A surf school owner spends hours each evening manually texting instructors to check availability for next-day lessons, because instructors work for multiple schools and cannot commit far in advance.

Current scheduling/booking systems do not support the ad-hoc, day-before lesson requests where instructors from multiple schools claim shifts, and they either lack mobile-first design or require costly payment integrations.

Severity

3Medium

Willingness to Pay

implied

Added

May 12, 2026

Workarounds Described

Spends every evening messaging instructors individually via WhatsApp to ask availability
Customers cannot reserve lessons online; all requests come in day by day via phone or text

Implied Software Gaps

Automated posting of lesson slots with instructor claiming instead of manual texting
Customer-facing online booking with deposit and cancellation fee functionality

App Concept

SurfShift Pro

SurfShift Pro is a mobile-first scheduling and booking platform designed for surf schools and similar activity-based businesses with a distributed instructor network. It automates the manual texting workflow by letting the owner post open lesson slots, instructors claim them based on their own availability, and customers book directly online with deposit or cancellation fees. Payment integrations with existing POS systems keep costs low.

Key Features

Owner posts open lesson slots with details (time, group size, level)
Instructors set personal availability and claim slots via mobile app
Customers book online with optional deposit or late cancellation fee
Integrates with existing POS/payment systems for deposits and fees
Mobile-first design, works seamlessly on phones and WhatsApp

Target Users: Owners and managers of surf schools, tour companies, fitness studios, and similar businesses that rely on a per-diem instructor pool and ad-hoc scheduling.

Revenue Model: Freemium with $49/mo pro tier including payment integration and advanced features

Existing Solutions Mentioned

WhatsAppPOS/payment system

Want to go deeper?

Sign up to save ideas, run AI analysis, and track opportunities in your personal workspace. Founding members get full access.

Join Beta

Solutions (0)

Discussion (0)

No comments yet