Establishing a strategy for food and beverage operations can often prove one of the toughest parts of golf club management, with many facilities struggling to identify the best approach.
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.
With rising operational costs, ever-increasing member expectations, and difficulties in hiring and retaining skilled hospitality staff, the challenge is not getting any easier.
However, with a clear strategic vision, clubs can identify and pursue the right plan for them, balancing financial objectives and service goals with the demands of members and visitors.
This is the topic at the heart of the latest GCMA Insights podcast, featuring Steven Brown (F&B Consultant at Inn-Formation), Heather Moran (General Manager at La Moye Golf Club), and Kevin Fish (Club Management Specialist at Contemporary Club Leadership)
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With a comprehensive and highly informative discussion led by host Leighton Walker, the group cover:
- A snapshot of the current state of F&B in private clubs
- Trends shaping club F&B and the wider hospitality sector
- The practical realities of running an F&B operation within a private club setting, including member discounts. Members looking for a five star product at a one star price?
- The balancing act: delivering member satisfaction while maintaining healthy margins and profitability, and the Board’s role in this
- Why training for clubhouse staff has never been stronger – and what that training should look like in today’s best-run clubs
- Why you need a F&B Strategy!
- The rise of customer service and member experience training
Listen to the full podcast below:
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GCMA Professional Development Manager Gareth Morgan, who has engaged with golf club managers up and down the country through career one-to-ones and education initiatives such as the Advanced Management Progamme — which featured a highly successful F&B certificate — has noted a consistent theme.
“What I’m finding is that when we identify areas of the club they need to focus on or improve their skills, food and beverage is right up there with the most common areas,” he said.
“When we scratch the surface, we find that managers often find it quite difficult to establish a strategy for their food and beverage operation. They’re trying hard to do this, but sometimes don’t know where to start.
“They might be told, ‘You need to break even’, but there’s no depth to that guidance. Or someone might say, ‘You need to break even’, when last year the operation made an £80,000 loss.
“What that situation really requires is to sit down and create a food and beverage strategy — to work out how we’re going to get from where we are to where we want to be.”
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.
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