How Cage Padel earned more than €21.000 from referrals in 6 months

In 6 months, Cage Padel generated €21.004,00 in referral-driven revenue, without increasing ad spend or changing prices.

At first glance, Cage Padel appears no different from many contemporary padel clubs. It operates eight indoor courts, attracts a mix of recreational and competitive players, and runs on a reliable booking system. Courts are filled, matches are played and everything functions smoothly.

What changed the club’s economics was not a new pricing strategy or an increase in marketing spend, but the introduction of a digital layer that clarified and strengthened the relationship between the club and its players. That layer was the club’s loyalty app, built with Authic.

The structural problem for most padel clubs

Most padel clubs are well informed about court occupancy. They know which time slots are popular and which are not. What they rarely know is why individual players return, what motivates them to bring friends or how engaged they truly are over time.

Referrals tend to happen informally and remain unmeasured. Loyalty exists but is difficult to quantify. Feedback is sporadic and often anecdotal. As a result, clubs make decisions based largely on intuition.

The Authic app addressed this structural blind spot.

Making player behavior visible

The app provided Cage Padel with a clear, unified view of player activity. Actions such as playing regularly, inviting friends, participating in challenges or completing surveys were no longer isolated events. They became part of a visible and coherent system.

For players, this created a sense of continuity. Their involvement with the club was acknowledged and reflected back to them. Loyalty was no longer an abstract concept. It became something tangible and personal.

This visibility altered behavior. When people understand that their actions matter and are recognised, they are more likely to repeat them.

From casual referrals to consistent growth

Before the app, referrals occurred in passing. A player might bring a friend once or twice, without any structure or follow-up. The club benefited, but the process was neither measurable nor repeatable.

With Authic, referrals were integrated into the club experience itself. Players could invite friends directly through the app, in a way that felt natural and unobtrusive. Rewards were clear but modest, reinforcing the behavior without distorting it.

Over a 6-month period, this approach resulted in nearly 33% of total revenue from in-app bookings being generated through referred players. This amounted to €21.004. Importantly, this growth was distributed across the player base rather than concentrated among a small group. This means that Cage Padel earned €3.500 more per month just from the in-app referral system built with Authic.

See which challenges like referrals are available with Authic here!

Listening at scale, without friction

Another significant shift came through the use of in-app surveys. Rather than sending emails or requesting feedback after matches, Cage Padel embedded short surveys as optional challenges within the app.

Players engaged with these surveys at unusually high rates. Twenty percent of active users participated and provided detailed feedback. The club gained structured insight into player profiles motivations, and overall experience.

This information allowed Cage Padel to move beyond assumptions and base decisions on direct input from its community.

Encouraging organic visibility

The app also facilitated social sharing, though not in a traditional marketing sense. Through challenges, players were encouraged to share moments from the club in a way that felt voluntary and authentic.

As a result, Cage Padel saw a 15% increase in Instagram followers and a 28% increase on TikTok, without paid promotion or content mandates. The app did not produce content; it created the conditions for players to share their own.

Engagement measured in time

The most revealing indicator of success was not revenue or follower growth, but frequency of play.

Within three months 18% of players logged more than 1.800 minutes of play, equivalent to approximately 150 minutes per week. A significant amount of the players even exceeded 2.400 minutes, playing more than 200 minutes per week.

These figures reflect habit rather than novelty. They suggest that the app reinforced an existing attachment and made it easier for players to return consistently.

A shift in ownership

Ultimately, the Authic app allowed Cage Padel to take ownership of its growth. Instead of relying on external platforms or paid acquisition, the club built a direct, measurable relationship with its players.

As owner Martijn van der Plas described it, the app “provides more control and makes players feel welcome from the first moment.”

For Cage Padel, the app did not change the essence of the club.
It clarified it.