The public tennis courts in the DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia) area are always in high demand. On a weekend with nice weather, it’s not uncommon for players to have to wait ~40 mins for a court to free up. At the same time, many of the players are unaware that the tennis courts can actually be reserved online in advance, with a fee of $10/hour - an amount that many would gladly pay in order to avoid waiting aimlessly. The local government can also collect revenue from running a reservation system - a rare win-win situation.

The (easily fixable) problem is that there is no sign on the courts that indicates reservation is possible. This leaves the reservation mechanism essentially an honor system - If you claim you have reserved the court, those who are currently playing will have no choice but to leave despite not having any form of proof from you. So if somebody were to take advantage of this information asymmetry, and build a website that mimics an online tennis court reservation system, they can in theory collect reservation fees without needing to actually maintain the tennis courts or do anything.

This phenomenon can happen to some public good allocation problem where the bureaucracy has little incentive to managel the operation. Public facility usage allocation is a prime example. This is especially relevant now where many places, such as public halls / sporting venue, have to run at a reduced capacity. However, it is important to not only allow people to make reservations, but also letting the broader public know that making a reservation is possible, thereby making information rent zero.