Baltimore Country Club (BCC), founded in 1898, is one of the top 50 platinum country clubs in the nation and was featured as one of the 100 “Most Prestigious Clubs in the World” by LINKS Magazine. BCC’s 3,200 members enjoy two campuses and two 18-hole golf courses, including the A.W. Tillinghast-designed champion- ship East Course, which has garnered numerous accolades. Members also enjoy 5,000-square feet of fitness and wellness space; exceptional racquets facilities including tennis, pickleball, squash, and paddle courts; a resort-like swim complex with three pools, grass lawns, a café and dining patios; elevated dining spaces; and a historic duckpin bowling alley—a beloved tradition in Baltimore. Last October, BCC hosted a grand reopening of its Five Farms clubhouse in Lutherville, Md., following a year of construction. BCC’s two clubhouses and exquisite grounds provide this family-friendly club with an impressive scope of amenities.
The club’s philosophy, Great People Make Favorite Places, empowers staff to build genuine relationships with members and guests to ensure that every experience at the club is memorable. This includes documenting member preferences, hobbies, milestones, etc. To ensure BCC is a “favorite place” for members while striving to operate in a strategic and modern way, club leadership has implemented technologies in both the front and back of house that enable staff to ease operational processes, quickly and seamlessly respond to member needs, and use powerful analytics and reporting capabilities to gauge member behavior and provide a more personalized experience. Additionally, taking a diversified approach to member communications gives the team more touchpoints with its members and more opportunity to drive engagement.
EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY
With an average membership age of 48, BCC’s members are adept with technology and use it in their daily interactions and transactions. In 2020, the club relaxed its electronic device policy to allow discrete non-verbal communications such as texting or scrolling. Phone calls are still prohibited except in locker rooms, personal vehicles or conference rooms. Like most clubs, BCC sought ways to maintain and expand member engagement by increasing digital content. Acknowledging that members check their phones an average of 150 times per day and that texts are typically read within three minutes and have a 98% open rate, BCC employed a text messaging service for club news, event promotions and emergency communications.
The communications department’s goal is to keep members engaged no matter where they are—which is why there is a conscious effort to prioritize digital content. The club relaunched its mobile app in February 2021 with new, convenient features such as a social media-style feed, buddy chat and grab-and-go ordering. This year, the club is redesigning their website to prioritize the user experience. BCC takes pride in staying abreast of digital media trends and ways to use them to communicate with members. In addition to the club’s website and mobile app, the communications department also maintains public Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and TikTok accounts to showcase events and highlight its vibrant community. BCC’s digital content coordinator keeps members engaged by creating custom Instagram filters and stickers, phone wallpapers and polls. Members of the professional staff are tapped to star in brief videos highlighting their specific skills and expertise, whether that be fitness, golf, culinary, mixology, etc.
In 2020, BCC transitioned its monthly Lifestyle magazine to a digital flipbook, allowing members to access the magazine from the comfort of their mobile devices. While there is a delicate balance in designing a magazine to cater to print and digital platforms, BCC uses QR codes to provide an interactive experience for print readers. In addition to Lifestyle magazine, the club produces a supplementary virtual newsletter video series highlighting upcoming events featuring various staff members and engaging visual effects. The club’s diversified approach to engagement has significantly improved member communications and led to a significant decrease in expenses for the production and distribution of printed materials.
TRANSLATING MEMBER FEEDBACK AND DATA
BCC’s food and beverage outlets, racquets, golf, and fitness departments are transitioning away from a tablet-based feedback platform and is integrating experience management software to provide randomized surveys and pinpointed analytics. The feedback also provides the BCC team with real, measurable, time-stamped data revealing patterns and enhancing training opportunities. The membership department will be elevating and streamlining the member onboarding process through a custom microsite, integrated CRM, and email automation.
For the last few years, BCC’s accounting department has managed its cloud-based analytics software, which works in tandem with its club management software, to provide detailed insights into members’ club usage. In 2022, BCC added a financial analyst position to the team to analyze the software’s data and disseminate the information to departments in targeted, digestible formats. These reports track amenity utilization statistics, such as peak times, rounds played, fitness programming demand, tennis court bookings, food and beverage covers, and more. This information is especially valuable for identifying member preferences and trends and spotlighting underutilized areas where the club may have added opportunities. For example, discovering the most popular dish or trending cocktails can enable staff to increase inventory or create a menu pairing. “When it comes to curating exceptional experiences, data is king,” says Abby Michael, director of member experience. “The ability to have tangible data on member preferences and behaviors takes the guesswork out of member satisfaction by providing a roadmap to success.”
Nothing can replace face-to-face hospitality, but BCC incorporated call buttons in the Pool Complex dining area and the club’s signature Adirondack experience to enhance the efficiency of those in-person interactions. Members simply indicate their need for service by pressing a remote button. Combining technology with the human touch allows for quicker and more convenient service.
At BCC, investing in innovative technologies and resources to enhance operational efficiencies and provide crucial insights into member engagement has contributed to a connected, engaged and thriving membership that will continue to enjoy the club’s tradition of excellence.