CLUB ROAD: Summer 2013

Dear Friends:

It’s been a busy few months at Chambers. In May, we announced that we acquired CCI Club Design. Our once formidable (and friendly!) competitors in Dallas are now part of the Chambers family. And in June, Immediate Past President of CMAA Skip Avery, CCM, CCE, joined the firm, adding yet another critical dimension to our club planning and design teams.

The club business has changed. In fact, it’s gotten smarter. From visionary club planning to carefully considered financial management, clubs are focusing on long-term viability and on making sound business decisions that will, together, guarantee member satisfaction for generations.

Chambers has evolved too. More and more, we’re taking a 360° approach to helping clubs navigate their futures. And we’re thrilled about our recent additions. CCI’s experience in club planning and design and Skip’s club management expertise expand our reach, services and perspective. Because we recognize that when it comes to club design, more is, well…more.

Drop us a line — we’d love to introduce you to our growing team.

Form, Function & Fun

THE POOL EXPERIENCE IS THE #2 MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE in recruiting new club members (eclipsed only by golf). The hottest pool products aren’t just for aesthetics and fun — though there are plenty of those! New technologies are also keeping kids and grown-ups safer in and around the water.

GLAMOUR STREAM

These clear uniform water arcs are beautiful and playful. At night, white or colored LED lights add a touch of drama.

MagicStream® Laminars

Rick Snellinger President & CEO

Bob Hickman Chairman of the Board

FUNCTION

IT’S ALL IN THE WRIST

Sensors monitor swimmers wearing wristbands that alert the system if someone is motionless under water for more than 30 seconds. Great for guarded or unguarded pools.

ABOVE & BEYOND, ER BELOW Cameras allow lifeguards to see what’s going on above and below the pool surface, so staff can quickly detect a struggling swimmer.

PoolView by Swimming Pool Safety Company

& FUN!

Splash pads and slides have been making their way into club and resorts pools for years. Why stop there?

Structures by Vortex Aquatic Structures International

See

Sensa technology by Swimming Pool Safety Company

Rick Snellinger President & CEO, Master Planner

Club Planning

Bob Hickman Chairman, Interior Designer

We gathered some of the thought leaders at Chambers for a discussion about what that club design firm should focus on to best meet the needs of the industry.

ON THE SERVICES AND EXPERTISE REQUIRED OF THE CLUB DESIGN FIRM OF THE FUTURE…

“I look at it as a solutions-based group. One that can take me through the thought process from planning to building, demonstrating along the way how they’re keeping in mind the operational needs of my club.” SKIP

“They need to understand the stratification of member ages and categories of each club.” RYAN

ON WHAT CHAMBERS BRINGS TO THE TABLE…

“We have to have the proper mix of people. Designing clubs isn’t like any other kind of hospitality design. It’s not like a restaurant, it’s not like a hotel…not even like a giant house. It has to perform like all of those things (and more) and as one unit, on a commercial level. That takes a broad knowledge base and understanding.” DICK

Twenty years ago, a call from a club to Chambers ballroom or locker room or what to do to make room

“Today, inquiries are more along the lines of, ‘We need to figure out who we’re going to be in the future and how best to get there,’ ” says Rick Snellinger, Chambers president and CEO and master planning expert. Chambers’ recent acquisition of CCI Club Design of Dallas and the addition of Skip Avery, CCM, CCE, to the team weren’t driven by a simple quest for size or even reach, but, says Snellinger, “are part of Chambers’ ongoing effort to provide a more 360-approach to club planning and design.”

From mission development and strategic planning to financial modeling and membership marketing, from facilities planning to

ON THE BENEFITS OF HIRING A FIRM THAT HAS SPECIFIC EXPERTISE IN CLUB PLANNING AND DESIGN…

“It’s no longer an architecture or interior design firm — it’s a consulting firm that addresses the big-picture, long-term needs of the club. That requires a very specific menu of services and perspective.” BOB

“We’ve seen the experience fall apart for clubs that don’t bring in specialists, frankly. The dynamics of a club are so specific to this industry, from maintenance needs and financing to member expectations and communications strategies.” RICK

Dick Heise, AIA, CID, NCARB Director of Club Studio

Planning & Design

was most likely to discuss “redecorating” a room for bridge players. Oh, how times have changed.

architecture and building oversight, Chambers has grown its services and expertise to become what it sees as the Club Design Firm of the Future — one best positioned to help clubs find their way in a fast-changing member environment.

“The merger of our firms,” says Chambers Executive Vice President Ryan Yakel, formerly of CCI Club Design, “brings together the shared experiences of these two firms — best practices, processes and approach. We can tap our varied perspectives and experiences but ultimately share a collective passion for the smart evolution of the club industry.”

ON HOW CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY HAVE AFFECTED THE WAY CHAMBERS APPROACHES A CLUB PROJECT…

“Deferred expenses have become a problem. There is a cost of doing nothing.” DICK

“The problem is, costs have gone up but clubs are still limited in their bylaws on the number of members they can admit. So you have to look at different ways of going about financing improvements.” RYAN read more >

ON EDUCATING CLUB LEADERSHIP ON WORKING WITH A MORE CONSULTATIVE PLANNING AND DESIGN FIRM…

“GMs used to see us as a threat. But today’s managers/COOs are highly trained and educated in the hospitality industry. They look at their clubs as a business operation. This can make for a highly productive partnership.” RYAN

“We aren’t the reason GMs lose a job — we should be the reason why they keep and excel in the job.” SKIP read more >

ON WHAT WE’RE STILL LEARNING…

“Clubs — and people — are evolving. We’re constantly learning how people use clubs, what their needs are, how changes in their lives mean we need to make changes to their clubs.” RYAN

read the full story

What would you like to see from your planning and design firm?

join the discussion.

Ryan Yakel, AIA Executive Vice President, Architect

Patricia Sampson Managing Director

Skip Avery, CCM, CCE Executive Vice President

LOOK WHO’S JOINED THE TEAM!

RAISING & MAKING MONEY

Is it Time to Rethink Our Approach?

Skip Avery, CCM, CCE immediate past president of CMAA and seasoned club GM/COO has joined the Chambers family. A career shift, to be sure — and one that we expect to be beneficial to Skip, Chambers and, most important, our clients.

It’s all a matter of perspective. That is, Skip will bring a whole other dimension to Chambers’ planning and design capabilities, offering insights and direction gained from decades of successful leadership at the helm of some of the nation’s most prestigious country clubs.

Join us in welcoming Skip — and look for him to share Perspectives from the Other Side in an upcoming blog series.

Reach out to Skip at savery@chambersusa.com.

Read the announcement letter to our friends and clients. read more >

It isn’t just the economy that has affected the way clubs look at paying for major expenditures. Necessary facilities upgrades and improvements or major renovations can prove a bridge too far to be covered merely by dues increases and special member assessments. A hefty assessment can turn members away, says CPA and club industry consultant Mitch Stump, who has seen clubs lose as many as 20 percent of their memberships when assigning assessments to cover capital projects.

This doesn’t mean clubs shouldn’t undertake the capital projects — to the contrary, club improvements are critical to ensuring member satisfaction and attracting new members. And delaying necessary upgrades can cost clubs even more money in the long run, as problems worsen and building and maintenance costs rise.

(Chambers President & CEO and planning expert Rick Snellinger advises clubs to undertake careful and deliberate planning efforts to maximize member buy-in and reduce turnover in times of great change.)

Private clubs are tackling monetary issues — raising it, generating it and wrestling

with the related tax issues — in a number of ways, many of which are requiring that clubs rethink the old ways of doing things. Here, we offer an overview of some of the issues and options. We encourage discussion about this on our blog (via the comments section after this story). We’ll answer the questions we can, defer to the experts on others, and will tackle specific issues in more depth in coming issues.

RAISING MONEY

Henry DeLozier is principal of Global Golf Advisors and one of the club industry’s leading authorities on golf course asset development and financing. More and more often, according to DeLozier, clubs are looking to a combination of financing options to cover capital projects. “Capital dues increases or lines of credit sometimes don’t get clubs far enough along,” says DeLozier. DeLozier and Snellinger, both, are seeing — and helping — clubs pursue a mix of options. In addition to the traditional methods, clubs are turning to high net worth members to play the part of banker, loaning funds where banks now sometimes fear to tread.

“

Assessment has become a dirty word.”

MITCH STUMP, CPA AND CLUB INDUSTRY TAX CONSULTANT

2+12+1 FACs Add Up

Family Activity Centers Make Plain Sense…and Cents

For years, General Manager Mary Geiss at Cape Fear Country Club in Wilmington, North Carolina, watched with frustration as dozens and dozens of cars made their way out of her club parking lot after every major tennis and pool event. Ideally, she would’ve loved for them to stay for lunch or dinner, but there simply wasn’t a place for the casually attired families to grab a casual meal.

Like many clubs across the country, Geiss is experiencing an influx of younger families — and with it, the need to address a next generation of members who easily combine family, fitness, food and wellness in their day-to-day lives. Simply put, says Geiss, “We needed to provide them with more and better options.”

Cape Fear recently teamed up with Chambers to design a Family Activities Center (FAC), which is slated to open in 2015. “This is an burgeoning

MORE FROM CHAMBERS

trend for private clubs,” says Chambers President & CEO Rick Snellinger, who has led the planning and member approval process with Cape Fear.

“There are so many reasons to create a dedicated activities center,” Snellinger says. Among them: RECRUITMENT. Pools are the #2 feature families look for in considering a new club (the golf course still ranks #1).

CLUB UTILIZATION. FACs enable clubs to increase year-round utilization of the club. “You can pretty easily turn your club into a 12-month facility with a well conceived Family Activities Center,” says Snellinger.

read the full story

CHAMBERS LIST OF MUST- HAVES

(or at least Should-SeriouslyBe-Considereds!) for a Dedicated Family Activities Center

1. Assorted racquet sports –tennis, squash, paddle ball

2. Swimming pools – lap pool and zero entry pools with features for children

3. Casual dining with bar/bistro/ fitness menu

4. State-of-the-art fitness center with spaces for classes and weight training

5. Babysitting area

6. Game room sans technology –a place for foos ball, air hockey, ladder golf, skee ball, table games and more

7. Retail center/pro shop (specific to pool, racquet sports and fitness)

8. Technology-enabled room for movie viewing, parties and more

9. Outdoor space with a playground and courts for tether ball, supervised games, basketball, etc.

10. Full service locker rooms with steam, sauna, showers and maybe even spa services

ways to connect

Cape Fear Country Club, Wilmington, NC

We’ve created a Family Activity Center-related Pinterest board with Chambers’ projects and cool new features. take a peak and follow us.

evolution inspiration &

Architect Ryan Yakel Talks Shop

After more than 29 years at CCI, Ryan Yakel, AIA, joins Chambers as an Executive Vice President, heading up our Dallas office. A self-admitted club junkie, Ryan talks to us about his love of the industry and his greatest sources of inspiration.

cr: As an architect, what appeals to you about working on clubs?

ry: The ever-evolving nature of clubs fascinates me — no two are the same.

cr: If you could push private clubs out of their traditional comfort zones in just one area, what would you encourage them to rethink?

ry: I’d like to see them embrace technology. Club culture doesn’t move fast. In most areas, that’s okay. But from a technology standpoint, they need to move at the same speed that technology is evolving. Communications, audio and video and presentation capabilities.

cr: Do you have a favorite architectural or interior design aesthetic or style?

ry: That would be like picking a favorite child!

cr: Which architects have influenced you most in your life?

ry: The two I believe have a wonderful command of the art and design of architecture are Richard Meier and Renzo Piano. Their designs are crisp, innovative and thoughtful — down to the minutest details. Despite its massive size, you never feel overwhelmed at Meier’s Getty Center in Los Angeles. Every detail is a joy to experience. Piano’s Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas ties its exterior sculpture garden into the building and provides a multitude of experiences as you walk through it.

cr: What is on your desk now that inspires you?

ry: I have a Lego model of the Empire State Building that reminds me that great things can be accomplished in the direst of times. And a unique glass piece with hearts embedded in it that my wife gave me. It reminds me that we’re most grounded by the love of those close to us.

cr: What’s that one personal possession you couldn’t live without?

ry: I would miss my convertible. But maybe not the speeding tickets…