While the private club experience is foremost about people and relationships, the buildings and grounds are critical aspects of what makes being a member so special. These are the places and spaces where member interactions and programs take place. The facilities are the club’s biggest asset and its face to the world. As our Club Trends colleague, James. E. Fisher, Ph. D., so aptly stated a few issues ago, “The promise of club membership is access to a premier physical environment.”
As we look to the future to predict what types of facilities clubs will need, it is important to consider the enduring trends that will be pulsing through the affluent demographic segment that will be using them. Yes, traditions and culture are key characteristics that should be maintained over time, but clubs are social organizations that need to keep in touch with evolving tastes and preferences to maintain a sense of relevance. We’ve seen this play out in recent decades through things like the shift from formal to casual dining, the reduced demand for golf and rising importance of other recreational activities, and in response to members’ pursuit of healthy lifestyles, the rapid emergence of fitness as a mainstay club amenity.
The fundamental reason that private clubs exist has undergone a profound shift over the last 20 years. The decision to join and maintain a membership is increasingly about perceived value, not to signal a level of attainment or social status. We have detailed in prior reports how the value quotient will be the key element of distinction among clubs going forward and events continue to reflect that this is increasingly the case. This is the result of a profound shift in values and interest on the part of members, particularly the up-and-coming segment. Myriad forces are behind this and it is difficult to say where the lines of cause and effect cross. The list of contributing factors includes things like a more diverse society, gender neutrality, changes in tax laws and economic weakness, and the flattening of corporate cultures. This has made membership a personal choice, one where the financial realities are much more pronounced. This, in turn, has resulted in the desire for a lifestyle club over the more limited models of prior times.
The private club’s role as a place to facilitate lifestyles and social interactions in a busy world leads us to a place where programming plays an increasingly important role in the club’s success. Leaders must recognize that the chief competitor for membership is time, not another club or activity. This is why it is more important than ever to offer a compelling set of activities and events that regularly brings members out to the club and raises participation rates. We can no longer leave it solely to members to arrange their own visits to the club with their friends and family. They will do that, of course, but rarely will that be enough to create the level of value that is required to sustain membership. If the club is successful in capturing a fair share of the member’s time, their loyalty and money will follow.
In order to be successful, programs need a home base. It is possible, even advisable to incubate programs in temporary quarters. A starter fitness facility is an excellent example of this. But eventually, the premier physical space that makes membership a special experience will need to take shape. So what are the key lifestyle trends and how will they impact facilities?
Actively Engaging the Family: The American family is changing and so are their expectations of the club experience. In prior times, children would be served only seasonally at the swimming pool and through activities like junior golf and tennis. They would participate in these activities, make use of supporting amenities like a pool snack bar while there and then not be seen around the club much beyond that. The next generation of club families has a much larger vision for how their club can serve them. They want their club to accommodate all aspects of family use: children participating in sports and activities, parents and children using the club together and children using the club with other children in social settings. It is also not solely a matter of taking care of the kids when they are actively using a sporting facility, but providing activities for them when the family comes to the club. Due to dual-income profiles and other factors, parents now spend substantially more of their non-work time with their children than prior generations of parents. This makes them increasingly unwilling to leave the kids with a sitter and head up to the club. With more than 70 percent of Millennial households in dual-income situations and women far outpacing men in undergraduate and graduate degree programs, it is highly unlikely we will be making a shift back to nuclear households in the future.
Attracting families is critical to the success of country and other types of suburban clubs. Our data shows marriage rates in excess of 90 percent among country club members. The majority of members join between the ages 35 and 45, which are the prime years for household formation and child rearing. To attract and keep families, clubs need to engage them on multiple levels. This includes providing family friendly dining rooms separate from the bar. The interior layout should include a mix of booths to give families privacy when desired and also large communal tables for multiple families to gather round. The look and feel should reflect a welcome extension of home dining. The clubhouse of the future must also include a children’s activity room where kids can interact with one another and keep them safe and occupied while mom and dad linger over dinner or enjoy themselves. This can include childcare, but the prime target is the 8 to 12 year old set that is more prevalent among club families. The good news for clubs is that most of these areas are not overly large or costly to develop.
The most important facility for families remains a great pool. The resort-style complex has increasingly become the standard. Along with multiple depth pools, this includes play features and expanded snack bars and a place for adult beverages and foods. The other piece of the puzzle includes a multi-purpose area in which to base summer camp and other kid-centric programs.
The success of the Community Center at Lake Naomi Club in Pocono Pines, Pa. shows the transformative effects that well-planned facilities can have on the membership experience. Using a parcel of land available near the entrance to one of its communities that provided convenient access while remaining well away from nearby homes, the club developed a community center that includes:
· A quiet adult activity room/library
· A large state of the art fitness center
· A dedicated aerobics/fitness room
· Activity rooms for adult activities, kids klub and recreation programs
· A multi-purpose room with a special floor that can be used for basketball, tennis, community meetings and other events
· A game room/teen center
· A cafe and kitchen
· Offices for the club’s recreation manager and staff
· Wireless Internet service
By providing facilities that offer something for everyone in the family and which is available in all seasons and weather, the club has seen significant increases in membership demand and real estate values.
The Continued Evolution of Design to Promote Hospitality: Club facilities will continue to take on a whole new look and feel when it comes to social areas. The days when clubs had a decidedly formal bent are long gone. We are entering a new phase where they will feature increasingly diverse gathering and dining areas. The overall look and feel will include the sharp casual environments seen in top resorts. Increasingly this means less distinction and fewer walls between indoor and outdoor spaces. Technology is playing a role in all this by providing the disappearing wall systems that bring the outside in when desirable and making rooms scalable to adjust to style and size to varying preferences and demand levels. It is also creating the ability to take orders and bring food and beverages to members in non-traditional locations. Clubhouses will increasingly feature pubs and grills adjacent to excellent outdoor areas, resort-style seating areas with fire pits, cozy lounges with Wi-Fi capability, wine rooms for special dinners and events and intimate private rooms. There are many shining examples across the country where clubs have successfully made this transition. At St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco the large, underutilized main dining room was divided into a high-end dining side to compete with top offerings in the city and a grill portion that has a casual feel and lower price point. The moveable ship models that separate the spaces can shift with demand, allowing more members to take advantage of the stunning view over the Bay. The new outdoor dining terrace at Desert Highlands in Scottsdale features comfortable seating arrangements, fire pits and tiers to promote views of the desert landscape. Greenwich Country Club fills its sharp casual pub, featuring a bar and a mix of table settings and soft seating, to capacity on most nights. These and other success stories prove that clubs can successfully compete with local dining options.
Health and Wellness: Club membership is a high dollar discretionary expense. As such, members have much of what they need in terms of material goods. Very little of that is enjoyable without their health, of course. The shift toward wellness among the affluent demographic has been dramatic over the past couple of decades and this will continue as Boomers age and Millennials become the target member group. The growth in fitness and wellness will far outpace growth in any other club activity over the next decade until it reaches the point where the quality and capabilities in this part of the club will be one of the top reasons for joining.
More than two-thirds of country clubs offer some sort of fitness today and this figure grows daily. This growth is not being fueled by copycat clubs looking to match their neighbor’s offerings. It is a response to demand and the ever-increasing use that occurs when a facility is first offered or later expanded into something with more capabilities. A basic point of entry is a nicely appointed fitness workout room with cardio and resistance equipment, but the growth will occur in functional training. These multi-purpose spaces allow trainers to design member-specific training regimens and provide the personal attention and connection that makes the club their go-to place for exercise. Cutting edge programs like that at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio are already making this transition. With the exception of cardio equipment, the club has replaced almost all if its circuit training machines with functional training stations. The membership has responded to the change with some 40 percent of all members actively using the facility regularly and a large percentage participating in the fitness contests and wellness activities offered by the training team.
A Club for All-Seasons: A key element of increasing perceived value is to reduce seasonality. Since members pay dues for the entire year, they are increasingly unwilling to accept a part-time club experience. For country clubs, this means updating social and recreational facilities so there is a reason to come to the club outside of golf season. Along with fitness, this is driving the growth we are seeing in paddle tennis and the increase in air structures over tennis courts and pools. The response from members has been positive. For city clubs, it means creating dining areas that draw members during the summer season. This could include casual venues that include outdoor or rooftop access.
The Great Recession brought with it huge challenges for private clubs. Long-time members rethought the need to belong and prospective members became much more selective. The winning clubs of the future will reflect the lessons of these times, which is to provide a broad based experience that is focused on providing member value. This requires not only the personal service and recognition that is part of the membership experience, but the facilities in which members and their families want to come together.
City Clubs: According to the Kiplinger Letter, America is an increasingly urban country. Some 80 percent of Americans currently live in an urban area and this will grow to nearly 90 percent by 2030. Big cities are making a comeback due in part to Baby Boomers downsizing to the city now that their family has grown and a Millennial generation that thrives on the urban vibe. This is an opportunity for city clubs, as long as they continue their progression from staid lunch and business clubs into active lifestyle centers for urban residents and those who regularly visit there for work or play. This includes fine and casual dining, fun roof-top venues, sports bars and lounges for use before or after downtown sporting events, cafes and wired communications centers, wine rooms and gathering spaces, fitness and wellness centers, spa, squash and other racquet sports, updated guest rooms and meeting rooms.
Specialty Clubs: Successful club models that can serve families are yacht clubs and the specialty club we refer to as the country club without a golf course. The latter club type often has strong racquets program. Yacht clubs will continue to do well in the new environment. They have a head start on the relaxed feel that people increasingly want since water activities are decidedly casual. They also have a cost advantage, as membership cost is scaled by the member instead of by the club. Where country club members share upkeep and capital costs for the course, boat owners can create their own price point. If you want and can afford a big boat, you can do that. If you are a young person aspiring to have a big boat, you can be a crew on larger boats until you can afford one. And if you just like the feel of boating or the club is convenient to your home, yacht clubs offer a nice social and recreational experience at about half the cost of a country club.
Specialty clubs may be the most successful club model out there today. Generally found in close-in suburbs, they provide most of the features and benefits of the country club experience without the cost of the golf course. They provide what is increasingly in demand—a lifestyle club—at a good value. They feature growing sports activities like tennis and fitness and often have a casual feel and family-oriented focus.
Country Clubs: In order to create value and attract new members, country clubs will continue their evolution from the male and golf-centric model of the past to the lifestyle model of the future. This approach includes a commitment to great golf, but it is the other aspects of the experience that will grow in stature and influence. The decision to join is being made by the family and the club must be able to connect and serve everyone in the household. Adapting the facilities so they can handle a more diverse user profile and facilitate traditional and new social and recreational programs is critical to attracting and retaining members.
Club Trends Winter 2015