One persistent challenge that managers face in
operating a club is to make sure that club’s facilities
are not subject to unauthorized access. There are
many variations on this problem:
• A non-member resident in proximity to a country club golf
course may ease onto the back nine and play a few holes
without authorization.
• At peak hours in a bustling city athletic club, non-members
might swim a few laps and use the gym with no one noticing.
• For yacht clubs in particular, access from the sea is yet another
route to enter into places non-members are not permitted.
• Some bona fide members may utilize services and facilities
that their membership status does not entitle them to.
Thus far clubs have struggled to find solutions that are not
either prohibitively expensive in the implementation or
heavy-handed in their execution. Also, club managers and
their staffs typically pride themselves in knowing and recognizing
members. Personalized service takes as its very premise
that a member is made to feel welcome and accommodated
with service that is frequently customized to fit his or her
individualized tastes and requirements.
In the face of these high expectations, staff may understandably
be uncertain as to the best course to take when an
unrecognized individual is encountered. Maybe someone who
has recently joined? A guest? Perhaps someone whose use is
infrequent or focused on other parts of the club? Other staff
members may just suffer from that occupational hazard shared
with preachers and teachers: everybody looks familiar. Safety
and security is a top priority, but so too is the wish not to offend.
Many clubs have looked to technological innovation for a
solution. These have taken various forms: access cards, entry
fobs, codes keyed into locking systems, even touchpads that
recognize a fingerprint (now common on smartphones). These
show promise, but are not with out drawbacks or limitations.
Keys or codes can be separated from the authorized user.
Systems that integrated with club personnel, such as database
look-up or identity confirmation are sometimes slow or compete
for attention that might otherwise be focused on members.
One technology that shows promise uses facial recognition as part of a larger access control system. We offer two case studies of clubs that have recently implemented these comprehensive
identity management systems: The Bel-Air Bay Club in
Pacific Palisades, Calif., and The Granite Club in Toronto.
Both clubs have opted for biometric security provider, FST
Biometrics’ in Motion Identification (IMID) technology. Their
experience has thus far demonstrated that a number of different
benefits can accrue to clubs through the system’s application.
This club draws its membership
from some of the most affluent
areas in southern California: Pacific Palisades, Brentwood,
Santa Monica and Malibu. The facilities are a perfect match
for the sun-drenched, laid-back west coast lifestyles and
include a one-quarter mile stretch of Pacific Ocean beachfront.
The club has two clubhouse facilities that are bisected by
the Pacific Coast Highway: the Upper Club and then the
beachfront’s Lower Club, which both has seen a significant
influx of activity since its 2007 renovation.
With 850 memberships and more than two thousand
people who will potentially enjoy the Lower Club at some
time in the extended peak summer season, the club wants to
welcome members in both a warm and efficient way, while
also keeping any star-gazers or beach interlopers outside the
club environs.
Two unobtrusive cameras make for a fast, frictionless
member positive identification as the members enter the
Lower Club en route for dinner, the bocce courts (15 feet
from the edge of the ocean) or one of 104 much sought after
cabanas. As the ID is done rapidly and automatically, the
staff is free to have more personal and tailored interactions
with the club members.
The system has been effectively integrated with the club’s
membership management system (Jonas Club) and thus also
provides the management with information that is useful for
purposes both strategic, like leadership development, and
operational, like cabana utilization. The much sought-after
cabanas are offered on a use-it-or-lose-it basis. The IMID
system verifies that cabanas are indeed inhabited in the peak
season on a regular basis.
COO Bill Howard gives the system an enthusiastic thumbs
up: “We feel confident in the system, which has proven to be
fast, accurate and seamless. Most importantly [it] helps us
improve the level of service we provide to our membership,
allowing us to truly get to know each and every member by
face and name.”
THE GRANITE CLUB
This club is among the premier family, social,
recreational and athletic clubs in North America.
It is also a big club, which is the nexus of
activity for approximately 11,000 members.
With its scale and great variety of offerings, The Granite
Club tailors its offerings accordingly. This is the foundation for
a user pay system with members electing to use some facilities,
activities and services, but not others.
In the past, the club has not strictly monitored usage,
instead relying largely upon member compliance using an
honor system. But in 2014, with the addition of a new wing
and with it a bevy of athletic, fitness and gym facilities and
services, more rigorous access control and utilization monitoring
system was desired.
The system manages member entry into the two large gym
areas in the new wing. Also among the applications that The
Granite Club now especially values is the secure and controlled
access to its childcare area.
Mary Sullivan, the club’s COO, anticipates that the club will
continue to expand its access system to eventually cover access to
most areas of the club as well as entrance to the overall club
facility itself. She sees the club reaching that “next level” whereby
a warm and welcoming environment is further enhanced by
assurances of safety and security
to all members and staff.
Implementing Facial Recognition Technology
Installation of this technology—FST was the vendor at both The Granite Club and The Bel-Air Bay
Club—involves the positioning of cameras (typically two) and then the integration with the various
access points. At The Granite Club, this included doors to restricted areas (like the childcare center) or
entry gates into more highly trafficked areas like the athletic facilities (see photo on page 20). In the
case of Bel-Air Bay Club, installation at the Lower Club required a two-day retrofit and integration
with the front desk, which is attended by staff. At The Granite Club the system was put in place when
a new wing was added to the larger club facility.
The system requires photographs of all adult club members and their qualifying family members (although children are not included
in the registration process). Though the photographing and enrolling takes less than a minute, there remains the logistics and publicity
required to build awareness and participation. Both clubs developed communication plans to inform members of the procedures and
opportunities for enrollment. Bel-Air Bay Club pushed for enrollment over a one-month period, while The Granite Club, a larger
operation, extended its enrollment over several months. Both clubs had overwhelming participation and satisfaction. The facial
recognition system integrates with the club membership databases, but the photographs often represent both an update and enhancement.
Club Trends Summer 2017