CLUB ROAD: Spring 2012

Dear Friends:

Wow. Certainly we hoped for a good response to our recent survey, Club ’22 – The Club of the Future. We hear firsthand every day from clubs looking to make pretty significant changes — there’s a real hunger out there to look anew at how clubs are catering to their members. We’re thrilled at the generosity of your response! Hundreds of you completed the survey (thank you — we know it was a long one!) and we received thousands of comments and ideas on everything from technology and sustainability to what will keep clubs from succumbing to the pressures of competition and a forever-changed industry environment.

A good bit of this issue is dedicated to sharing the initial highlights — keep reading!

And we look forward to sharing more of your responses in the coming months. (If you think your board and members might be interested, encourage them to subscribe free to CLUB ROAD.)

’22

All Things to All

Chambers just wrapped up Club ’22 – The Club of the Future, a national survey on the future of the private club industry. What’s gotta change, where we crave something new, what’s inevitable whether we like it or not…and what’s just fine as it is, thank you very much. In the hundreds of responses we received, there were a number of resounding themes. Among the loudest: nearly half of the club owners and managers who

FITNESS

Fun, interesting and safe.

We’ll come back to this one in more detail in the next issue of CLUB ROAD. Suffice it to say owners and managers hear the member demand loud and clear for more and better options for every age, every season, every skill level.

MIND–STIMULATING ACTIVITIES

Rick Snellinger President & CEO

Bob Hickman Chairman of the Board

As ever, our door remains open to your thoughts, questions and challenges. Please get in touch! Visit

Educational and cultural –lectures, classes and more

TEEN CENTER

MOVIE THEATRE

responded think the Club of the Future will increasingly become a social hub for members — a focal point for sport and health, all types of recreation, dining, education, business, even shopping. And loudest among those: FITNESS. (And we mean really loud!)

Here’s a snapshot — the elements most often cited in Club ’22 as key ingredients in the Club of the Future.

PROFESSIONAL CHILDCARE

“Childcare is one of the missing links to us truly achieving our desired membership levels.” survey response

Fitness, Family, Full-Service

So what happens when you ask a pretty tradition-steeped industry to take the restraints off and tell us what you think the future of the private club industry should be? No bungee jumping, that’s what!

FACILITIES & DESIGN

“ ‘This is how we’ve always done it’ just isn’t going to sustain the club of the future.”

1/2

predict clubs will have centralized, technologycontrolled infrastructure systems

43%

envision a club with e-commerce options available for food & beverage, clothing, wine and more

46%

32% 8%

expect to embrace more modern and contemporary design predict a more transitional approach will continue to embrace their wainscoting and hunter green walls

“The aspiring member doesn’t want to be stuck in a time warp.”

SUSTAINABILITY

46%

65%

predict the increased use of environmentally preferable technologies

“We do our part but we could do more.”

What They’re Doing Now

Sustainability efforts currently in play : recycling composting

And what you find will be most important for the future

“very important”:

93% energy efficient equipment

89% water management (recapture & reuse)

“very” or “somewhat important”:

85% LEED qualified 80% solar power

70% green roof 67% geothermal

“Old thinking and refusing to adapt will doom clubs.”

DINING, PROGRAMMING & EVENTS

58%

will hire classically trained chefs and encourage more creative menu selections and dining choices

“Chefs have to become marketers, too!”

91%

think locally sourced food will likely be the way to go.

And where else you expect clubs will focus in the future:

more outdoor dining

more progressive and inventive menus

carry-out dining

more interesting dining room design

Can it be so?

A resounding number suggest that DENIM will make its way into club dining spaces across the country.

Chambers introduces the “Social Register” with this issue, a regular feature highlighting from our survey, in each issue of CLUB ROAD, plus post more to our Facebook page com.

93% MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT, RETENTION & MARKETING

expect marketing to become more important than ever — and expect to invest in it

The two biggest areas of focus: social media mobile websites

General Manager and Chief Operating Officer

Fox Chapel Golf Club, Pittsburgh, PA President, Club Managers Association of America

We caught up with Skip just before the recent CMAA conference where he was about to officially take the reigns as incoming president of the association. Congratulations, Skip — and thank you for sharing your insights!

CR: As President of CMAA, people will undoubtedly look to you to help define the Club of the Future (COTF). What’s your vision?

We’ll also be sharing here the most inventive ideas for membership recruitment. Stay tuned.

CLUB ’22 – THE CLUB OF THE FUTURE: WHO PARTICIPATED

50% GM or COO

16% 11% Club board president, committee member Club managers & directors

see all the stats

Thank you to all who participated in Club ’22 – The Club of the Future survey — and for the literally thousands of comments and ideas you shared. Look here for more results, more trends and more insights throughout the year!

Okay, we didn’t expect that radical a departure. In fact, your incredibly generous responses to Chambers’ Club ’22 – The Club of the Future survey will help us collectively shape and prepare for what’s to come. Here’s a snapshot of some of your responses to our forward-looking questionnaire. Look to CLUB ROAD in future months for more highlights and a deeper dive into many of the issues and opportunities facing the industry. We’d venture that the industry is at a pretty critical juncture in its evolution. As Skip Avery comments in On the Road with… (at right), it’s time to “embrace a tradition of flexibility.” highlighting some of the best ideas in club events. We’ll showcase a few, culled page on occasion. Submit your event ideas to us at clubroad@chambersusa.

SA: There are a lot of people saying you have to look first at opportunities for young families — that what’s driving the future is mothers with children. I’d say we have to think multigenerationally. There are very different needs and niches we should be thinking about.

CR: Clubs are seemingly facing more competition — and becoming more competitive. What defines “competitive” in the COTF?

SA: It’s best we start by understanding not what we’re competing against but rather what we’re competing for. And that is discretionary time. We have to demonstrate there’s a perceived value to the time our members invest with us. The value used to be status — belonging to a club was simply “what you did.” It’s different now. Members want to know what they’ll get out of their membership — for themselves and for their family. They’ll ask, “Is this how I want to spend my time?”

CR: What challenges will clubs face as they look to define themselves for the future?

read the full interview

“ People want access to information immediately.”

“It’s easier to get in touch with members with so much more available technology!”

THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT

Pro shops, fine dining and poolside cocktails have been the staples of private club commerce for decades. At the same time clubs are increasingly competing for member time and attention, they’re also finding opportunity to increase member value and, with it, revenue, with a broader definition of “retail” and a host of new enabling technologies.

Jill Philmon, General Manager and COO of Ballentyne Country Club in Charlotte ( On the Road with... , CLUB ROAD January 2012 ) is on the front end of a trend we see gaining momentum: retail markets for members. “We would watch people drive by our club every day on their way to pick up wine or food and it dawned on us that we could meet this need if we have a more convenient and accessible place for it.” Ballentyne is in the midst of redesigning its clubhouse and plans to add a gourmet market where members can buy everything from wine, seafood and meats to pizzas and premade appetizers. The market will have a separate entrance, enabling it to dispense with dress codes and other club formalities that could otherwise hinder convenience. “We’ll provide it as a convenience to members,” says Philmon.

MORE FROM CHAMBERS

On the expansion of retail opportunities, says Chambers President & CEO Rick Snellinger, “The goal is to make it easy for members to choose the club when they’re making decisions about how and where to spend their time and money.” Snellinger led Ballentyne’s recent Master Planning effort and is working closely with Philmon to realize her vision for a more fullservice club.

Perhaps one of the greatest enablers of expanded retail opportunity for private clubs of every type is the plethora of technologies out or in development. We took a look at a few high potential products designed specifically for the club space:

Northstar Technologies, which develops club management software, is developing a new technology that will enable clubs to target their marketing communications to member preferences by monitoring their Facebook likes and preferences. “This will help clubs with their retail businesses, programming and activities planning,” says Northstar Vice President of Marketing Donald Moro.

read the full story

competition, convenience, technology drive club retail

Chambers selected to design new clubhouse for Lakewood Country Club in Westlake, OH.

Chambers wins 96% membership approval of master plan for Llanerch Country Club (a Chambers record!); will design new clubhouse for the Haverton, PA club.

Consider This

Club Industry Veteran Bob Hickman's Interior Design Checklist

Gone are the days when a club can rely solely on the exquisite taste of one or two of its members to ensure the club’s interior design meets the demands and sensibilities of an increasingly diverse membership.

As executives, owners and boards consider their options for updating or even overhauling critical club spaces, Chambers Chairman and Lead Interior Designer Bob Hickman takes a few minutes to share his 18-point checklist for kicking off any design project thought process. A little behind-the-scenes insight from the industry veteran who has created designs for hundreds of America’s best and most dynamic clubs:

1. Location. Location always drives design. What’s the surrounding environment like? Light considerations? Traffic patterns to be aware of? “This is never a one-size-fits-all process,” says Bob.

2. Club Views. We are always looking to capitalize on great views! Interiors are meant to complement and enhance the view — not compete with it.

3. Age and Demographics. First we need to understand the club’s make-up. Then we can balance our design solutions for the broadest appeal.

4. Previous Successes and Failures. What works well with the current experience and environment? What doesn’t?

5. Flexibility. How is it used…and how can it be used? We always look to maximize space usage, very often creating flexible spaces that members can use in a variety of ways.

6. Architectural Constraints. Is there a big column we have to keep because it’s from the 1870s and the membership couldn’t bear the thought of moving it?

Are there low ceilings we’re forced to work with or perhaps a load-bearing wall that would impact our ideas? All of these things affect design and member experience in the end, so we need to know about them up front. Planning on the front end saves time and dollars.

7. Traffic Flow. We like to have an understanding of traffic patterns throughout the footprint of a club. It’s also our job to ensure that the staff experience is just as positive as the members’.

8. Desired Experience. What end experience does the club envision? Is it child-friendly? Formal? Energetic? Relaxed?

9. Acoustics. There are so many elements that go into decisions on noise control. We need to understand where sounds come from — voices, equipment in the next room, music from down the hall, steps across the floor overhead, etc. Then we can develop solutions that may include a mixture of carpeting, wall treatments, upholstered ceilings, window

Can Bob help you with a design challenge? Email him at clubroad@chambersusa.com.

read all 18

Curtain

A LEFT BRAIN IN A SEA OF RIGHTS

JOHN SNELLINGER

Granted, it’s not a coincidence that John Snellinger, Director of Planning at Chambers, shares the last name of the company’s President & CEO Rick Snellinger. And yes, there might be a bit of a family resemblance. He didn’t land a spot at the storied architectural and design firm out of some family favor

But work with John for a short bit and you’ll soon realize this isn’t merely a case of nepotism. He didn’t land a spot at the storied architectural and design firm out of some family favor or because he long aspired to follow in his father’s footsteps, credentialed or not.

“I’d initially planned to go into real estate investment,” says the younger

CHALLENGE

Snellinger, who bought and renovated his first house while he was still in college. A true “fixerupper,” he was able to buy it for a song, renovate and live in it, then sell at a significant profit after he graduated from Mary Washington College in Virginia. He does acknowledge the advantage of his Chambers affiliation, however — “It wasn’t exactly your typical college house,” John sheepishly confesses (he served as landlord, too, renting rooms to classmates). “There weren’t many on the block with Ralph Lauren colors and the latest furniture.”

Initially, John came on board at Chambers “temporarily” to help modernize its technology platform, introduce research applications, and for planning and data analysis. But it wasn’t long before he turned his finance degree and fascination with financial modeling and technology into an even greater asset for the firm, where he now works with clients during the master planning process developing financial models and pro formas to help them gain financing for major capital improvements.

Finance committee members at private clubs are very often highly seasoned financiers, themselves. “Early on, I had to present a financial model to a former vice president of the stock exchange who was on the

board of one of our client’s clubs.” Intimidating? “He went with my program,” John says, quietly shrugging.

He turned his finance degree and fascination with financial modeling and technology into an even greater asset

“It’s my favorite part of the job — when we can challenge each others’ thinking and come up with creative financial solutions that enable them to move forward.”

Oh that old thing?

Have a question for John? Or just want to get in touch? Email him at clubroad@chambersusa.com.

Holding on a bit too tightly to the past with dated designs, worn furniture or obsolete floor plans? Yes, Chambers enjoys a big stem-to-stern architectural challenge — but we also have a stable of fabulous interior designers who love to get their hands on a challenged space.