Long days start before sunrise
The alarm clock for a greenkeeper at the KLM Open goes off long before sunrise. At 04:00 they are already out on the course, mowing lines, checking greens, making sure every blade of grass is exactly where it should be before the first ball is struck. It is early work, physical work, and work that barely gets noticed until something goes wrong.
For a long time, nobody really thought about where these people slept. Greenkeepers travel in from all over to work the tournament, often without pay, having the KLM Open on their CV was already considered a reward. When they arrived, they were regularly placed in makeshift accommodation, sometimes even bringing their own supplies, while still being expected to be sharp and ready for the demanding day ahead.
A partnership with the KLM Open since 2016
The KLM Open, one of Europe's oldest international golf tournaments and part of the DP World Tour since its founding in 1972, has been one of Bed-Stay's earliest and most valued customers. Since 2016 we have been trusted to take care of exactly this problem.
When the Netherlands won the tender to host the tournament again in 2024, our director Peter Vogel reached out early to talk through how the accommodation for the crew could be better. Not as a favour, but because a golf course only looks perfect if the people maintaining it get the rest they need to do that work well.
Private sleeping spaces built into a tight schedule
We ended up delivering a full-service package: complete bed-stay sleeping setups for 30 greenkeepers, built around our hostel concept. Every greenkeeper got their own private space, real privacy in a shared setting rather than a mattress on a floor somewhere. The units were quick to build and just as quick to take down again, so they fitted into the tournament's tight logistical schedule without becoming a burden for the organisers. We also thought a step further and supplied furniture, so the greenkeepers had everything they needed in one place instead of arranging it themselves.
Adapting to a changing tournament, year after year
That flexibility mattered again the year the tournament moved to a different location. We did not need to provide the beds that year, but we still delivered the furniture, because a partnership like this is not about ticking the same box every year, it is about adapting to what is actually needed. When the KLM Open celebrated its 100th edition at Schiphol, the greenkeepers once again had no proper place to sleep, and once again we stepped in with beds.
The greenkeepers keep asking us to come back, year after year. That, more than anything else, tells us we got it right. A well-rested crew works with more focus, more precision, and more energy on the days that matter most, and that shows in the condition of the course once the first tee time comes around.
Why crew accommodation is finally getting the attention it deserves
We see the same pattern across the events we work with. For years, festivals and large tournaments spent close to nothing on crew accommodation, treating it as an afterthought at best. That is slowly changing, and we are glad to be part of the reason why. Rest is not a luxury for the people who make an event possible, it is the reason the event runs at all.
Curious what Bed-Stay can do for you? We have put together a complete information package, covering all configurations and specifications, with a clear explanation of everything the system can do.
