Tom and Jennifer walked into the front entrance of the country club. They didn’t know much about the club, but it was near their house in their new neighborhood and they thought it might be just what they needed to meet new people and find activities their young children would enjoy. There wasn’t much information on the club’s website about family activities, so they stopped by for a tour after work. Right away, they felt uncomfortable—although they had just come from work, they felt underdressed at the club.
The membership director explained to Tom that he would be the primary club member, and Jennifer would have limited access to tee times when she wanted to play golf. They could get more information about family activities from the tennis and pool departments during the tour, but the club didn’t have one document with all that information that they could take home to review. Tom and Jennifer left the club with a feeling that country club life might not be right for their family after all.
Many clubs are struggling with membership recruitment and retention, or concerned about an aging membership base. What strategies are successful clubs using to boost membership among today’s key target markets: Millennials (junior members), families and senior members?
HOW TO RECRUIT YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
Millennials are a social and participatory demographic and value experiences over possessions. In spite of a rocky economic transition to adulthood, Millennials are remarkably optimistic about their future prospects, according to a new Pew Research survey. So how do private clubs attract this significant demographic?
Organize a Club Within a Club
When young professionals are considering a private club, they want to feel like they will fit in, that they are not joining their father’s—or grandfather’s—club.
When the University Club of Washington, D.C., was looking for a way to attract and engage members under the age of 35, it created the Proctor Dougherty Society, named for one of the founding members of the University Club.
All members of the club under the age of 35 are automatically included in the society when they join. The society has a committee that plans their own events and keeps them connected and engaged with each other. In the first year, members planned sailing trips, wine tastings, attended Washington Nationals baseball games and hosted a Casino Royale Party at the club, complete with poker, blackjack and roulette.
Having a formal, organized society helps tremendously with member recruitment, said General Manager David Conroy. Prospective young professional members are very interested to learn that there is a ‘club within the club’ that is exclusively for them.
What happens when they age out of the society? Conroy said that the Proctor Dougherty Society members certainly don’t like when they age out of the society. While they are not allowed to continue to be involved in the society’s committee, they can still attend the society’s events. As a result of their active involvement in the Proctor Dougherty Society, they are more likely continue to attend other University Club functions and continue to be active members of the club.
Beef Up Your Outdoor Dining
The social aspects of dining are very popular among the Millennial generation, and where better to encourage camaraderie among members than outside, overlooking a beautiful golf course. To that end, Ravinia Green Country Club in Illinois built a new two-story outdoor dining deck off their ninth hole with a fire pit and lounge area. Rick Coffey, incoming president of the Professional Club Marketers Association and membership sales and marketing director at the club, notes that it is very popular with all of their members, not just the Millennials.
NCA’s recent study, Navigating the Future: The Outlook for Private Clubs, interviewed industry experts about trends and found consensus that informal and casual dining will continue to displace formal dining. Along these lines, outdoor dining is predicted to be a trend with staying power—and one that will have implications for facility planning and utilization.
“Unprogram” Your Programs
Young professionals are spontaneous, but country clubs are, by long-held tradition, programmed. Thursday night is Taco Night, Friday night is Prime Rib Night. Millennials want to stop in when they want on their way home from work, and don’t want to have to worry about remembering to make a reservation. Find areas of your club that can be made available for more spontaneous activities and incorporate casual bar areas into your club.
Relax Your Dress Code
The corporate dress code is relaxing, and clubs are beginning to follow suit. Relax the dress code in certain areas (or the whole club) so young professionals will be more inclined to stop by on their way home from work, where they don’t wear a jacket and tie to the office.
Many club boards struggle with this issue and remain on the fence about amending their dress code due to tradition or the risk of offending senior members, but these are the clubs that are struggling with an aging membership and lack of young professional members. Trust that your members will come to the club in the appropriate attire.
Reduce Restrictions
Coffey recommends paring down restrictions for the young professional members who may pay reduced dues, but at a cost of restricted access to club amenities. Clubs may tell their new young professional member that he will pay lower dues, but he can’t play in the club championship, or doesn’t have a choice of peak tee times. Lessening these restrictions will result in more satisfied, long-term, engaged club members. Don’t think of your young professional membership as a restricted membership, but as a stepping-stone to full membership and your next generation of golf members.
HOW TO ATTRACT FAMILY MEMBERS
Many of today’s successful clubs are evolving their facilities and programs to be family-centric. The days of the husband playing golf for 4 hours, drinking with his buddies, and then having his wife over to the club for dinner are fading away. According to Nielsen research, in addition to handling the bulk of the purchasing decisions for consumer goods in the U.S., women also are likely to influence or manage many other big-ticket purchases, such as club memberships. Today’s young families make a joint decision to join a club. Having amenities for the whole family to enjoy so they can be at the club together is critical … they might be in different areas of the club, but they are all there.
Offer Something for the Entire Family
Coffey stresses the importance of having family-accessible activities in all areas of the club. At the Ravinia Green Country Club, they have three pools—one for adults for lap swimming, one is for kids and has a dive board; the third is only a foot deep for the most junior swimmers.
How can you replicate that in all areas of the club’s programs, not just the pool? Look for opportunities throughout the club: consider youth golf leagues to encourage young golfers on traditionally slow days at your course, develop educational programming for all ages of members, create seasonal and signature club events and activities, and offer varied fitness classes and wellness programs.
Mom & Dad’s Night Out
Provide an opportunity for parents to enjoy a night on their own at the club. On Friday or Saturday night, secure babysitters in a meeting room in the clubhouse, with games, movies and a kids’ buffet. Let mom and dad drop off the kids in a safe environment and have dinner—and a rare date night—in another part of the clubhouse. At clubs that offer this amenity, it is extremely popular with members, and for prospective members.
Put Everything In One Document
When Kathy Sanders, vice president at Private Club Marketing, first joined Palo Alto Hills Golf & Country Club as the membership director, there were very few family members. Today, the club has a very diversified membership without offering any discounted membership programs. Word-of-mouth excitement among their new members, in particular young families, generates prospective member referrals. Families are so excited about their membership that they bring in their friends.
In 2005, Sanders had no tools to use when prospective members asked about swimming and other family programs. The programs were very fragmented across different committees, staff and members. Junior golf activities, the swim team schedule, family social events, junior tennis, and other kids camps were included on the member calendar with no special designation.
Sanders created The Family Guide, a PCMA award-winning, one-stop document that includes every family program and activity in the club throughout the year. The club publishes the guide annually each January so families can mark their calendars with key dates for sign ups during the year. In addition to a valuable member tool, the guide has become a critical component of the club’s recruitment strategy. Members take extra copies of the guide to hand out to friends and neighbors, generating membership leads. In particular, members share it with the neighbors when families with children moved into their neighborhood.
The youth programs and guide are so popular at the club, the club recently hired a youth director to implement new programs and manage the publication of The Family Guide.
The Family Guide also helps the club with membership retention for senior members, because their grandchildren can participate in the programs as well.
The Family Guide is so popular with the members they created an Adult Guide for the members that don’t have kids, because they were starting to feel left out. The Adult Guide includes information on adults-only activities, such as the dates of member-guest tournaments, social events and parties.
HOW TO RETAIN YOUR SENIOR MEMBERS
What do you do with your senior membership category, when so many members are coming into that category as the Baby Boomers age and people are living longer? Many clubs are capping the number of members that can be in the senior category so that they don’t end up with a larger percentage of their membership in the reduced dues category, which impacts the club’s bottom line. However, some clubs are finding that by retaining those older members, the club sees other tangible benefits.
Tiered Memberships for Seniors
In 2012, Merion Golf Club realized that a number of senior members were resigning from the club. In studying the reasons for this, the club realized that because these members did not visit the club as often as they had in the past, they did not see the value in continuing to pay full dues (or they did not see the value in retaining their membership). The club, however, saw great value in retaining these members.
Wanting to find a way to encourage them to retain their memberships, the leadership of the club instituted two new membership classes aimed at senior members:
House (ages 80-89): dues reduction; and
House (age 90 and over): no dues.
In 2014, these classes were extended to non-resident members.
“Since the institution of these classes, seven ‘90 and over’ members have returned. It is not known how many members who might have resigned made the decision to retain their membership with the club,” said Christine R. Pooler, CCM, general manager of Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. “The feedback from our membership has been positive and enthusiastic for this program.
“The legacy and history that our long-term members bring to the club is valuable, not only in terms of history, but also in terms of what they can teach the junior members, who look to emulate our long-term members,” Pooler added.
Keep The Club Relevant To Senior Members
Many senior members may feel pushed out or left out if you are implementing many changes at the club, especially to attract Millennials or families with young children. Communications is the key to retaining senior members and keeping them happy. They still like to dress up to come to the club, but you may be considering implementing a new casual dress code to accommodate families. Set up a meeting exclusively for the senior members where you can communicate your vision to them, and the financial implications for the club, so they understand the reasoning behind the changes. Giving them a forum to speak their minds will help them feel a part of the decision-making process so they don’t feel pushed out or left out. They still want to be there as it’s been a part of their lives for many years.
Reduce Expenses Other Than Dues
You may have to cap the number of senior members in that category to minimize the revenue impact on your club, but you could offer other financial concessions to your senior members-in-waiting as a way of saying ‘thank you’ for their years of membership and contributions to the club. Reduce the food minimums for members that aren’t in town six months of the year. Offer reduced green fees for their guests during off peak times during the week. Find other ways to make sure you are saying thank you and showing them your appreciation.
Remember Seniors As You Plan Family Programs
At Ravinia Green Country Club, senior members’ needs were carefully considered as they expanded their family programming. Senior and adult members have their own separate pool for lap swimming. Family program activities of the Kids Club are extended to grandchildren, who are considered members of the club for social programs.
Clubs that are doing the best retaining their senior members are making sure they are communicating with them and reducing the rates they pay for club services, while remembering that the club is still a business.
Gretchen Schroeder Kearney is president and co-founder of HG Hospitality Group, a marketing and events firm based in Arlington, Virginia. She can be reached at [email protected].