Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Daniel Beeman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Daniel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Pickleball player growth would explode because it is social, fun, and easy to learn and play.
• Because resorts needed to reinvent themselves after the COVID-19 pandemic to enhance the guest experience and asset value and drive more revenue, they would need to begin offering it.
• Because the demographics of players lined up perfectly with the target audience of resorts, the future was evident. I needed to pull it together by effectively connecting the sellers and buyers – the resorts with the consumers.

Resorts lacked the foresight to build pickleball courts properly or invest in converting spaces to dedicated pickleball courts. Despite the apparent demand, the resorts that did begin to offer it did not do it correctly.

While slowly changing, there exists a glaring lack of quality pickleball experiences at resorts and a significant and growing demand for quality pickleball experiences at resorts. The resorts must adhere to minimum standards to certify that they offer legitimate, safe pickleball experiences.

I saw many underused tennis and basketball courts. I imagined the opportunity for resorts to convert some of those spaces to offer fun alternatives for guests to maximize the efficiency of use and asset value by providing pickleball activities.

Fortunately, I was also a scuba instructor many years ago. I saw how they (PADI) created a Five Star Resort Certification to provide travelers with the comfort that the places they would be going would offer specific minimum safety standards and regulations.

I saw the chance to replicate that scuba certification model for pickleball by helping resorts optimize the experience to satisfy existing guests and attract new ones passionate about pickleball. So, I created the Certificate of Excellence program for resorts to help them provide a superlative experience that they could market to potential guests and groups.

Concurrently, I saw pickleball players not getting many quality group travel experiences. At first, they seemed happy to get any set up with taped lines, tennis nets or temporary nets, and cheap balls and paddles.

As pickleball exploded over the past three years, so did the demand by players for better experiences and equipment. I saw how to connect the demand with the potential supply.

Therein lies the business opportunity:

• Smart resorts would enhance their experience and promote themselves to groups.
o Thus, we created a Certificate of Excellence program and Resort Services to help meet specific standards to become more attractive to potential guests.
• Smart pickleball players would get together as a group and demand better resort playing conditions when they travel.
o Thus, we created the Superlative Pickleball Travel Club for our Travel Services business unit.

Thus, we created Superlative Pickleball – The one-stop solution for pickleball and travel.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Sure. We are defined by how we respond to adversity. When you have an organic, service-oriented mindset, the response to adversity enables resilience and can actually lead to fun.

This is a profile about me in another publication. Pickleball is fun and it starts with service!

From an Army Airborne Paratrooper in Germany as a teenager to a pickleball Ambassador in California and Mexico in his 50’s, Dan Beeman has never stopped serving worldwide.
At 50, Beeman was involved in a major car accident and subsequently had a double fusion of his vertebrae in his back. While this traumatic event impacted his mobility, it also opened the door to a new passion.
One day after his gentle yoga at his rec center, he was walking past the gym and heard the ubiquitous laughter and the pop, pop, pop of the pickleball play. Curious, he entered the gym and, despite being self-conscious about his appearance (he has a skin disease called vitiligo) and physical limitations, he was immediately warmly welcomed and encouraged to join in the fun. Just like nearly everyone else who tried it, he was quickly addicted.
With this newfound passion, he evangelized the fun by spreading the word to everyone he knew.
Just a few months later, he was selected as a USA Pickleball ambassador and hosted a successful introductory clinic in the same gym as a part of National Pickleball Month for 60+ people.

Despite his bad back and being “just an average player”, Beeman was also chosen to select and lead a team of sponsored players by Head in June 2019 for Hawaii and California. Since then, he has stepped back from the team leadership role but remains an active brand evangelist for Head by doing free demonstrations and clinics.

Beeman also recently received his Master of Hospitality from UNLV where he studied Sustainable Tourism. As his passion for pickleball grew, he wrote his final research paper on the Implications of Pickleball for the Hospitality Industry.

His graduate school research conclusions for his paper are that resorts with either tennis or basketball courts and do not add pickleball are not maximizing potential revenue or their asset value. As a result, they are also losing market share, group travel, and growth opportunities.

After being confirmed as an IFP Ambassador for Mexico, Beeman rented the Pickle Palace and headed to Playa Del Carmen, MX to meet with resorts to bring pickleball there.
In meetings, he found that many all-inclusive resorts wanted to differentiate themselves but offered redundant experiences. He also found that most of their guests were active American adults with disposable income, a propensity to travel, and looking for new, fun experiences. He saw how this market aligned perfectly with pickleball enthusiasts. He saw how he could help them and help grow the sport at the same time.
Beeman now helps resorts tap into new revenue by creating pickleball programs through his business – www.superlativepickleball.net
Concurrently, he built the largest pickleball travel club in the world and owns Pickleball Travel Magazine.

He obviously loves the sport and social dynamic of the environment. He actively volunteers at MLP, PPA, and APP tour events as a line judge, announcer, host, or whatever else is needed to create the best environment for players and spectators.
So, whether it is a resort, club, tournament, city, state, or country, whether it is a professional, recreational, disabled, or wanna-be player, Beeman continues serving them and pickleball with honor. Have you tried it yet? It is fun. It starts with service.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

From womb to swimming at 2, Airborne Paratrooper as a teenager, Deep-Sea Scuba Instructor with thousands of dives in 20’s, wearing a different suit as a business executive until 50, followed by luxury resort manager in Belize, to graduate school, to pickleball ambassador, to published author; I never stop exploring! I used my passion for aquatic endeavors and our oceans to weave the introspective journey into my first book, Deep Dive – Existential Essays for Personal Transformation to share my life experiences while helping save our planet by donating all profits to www.coral.org

At the age of 50, I returned to graduate school and earned his Master of Hospitality from UNLV, where I studied tourism with a specialization in Sustainable Tourism. He wrote his final research paper on the Implications of Pickleball for the Hospitality Industry, whose findings resulted in his consulting work for resorts to build programs that drive new engagement and revenue.

Beeman also owns and manages a rental property called the Pickle Palace in Palm Desert, CA.

“I write and read because it is cathartic for me. I enjoy sharing my life experiences and knowledge with others who may be interested in exploring themselves.  I hope to engage readers in deeper thought and more meaningful existence.” Beeman said.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

From womb to swimming at 2, Airborne Paratrooper as a teenager, Deep-Sea Scuba Instructor with thousands of dives in 20’s, wearing a different suit as a business executive until 50, followed by luxury resort manager in Belize, to graduate school, to pickleball ambassador, to published author; I never stop exploring! I used my passion for aquatic endeavors and our oceans to weave the introspective journey into my first book, Deep Dive – Existential Essays for Personal Transformation to share my life experiences while helping save our planet by donating all profits to www.coral.org

At the age of 50, I returned to graduate school and earned his Master of Hospitality from UNLV, where I studied tourism with a specialization in Sustainable Tourism. He wrote his final research paper on the Implications of Pickleball for the Hospitality Industry, whose findings resulted in his consulting work for resorts to build programs that drive new engagement and revenue.

Beeman also owns and manages a rental property called the Pickle Palace in Palm Desert, CA.

“I write and read because it is cathartic for me. I enjoy sharing my life experiences and knowledge with others who may be interested in exploring themselves.  I hope to engage readers in deeper thought and more meaningful existence.” Beeman said.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Contact Info:

• Website: www.superlativepickleball.net
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/dan.beeman