Inflation is soaring and that means all clubs’ costs are rising. On the GCMA Insights podcast, our experts debated the question: Should club members have to do their bit too?
This article is part of GCMA Insights – topical content for golf industry professionals, discussing the things that matter to those who work in golf clubs.
Do members need to “do their bit” to help clubs through the cost-of-living crisis?
That was the question posed on the latest GCMA Insights podcast as a panel of experts considered how to get the sport through a tricky upcoming membership renewals season.
Host Leighton Walker was joined by GCMA chief executive Tom Brooke, Inicio Solutions managing director Simon Jones, PlayMoreGolf relationship director Brad Chard, and Fairway Credit’s sales and support director Nigel Stewart to look at membership pricing.
The quartet considered the tools clubs could use to minimise the stress amid a background of high inflation and a squeeze on leisure budgets.
“That’s leaving golf club managers and golf clubs now with some incredibly difficult planning ahead in terms of what they do with their business modelling and, in particular, membership pricing,” Brooke said.
“There are so many considerations. Do you increase your pricing in line with inflation and to keep up with cost of living and utility bills at golf clubs and risk higher than anticipated, or higher than planned, attrition rates or do you hold your pricing – going lower – and hope for higher than planned retention but then risk not being able to cover your costs?”
Walker said a club’s relationship with their members was key and asked the panel whether they needed them to “share the pain”.
“It’s all very well that members want to keep their subs down but, perhaps in these times, they’ve got to kick in and do their little bit as well?”
Get involved in the debate.
To join the GCMA, click here, or to organise a call with a member of the GCMA team, just complete the form below.
Jones said: “Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, we all know the state of the economy. Hiding [that] from a member at this point is pointless and it’s actually a bit devious really.
“You should be upfront and the communications that you’re putting out to your member, particularly in that renewal notification, should be really well thought through.”
He added: “It should be talking a little bit about where the economic situation is because, let’s face it, under a 10-point increase in subscription is actually a real team decrease in fees. That places the club at a risk.
“You should be communicating with a member on that front. Every club is different. This is a unique decision for everybody, whether that’s through AGM, committee meetings, or whether that’s comms going out to members prior to the renewals letter, it shouldn’t be a big surprise in that respect.”
WHY JOIN THE GCMA?
Membership of the GCMA unlocks a network of like-minded professionals, provides you with support in your professional and personal development, and provides you with a multitude of benefits. Whether that’s the tools that will help you to excel in your profession, or a wide range of services to support your wellbeing, signing up to the GCMA is joining a community.
Brooke said there could be a difference in the way these questions were handled depending on whether the club was private member or proprietary owned.
“If it’s a private members’ golf club, where the member is a genuine stakeholder in that club, then having those conversations and saying ‘this is your club. We need your support to help us through these times and to continue providing the service we wish to provide you with as a member is possibly an easier conversation to have than in a proprietary environment where there is a single stakeholder or a group stakeholder looking to make profit from the operation and continuing to retain an income for themselves.
“So depending on the audience, and obviously the type of golf club you are, that conversation needs to take a slightly different tone.”
This article is part of GCMA Insights – topical content for golf industry professionals, discussing the things that matter to those who work in golf clubs.
Get involved in the debate. To join the GCMA, click here, or to organise a call with a member of the GCMA team, just complete this form and we’ll be in touch!
