Rick Ladendorf is the founder of Prevo Health Solutions, a club wellness consulting firm that helps clubs integrate health and wellness into their cultures and recognizes those that excel in this lifestyle dimension in its America’s Healthiest Certification program and annual Top Ten Healthiest Clubs list.
We talked with Ladendorf about his philosophy of health and his perspective on where the private club industry is headed as it adapts to this important trend. Here are some highlights of that interview:
Club Trends: What accounts for this great surge of interest in fitness, health and wellness in the private club industry?
RL: On the one hand, it’s a cultural phenomenon that is amplified by media coverage. People also see the dramatic build-out of the fitness industry. On the other hand, closer to the club scene, word is getting out that certain clubs are having success: member retention, new members, greater utilization. Clubs are looking for relevancy. To attract the 55-year old and younger member they have to have more than just golf.
CT: What accounts for the resistance we also see in the private club industry?
RL: Facilities, amenities, staff require money and other scarce resources. Many ask where is the ROI? It’s there but it takes some investment and patience. Many club managers and boards see fitness as a priority, but maybe not a top priority. The golf course might get a new irrigation system or a better practice range before the club gets a new or improved fitness facility. Often influential members, typically older, will lobby against an investment in a fitness facility, since it has not been a traditional offering of the club. Of course, in my experience, these older members who resist this momentum toward a healthier club are among the heaviest users of the health amenities and programming once they get implemented.
CT: Prevo certifies America’s Healthiest Clubs. What exactly makes a club healthy?
RL: We evaluate clubs based on five criteria: the actual amenities or facilities; membership engagement; staff involvement; the fitness program, which extends into recreational activities and more; and then nutrition, which takes us into the food and beverage area and the interests that support it such as employee meals.
CT: If I were a club manager, why would I want my club to be among the healthiest?
RL: It really comes down to maintaining relevance. At the membership level, you want to retain and engage your existing members. But you should also consider the long term and ask how will you attract the new member and his or her entire family. The club is in the service business and there is some tough competition out there. Marriott, for example, is now offering membership in its facilities and amenities. Clubs need to cater and anticipate its membership needs in similar fashion. There is a blurring of lines or morphing between the resorts and the club industry.
CT: If we look at the Top Ten Clubs among America’s Healthiest Clubs, what was it that distinguished them?
RL: At the leadership level, it takes vision and passion. You’ve often got to bring along the board and sell these ideas to the club membership itself. But the common thread is the broad and integrated nature of this vision. For example, all these clubs have great amenities and programming, but they are also tailored to the staff. This has important benefits for the club in reduced health care costs, lower turnover, and motivated employees who themselves buy-in and then deliver the club mission. They took the time to understand the importance of creating a healthy culture by educating and incentivizing their employees.
CT: What’s trending?
RL: Fitness wearables, activity monitors and body composition analyzers—devices that gather data on anything from weight, heart rate and calories burned to body composition, sleep patterns, and nutrition—have really taken off. They provide better information to trainers and staff helping them to better understand their membership and personalize their approach.
Club Trends: What about equipment more generally?
RL: Clubs are starting to emphasize functional training, which means opening up more space and relying on less equipment. The concept in functional training is to use the body and one’s own weight in movements and exercises that resemble what a person does in daily life, whether that is sport-specific or not.
CT: Is fitness trending toward wellness and health?
RL: The trend is to engage the member in services that go beyond the club—and that includes offering many on-site medical facilities and life enhancement amenities like physical therapy, massage therapy, even acupuncture. The trend for many clubs—especially those with many retirees—has been in integrating on-site medical facilities and health services that go beyond the standard club wellness amenities. Bringing in these third party providers and letting them operate as they would anywhere else—taking health plans, insurance and Medicare—has helped in keeping the baby boomer generation in the orbit of club life.
CT: What going on in programming?
RL: The trend is to place added emphasis on the club within the club, with the objective of identifying and catering to specific member interests—things like biking, hiking, or even tap-dancing. Thirty percent of members utilize their club’s fitness facility on a regular basis. That leaves around two thirds of members who certainly have other recreational interests either unengaged or headed elsewhere. Connect with these members and provide a club within a club to help improve the relevancy among these targeted populations.
CT: Anything else?
RL: The number one trend I see is farm-to-table. Local, seasonal, fresh and organic foods that are grown on the property or locally sourced are making their way to club kitchens and to members’ tables. Clubs can use these ingredients and showcase them to members in a personal way, telling them the story of their meal’s origin.
Sidebar:
Prevo’s 2014 Healthiest Clubs
Ocean Reef Club
Woodfield Country Club
Broken Sound Club
Bethesda Country Club
The Reserve
Desert Highlands
The Landings Club
John’s Island Club
The Club at Mediterra
Palo Alto Hills G&CC
Club Trends Spring 2015