The short version for players
You book the court as you always do. When you get to the club, you open the club's page on your phone, usually by scanning the QR code on the sign at the gate. You type the email address of anyone on the booking. The page shows your code and often an "Open the gate" button as well. Type the code at the keypad or tap the button, and you are in.
That is it. No app to install and no account to create.
Which email to use
Any email that is on the booking works, not just the email of the person who booked and paid. That matters because the booker is often not the first one there.
One thing catches people out. If you signed up to your booking app through Apple with "Hide My Email", your account has a private relay address, not your normal one, so your normal email will not match. Use the email of someone else on the booking, or ask them to send you the code.
When the code works
The code is for your slot. It starts working shortly before your booking and stops shortly after it ends. The exact window is set by the club; 15 minutes before is common.
In practice players do not need long. Most groups arrive a few minutes before their slot, so a 15-minute window covers nearly everyone, and the code still works for the group that turns up late.
Getting the code to the rest of the group
One person usually looks the code up. The page has a button to send it to the people you are playing with, by message or WhatsApp. They can type it in or use it from their own phone.
Most groups only need the gate once or twice: to get in, and perhaps to fetch bags or drinks.
If the code does not work
Check three things, in this order:
- The time. Is your booking about to start, or did it finish a while ago? Outside the window the code will not open the gate.
- The email. Is it exactly the one on the booking? Try another player's.
- The keypad. Type the digits again slowly. A few wrong entries are normal. After several wrong tries in a row the keypad stops accepting codes for a while.
If it still does not open, use the club's contact number on the gate sign.
Leaving
Exit doors open from the inside without a code. If the fire alarm sounds, the door releases.
What the club sees
For the operator, every opening is logged with its time and whether it came from a booking code, a phone button or the staff code. Staff have their own daily code that works all day, so cleaners, coaches and maintenance never need a player's code.
That log answers questions a staffed desk never could:
- Which bookings never arrived, so no-shows are counted instead of guessed.
- When people actually turn up, which tells you how early the code window needs to open.
- Staff visits outside bookings, useful for checking cleaning rotas and contractor visits.
- Wrong codes, which can show a confusing sign or a sticky keypad before anyone complains.
Why clubs are doing this
The desk at a small padel club spends most of its day letting people in. A booking code does that job at any hour, including the early morning and late evening slots that are hardest to staff. The lights can follow the same bookings, so the court is lit when the group arrives and dark when they leave.
For why this works for nearly every booking, and what to do about the few it cannot match, see can your bookings open the gate?.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get my padel gate code?
Scan the QR code on the club's gate sign, or open the club's page, and enter the email of anyone on your booking. The page shows your code and usually an open button.
When does a padel booking code start working?
Shortly before your booking starts, as set by the club; 15 minutes before is common. It stops shortly after your booking ends.
My email does not work. What should I do?
If you signed up through Apple with Hide My Email, your account uses a private address. Use the email of another player on the booking, or ask them to send you the code.
How do I get out of the club?
Exit doors open from the inside without a code, and they release automatically if the fire alarm sounds.
Running a club and want your bookings to open the gate? See running an unstaffed padel club or book a demo.
Sources: how booking-code entry works at venues using Court Intel, and our 650-booking study of who can get through the gate.
