By Terry Anglin, CCM, CCE, ECM
Private clubs and luxury resorts are in the same business, whether they realize it or not. Both sell a sense of belonging, attentive service and a memorable experience. Looking at how the best resorts operate offers clubs a useful blueprint for elevating their own member experience.
Ritz-Carlton is famous for remembering its guests' preferences: favorite drinks, room types, dietary needs and important dates. Clubs can build the same habit through member surveys and the orientation process. When I was General Manager at San Diego Yacht Club, part of every new member's orientation was completing a short form noting their favorite food, favorite wine or drink, birthday and anniversary date. That information lived in the POS system, so when a member made a reservation, the team could look up those details ahead of time and use them to welcome the member personally at dinner.
The best resorts solve problems before a guest has to ask. Clubs should train their teams to notice members' patterns: which days and times they play tennis or golf, when they typically dine, which events they attend and who they usually socialize with. That information can be used to heighten the experience and personalize service even further.
Resorts make arriving special: greeting guests by name, offering a glass of champagne at check-in, welcoming returning guests back. Clubs can apply the same tactics from the moment a member arrives, greeting them at the front gate, at the front door and again from the dining room host or bartender. The first five minutes of a visit strongly shape a member's perception of the entire experience.
Luxury resorts don't treat their outlets as separate businesses. Every part of the operation affects every other part. Clubs can design a member experience that connects golf, tennis, fitness, events, children's activities and social life, and can promote "clubs within the club" to encourage members to use more of what's available to them.
Resorts invest heavily in their staff, and clubs should do the same, training their teams in a hospitality culture built on consistency, warmth, discretion and personal recognition. Early in my career, I was told that the sweetest words you can say to someone are their own name. Clubs often put their energy into facilities, but these kinds of personal touches matter more than the physical plant.
A handwritten note. An unexpected plate of cookies for the mahjong group. Remembering a member's personal or family milestone. Small gestures like these remind a member that it's not just another day at the club.
Clubs should regularly ask: what do members have to do today at the club that we could simply do for them?
The member experience is the sum of many small perceptions. The best resorts are constantly attending to the details — lighting, table settings, uniforms, scent, signage and cleanliness — because members notice all of it, even when they can't name what they're noticing.
The real question for any club is simple: how do we want members to feel from the moment they arrive until the moment they leave, and what can we do today to make them want to come back soon?
At GSI Executive Search, we help private clubs find and develop the General Managers and leadership teams who bring this kind of hospitality mindset to life — leaders who treat service as a philosophy rather than a department. If your club is ready to raise its own standard of member experience, GSI Executive Search can help you find the right leadership to get there.
