Couple Finds 22 Resorts With Enough Courts For Pickleball Trips
- Randy and Patty Penberthy of St. Louis run PickleballTrips.Net, which books group pickleball vacations at all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean.
- They have found 22 qualifying resorts out of more than 1,500 properties and hold deposits on 21 trips for 2027.
- Trips host 48 to 64 players, about 70% of them women, with morning instruction and afternoons left open.
From a Question at the Home Club to 21 Trips on the 2027 Calendar
Randy and Patty Penberthy did not set out to build a travel business. According to The Pickleball Weekly, the idea began when someone at their home club asked whether any Caribbean resorts had enough pickleball courts for a group trip. The answer was hard to find.
So the couple went looking themselves. They used Google Earth to scan coastlines and came up with 17 possible properties, then visited them in 2024. Today they run PickleballTrips.Net through their St. Louis-based agency, RPAS Travel, which they launched in October 2023. The agency name comes from the nickname for their savings account, “Randy and Patty’s Alternative Savings.”
The search has grown. The Penberthys have now identified 22 qualifying resorts out of more than 1,500 properties across Mexico and the Caribbean. They hold deposits on 21 trips for 2027. Destinations include Cancun, Riviera Maya, Antigua, Punta Cana, Curaçao, Turks and Caicos, and Los Cabos.
Who Goes and What a Day Looks Like
Each trip typically hosts 48 to 64 players. About 70% of participants are women, according to the report. Before a trip, guests fill out a survey on their skill level, which sorts them into one of two tracks. Pickleball 101 is built for beginners, and Tournament Trail serves advanced players.
Mornings start around 7 a.m. with fitness work, drills and small-group instruction. Competitive games follow. Each trip ends with round robins and a final tournament with medals.
Afternoons are left unstructured. Guests who want more can book optional excursions, such as catamaran cruises, at extra cost.
Resorts Are Adding Courts
The couple has pushed resorts to convert underused tennis courts to pickleball. Planet Hollywood in Cancun built eight new courts, and the company has seen occupancy rise, according to The Pickleball Weekly. Apple Leisure Group Vacations and the Hyatt Inclusive Collection are also exploring the idea.
For players, that means more places to book a stay with real court access, rather than a single court at the back of a property.
Booking Timeline and Club Partnerships
Trips are usually promoted 8 to 10 months ahead and often sell out 3 to 4 months before departure. Anyone planning a 2027 getaway should expect to book well ahead of the travel date.
Clubs, facility managers and coaches can also arrange trips for their own members. PickleballTrips.Net handles the logistics, and the Penberthys attend the trips to resolve issues with resort staff.
What Comes Next
The couple has received interest from contacts in Greece, Croatia and Vietnam. Those remain longer-term ideas rather than scheduled trips.
Most groups come back for more. Repeat guests often pick a different destination the second time. Randy says the goal is to help guests feel “seen, heard, welcomed, and valued” in a global pickleball community.
