighting costs could have been absorbed into the base membership fee, it was deemed more equitable that the members that use lights should pay for them as not all members use lights or only partake in leagues. 

When Are Lighting Fees Being Introduced?

Lighting Fees are being introduced for all court bookings that are made from 1st April 2023.

How do I pay lighting fees?

Lighting fees are paid at the time of booking. Ebookingonline will determine if lights are required based on sundown times and automatically apply the fee to your booking. All adult members that have paid KCTC Membership by Friday 31st March will be allocated free lighting to the value of €10.

If my account balance runs out, how can I top up my account with more credit?

You can top-up your account by logging into the ebookingonline system and adding credit to your account under the Manage Account button on the right hand side of the interface. Please note that you will need to login to the Main ebookingonline site if on a mobile device as the system to top your balance is not available on the initial mobile version presented.

If there are 4 players booked on a court for 1 hour, who pays the lighting fee?

If four players are booked for 1 hour on a court where lights are required, each player will have a €1 lighting fee applied to their account for the booking. If only 3 players are listed for the 1 hour booking, each player will be charged €1.333 each. If only 2 players are listed for the 1 hour booking, each player will be charged €2 each. If one of the players does not have funds in their ebooking account, they cannot be added to the group. If a guest player is added to a booking, the lighting costs will be charged to the KCTC member(s) that are on the booking. Note that guest players at the club must still pay green fees on top of the lighting charges paid by members.

Will this change how bookings are made?

To facilitate this transition to paid lighting and to minimise costs for members where lights are not required for a full 60 minute block , booking slots will be changed to 30 minute slots with the option to book up to 3 X 30 minutes slots during peak lighting times (7pm - 9pm). Please note that all names on court bookings must be on bookings and bookings with just two names in slots are not permitted. i.e. 4 players playing for more that 90 minutes between 7pm - 9pm is not permitted. 

What happens If I cancel my booking?

If you cancel your booking at least 10 minutes before the start time of the booking, you will be refunded 100% of the booking fee. After this time, no refund can be given unless the court you cancelled is subsequently rebooked by other players. In this case, you will be refunded all of the original booking fee.

If I have to reschedule a league match, must I pay for lights?

If you reschedule a league match, yes you must pay for lights for the secondary booking you make.