What are the latest and greatest technology trends likely to impact private clubs today and tomorrow? Well, it depends on whom you ask. NCA invited several leading industry-affiliated organizations to tell us what technology trends to watch in 2014 in the areas of fitness, food & beverage/catering, and golf. You’ll find examples that made news headlines, some familiar gadgets and others that are just now making their way into clubs.
Tech Trends in the Fitness Center
INTERNATIONAL HEALTH, RACQUET & SPORTSCLUB ASSOCIATION (IHRSA)
BY MEREDITH POPPLER
Technology is vital to health clubs and new trends develop what feels like every day. Consumers today expect the latest and greatest, so our industry’s challenge is keeping up.
In ‘on the floor’ technology such as bikes and treadmills, there is a demand that will soon deliver new and improved technology that will better measure caloric expenditure.
In ‘business technology,’ there will be many advances that will help clubs better track member engagement, and will improve the member’s experience whether he or she is reserving a spot in a class, booking a training session, paying dues, or paying for a drink at the juice bar.
Mobile Apps — Clubs will increase efforts to incorporate mobile technology into the in-club experience. Mobile-friendly websites, social media and custom smartphone apps will help keep members engaged outside of the club, help them promote their club activities to their friends and hold club goers accountable to goals. Members can use a tablet or smartphone app to check in, receive news about club events, view profiles of personal trainers & coaches, find a club, book a trainer, track gym usage, manage membership, and sign up for a group exercise class.
‘On Demand’ virtual exercise classes — While live trainers are always preferred by members and by the club, there will continue to be an increased demand for the technology that allows health club members to have a virtual “on-demand” class during times when live classes are not scheduled (like late at night) when there are no regularly scheduled classes. These offerings are popular considering how many clubs are now open 24 hours, and for clubs that have difficulty finding enough qualified trainers.
Apps and Gadgets — Whether you want to track your mileage, speed, number of workouts, calories burned, or strength level, there is an app for that. New technology, whether on a hand-held device, or incorporated into the club’s equipment is not only keeping club-goers motivated by providing interactive work- out programs and tracking the effectiveness of the workouts, but it is also helping exercisers avoid injury and burn-out by providing tools that let the exerciser know how far, fast or hard is too much. Popular technology includes gadgets that track mileage via GPS, calories burned, number of steps, heart rate, exertion, and specific workouts.
Online trainers — Thanks to the Internet and apps, personal trainers will be able to provide one-on-one or group training anytime, anywhere. This is important for clubs who want to help their members succeed even when they aren’t at the club.
Wearable Technology — In the recent past, exercisers needed to carry a notebook to track progress, and then log workouts onto their computer at later time. Now, gym-goers can wear gadgets that track mileage via GPS, track calories burned, exertion, etc. This all leads to a better understanding of how effective the workout is. And, in addition to devices like FitBit and JawBone, clothing that tracks vital information like breathing, change in heart rate, energy expended is on its way.
Human Power — There is a growing number of health clubs where the cardio equipment is specifically designed to not only not require electricity, but to actually produce electricity as members exercise. The electricity generated is enough to at least partially offset the power required to run the televisions, fans, lighting and HVAC. This ties into the overall move towards “greener” business practices that many health clubs have adopted.
Meredith Poppler is vice president of industry growth at IHRSA, International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association. She can be reached at [email protected]. For more information, visit www.ihrsa.org.
Tech Trends in F&B and Catering
ASSOCIATION OF CLUB CATERING PROFESSIONALS
BY LYNNE LAFOND DELUCA
For 2014, Think “Mobile” and “Video!” These are definitely the two buzzwords that can make a huge impact on keeping our clubs relevant and thriving. Websites, member event notification and member preference access must be mobile (think about servers in the Grill Room being able to access a member’s favorite drink or food allergies from their iPad tableside). Everything is going video! Promoting member and private events with video is hot, hot, hot.
Catering Event Lifecycle Tech — In the catering world, great follow-up is critical. This technology builds consistent business practices and enhances accuracy using an intelligent, process-driven design that breaks down catering operations into a series of intuitive, sequential steps, automatically prompting the user with tasks to be completed in order to move an event ahead in its lifecycle, from inquiry, to tentative, to definite, and so on.
Systems that allow automatic custom correspondence are also becoming more popular; where you can create professional, customized letters that automatically insert desired contact and event fields and can be easily attached to e-mails for transmission. (Available through ReServe Interactive Catering & Event Management Software.)
Room Diagramming Software — The time spent by a catering director or F&B director drawing floor plans or room diagrams by hand for private events and member events can be daunting! Not to mention that the accuracy might not be there, and the presentation to the member or event host may not come across as professional as possible. Room diagramming software is now becoming a “must-have” and perfect, accurate floor plans, customized to the rooms at your club are available at your fingertips. (Available through Social Tables.)
Centralized Member/Event Host Data— Gone are the days of the “big catering book” and excel spreadsheets to block rooms and book or manage events. A software system that a allows a club to manage unlimited event or banquet sites and locations, prevent double bookings, check availability, maintain wait lists, copy repeat events, create menus, detail events, run reports and create invoicing is the ONLY way to go—all wrapped up in one nice, neat package.
Online Inquiry Processing—ReServe Interactive offers a system that allows members to submit private event inquiries through your website, which are transmitted directly into ReServe and automatically traced for follow-up. Members can also make real-time reservations for club-hosted events using the Events with Reservations feature. This can be used for golf outings, the New Year’s Eve Party, member dining, etc. A streamlined query process lets you respond more quickly to guests so you can capture and book more events.
Lynne LaFond DeLuca is the executive director of the Association of Club Catering Professionals. She can be reached at [email protected]. For more information, visit www.TheACCP.com.
Tech Trends in Golf
NATIONAL GOLF FOUNDATION
BY MARC BLATCHLEY
Technology in golf can make for a better golfer experience, as well as stream- line operations for club staff.
Mobile Apps — Course owners and operators are rapidly adopting mobile app technology because they realize the value of having a direct connection with their members. Mobile app features like course GPS and interactive scorecards enhance the golf experience, and other features like push notifications and informational pages engage members off the golf course. Apps can include features for all clubs amenities, not just golf.
Irrigation system technologies — Cost and availability of water will be one of golf’s biggest issues in the years to come. Multiple technologies are now being implemented for water conservation, including the use of various types of sensors that evaluate soil moisture to determine water replacement needs.
Customer (CRM) software — CRM platforms allow for staff members to access specific, detailed customer information. Knowing customers’ preferences, like what beverage they prefer at the turn or what brand of golf balls they use, facilitates a much higher level of personal service.
Mobile information systems — Whether it be irrigation control or golf car fleet monitoring, technology is helping golf operators save time and money with applications that allow them to remotely manage key aspects of the facility. As replacement cycles for these assets come to term, more and more clubs will be implementing these technologies.
Integrated enterprise software — An integrated platform that manages reservations, POS, CRM, accounting, etc., in one system can increase efficiencies for club management. Different products include different features, but the right solution prevents compatibility headaches and saves the club money down the road.
Marc Blatchley is director of membership & marketing at the National Golf Foundation. He can be reached at [email protected]. For more information, visit www.ngf.org.
Technology is transformative. It can launch a club or organization to new heights; change the overall member experience; lead to alternations in club culture and make tasks easier. As technology continues to get folded into daily life, you can expect to see more of these trends coming to a club near you.