CLUB ROAD: Fall 2011

Dear Friends:

At the end of the day, we’re all in the service business in one way or another.  Ask, and most any private club owner or manager will tell you that exemplary customer service is their hallmark.  Making members feel special is part of club DNA.

In fact, we’ve also been thinking in terms of “full service” a good bit lately.  Country clubs have been reconfiguring to accommodate fitness centers, childcare, tap rooms and more robust pool areas.  City clubs have added wine rooms, more sophisticated technology for business use, and more casual dining spaces.

What does the future of “full service” mean for the club industry, as clubs continue their quest to be one-stop sources to meet members’ nearly every leisure and even business need?  We see spas, business centers and thirdparty coffee shops as likely in the near-term offing for a couple of our clients.

At Chambers, we define full service as the ability to put our expertise to work beyond club planning, architecture and design and act as true partners to our clients.  Illahe Hills (page 4:  All Things Considered) is a prime example of what can happen with the right skills and a common mission to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal. We were able to help Illahe find some unexpected ways to work through a number of obstacles, from financing to land use.  We were honored to be able to serve as trusted advisor. Exemplary customer service derives from a commitment to understanding your members and their needs. Full service is the ability to meet those needs every day and in a myriad of ways.

What will full service mean for your club in the future? Tell us your thoughts.

Rick Snellinger President & CEO

Bob Hickman Chairman of the Board

We also invite you to enjoy TheChambersEdge, a monthly e-newsletter with information, trends and data focused on club operations and best practices. Subscribe here.

Visit our blog, Club View, at clubviewblog.com.

Chambers’ Architects & Designers Competitive Dining

Q. How can clubs better compete with the proliferation of high-end outside dining choices?

Don't forget the music. Offer live music with local bands or ensembles. Or showcase members' musical talents by having an accomplished pianist or a string quartet perform during brunch or dinner.

Rick Snellinger President & CEO, Master Planner

Provide childcare for harried parents who might like to have a quiet dinner.

Ken Hart Director of Architecture

Service, service, service. A hostess who greets them by a name, a bartender who remembers their drink, a waitperson who knows their kids' food allergies and how they like their steak cooked. They're not likely to get that anywhere else.

Bob Doyle Architect

Hire the best chef you can afford — with exceptional culinary skills and experiences. And keep up with menu and atmospheric trends.

Dick Heise Director of Club Studio

Create the ultimate outdoor dining experience with…covered pergolas or awnings, lighting sconces and pendants, live music, discreet service areas, comfortable seating, a fireplace or firepit, large scale seasonal plantings, proper air movement with fans or heaters, seasonal fresh food…

Bob Hickman Chairman, Interior Designer

Capitalize on everything a club can offer that a restaurant property can’t — a scenic view, a more intimate social scene, space for special events. And make sure your menu prices are comparable to other family-friendly options.

Patricia Sampson Managing Director

Offer a variety and an element of surprise — for example, feature an international cuisine and pair it with a complementary wine and appropiate music.

Chris Smith Vice President, Architect

Continually host and promote unique dining events. Host local ‘guest chefs’ and let members sample a locally renowned chef’s creations without having to drive downtown. Invite speakers. Show a movie with dinner and create your own dinner theatre once a month. Take requests from members and prepare their favorite dishes on feature nights.

Steven Sutor Senior Interior Design Associate

have a question for chambers’ architects & designers? submit it to us here and we will publish it in an upcoming issue

featured

All Things Considered

illahe hills country club

process. “When we took it to the house committee and asked for a plan, we all quickly realized we were in a bit over our heads.” Planning, prioritizing, budgeting…it was time to bring in the professionals.

Take decades of deferred maintenance, a 50-year-old swimming pool, a changing membership, and a restrictive set of bylaws — throw on a crippling recession and queasy banks — and you’ve got enough to make any club board member’s head spin.

The endeavor began like many others: Illahe Hills Country Club in Salem, Oregon was faced with years of neglected maintenance and a club that no longer met the needs of its members — much less was ready for a next generation.

They did all the right things in preparation: Undertook a strategic planning effort. Successfully lobbied and gained member support for changes to the club’s bylaws that freed up project

funding options. Engaged members in a series of focus groups to learn more about their needs and wants, and validated their findings. And they admitted when they needed help.

“(After these initial stages) we knew what we needed and what our members wanted,” said Gerry Thompson, who, as past chairwoman of the Illahe Hills board of directors, was instrumental in driving the planning and execution

Chambers joined the effort and began the master planning process with Illahe, working to accommodate demands for an improved pub area, a much improved pool and bathhouse, and a laundry list of other items — and also to assess their maintenance issues (HVAC, roofing, carpeting and more).

When the original budget came in higher than membership was comfortable with, Chambers then worked with Illahe to reconsider and recraft. Together, they arrived at a palatable solution. Hurdle #1 overcome. Hurdle #2: The bank that originally promised financing help for the project by now had stopped providing loans to membership-based organizations. Illahe considered postponing the project.

Club Governance: Who’s in Charge Here?

50% Number of respondents with Chief Operating Officer as all or part of their title (the majority of those are GM/COO)

35% Are General Managers

86% Feel a private club’s top executive should have complete operational, financial and service oversight

Responding clubs have, on average, 4–8 committees that meet on a regularly basis. The ideal, according to our survey group: 4–5. (And these were seen as most important: House, Finance, Membership, Planning, Golf, Greens/Grounds.)

Much has been written over the last several years about the most effective governing structure for private, member-owned clubs. Michael

The Chambers Survey is distributed to club executives across the United States (CEOs, COOs, GMs). This quarter’s survey focused on club governance — a topic clearly on the minds of many. We received responses from club executives in 27 states and the District of Columbia.

36% Are empowered but find their boards frequently step in and usurp their governing role

And why should club executives be so entrusted?

65% Say because operational decisions should be left to a trained club management executive

— that is, one that runs like the business it is, with decisions made for the long term health of the club and not dominated by the well meaning but often ill conceived agendas of its board or member committees.

12% Feel that fiscal and operational accountability are ensured with this structure

Lead, follow or get out of the way?

35% Feel that the executive should lead the club’s strategic and master planning efforts

25% Think their role should be counsel, guidance and advice

structure. Even in this economy, Addison’s revenues are up 30%. We’ve heard many similar tales. And could regale with our own about tragically poor planning decisions made because those governing the process simply weren’t qualified to determine the right and best course of action.

McCarthy, CEO of Addison Reserve in

Florida, and John Fernaro,

Publisher of

The Boardroom magazine, have both written strong pieces in just the last year about the need for collaborative governance and what it takes to operate a successful club

86% of the respondents in our recent survey of club COOs/GMs/CEOs tell us that a club’s top executive should have complete operational control and oversight — because they’re the proverbial “trained professional” and because it ensures accountability. Yet only 46% are so empowered.

We understand that McCarthy, in fact, worked to do away with most of his club’s committees and to change the governing

Want to participate in our next survey? Email us your name, title and club.

So why are so many clubs still struggling to make such a critical shift? And what will it take to get executives, boards and members on board?

weigh in! read on.

Form & Function

living on the

Fired Up

Clubs want “edgy” . Just what does that mean?

Even the most traditional of clubs are asking for “edgier” design. Members see more modern styles in restaurants and hotels and even in the catalogs that come to their homes — and want to keep up. Younger members want clubs or at least rooms that feel a little more like “theirs.” Heavy detailing and busy patterns can start to make rooms feel tired and dated.

Still, club tradition is revered by multiple generations and timelessness is important for clubs that rely on their histories to instill lasting impressions. And redecorating doesn’t happen frequently.

For many if not most clubs, “edgier” is relative — a request for transitional styles that modernize without offending older generations, that maintain that classic timelessness and quality with a nod to what’s defining modern design. Here’s a What’s Out/What’s Instyle showcase of edgier options that maintain classic club design.

Transform lighting with a contemporary alabaster stone pendant. This one is by Basic Source Architectural Lighting. for

Sleek ribbon fireplaces lend a minimalist and modern flair. Fire ribbon gas fireplace by Spark Modern Fires.

New Look, Ancient Feel.

Fussy wall coverings are giving way to sensuous textures, like these hand-crafted surfaces from the Fresco Collection from David Goldberg Design.

Take A Seat

A contemporary take on the traditional Chippendale chair features straighter lines and geometric cut-outs — like on this armchair from Corn Upholstery Company.

Private — Or Not Openness and privacy

co-exist with this LC Privacy Glass from Innovative Glass Corp. Switch from clear to frosted glass with the touch of a button.

Falling in Line

Millwork — from crown moldings to base boards. Cleaner lines maintain classic elements but with a fresher feel.

Dressed Up-To-Date

This Drexel chair goes from then to now with simply an upholstery change! Heritage Merris Lounge Chair from Marvin J. Perry.

Fully Modern

We couldn’t resist showing you this stunner from Prince Seating — traditional curvatures with a thoroughly modern twist, inspired by Philippe Starck’s “Ghost” chair.

behind the Curtain inspiration AT YOUR SERVICE

THE CHAMBERS WAY — CLUB INSPIRED

From the moment you step through Chambers’ front doors, you’ll be struck not only by the sleek beauty of the office, but also by the white glove (or is it red carpet?), couldn’t-be-friendlier service.

Sound familiar?

It’s no coincidence that Chambers takes the same approach to creating an exceptional experience for every

visitor as do its service-obsessed country and city club clientele. “It’s important that our clients feel as welcome and special here as we do when we travel to their clubs,” says Chambers President & CEO Rick Snellinger.

No detail is overlooked. Lauren Gordon or Maggie Pringle will greet you at the door (likely by name, just as they do on the phone) and escort you to the conference room, where the lighting is warm, the notepads are tidy and you’ll likely find chocolates to enjoy with your hot cup of coffee (there’s always a fresh pot on) or tea.

Chambers has learned from the masters the art and value of a warm welcome. And it’s a philosophy of

CHAMBERS CHALLENGE

attention and support they embrace for clients and employees, alike.

Lauren and Maggie share administrative tasks while Chambers fuels their efforts to grow other skills. In fact, Lauren just finished a summer architectural program at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.

The Baltimore Business Journal recently named Chambers one of the area’s Best Places to Work. That’s service through-and-through.

Lauren Gordon

Maggie Pringle