The excitement around the Blue Room, a member-incentive program at Los Angeles Athletic Club, was stoked by its secrecy.
Offering an incentive for member referrals is not a new concept for many clubs, including the Los Angeles Athletic Club. But its most successful effort, unveiled in August 2015, was certainly unique: the secret Blue Room.
“Nothing got the juices going with our members like [the Blue Room] has,” says Assistant General Manager Cory Hathaway. “People started following up on applications, and were trying to take a peak at the room. It’s creating quite a commotion.”
The excitement around the space was stoked by its secrecy. Over the course of two months, the club renovated an existing banquet room on the fourth floor that “was kind of utilized, but not well—and badly needed a facelift,” Hathaway says.
A staircase leading to the room from the third floor that had been sealed during Prohibition was reopened at the top, and concealed with a bookcase at the bottom. To access the space, a member has to swipe a gold card—which they can only receive if they refer a new member.
Hathaway describes the look of the space as “very historic, but modern and cool,” with the design team installing concrete polished floors with an exposed concrete ceiling, contrasted by crystal chandeliers, leather couches, and deep blue walls covered with vintage racquets, sports equipment, and historic photographs and memorabilia from the club’s early days.
“The look is different, but not out of place from the rest of the club,” Hathaway explains. “There are a lot of historic photographs elsewhere, but in this room, it’s completely dialed up.”
While the space was being renovated, the club did not announce the plans. Once it was built, a group of 20 influential members was invited to an unveiling. “They were super blown away,” Hathaway says.
By reviving the space, the club sought to increase its member referral rate. In any given month before the unveiling of the Blue Room, member referrals ranged between 19 and 27 per month. But as word got out about the space, that number jumped to the high 30s, and net total membership has also increased, Hathaway says.
News about the space quickly spread by word of mouth (and via the club’s social media and magazine), and now 200 of the club’s 3,000 members have access to the room Monday through Friday (it is open during the same hours as the restaurant and bar). However, any member can book the room for a private event over the weekends.
The room is used mostly as a work space during the week, Hathaway says, and members can bring in up to four guests, where they can enjoy cocktails made tableside.
The Blue Room has proved to be so popular, the club is considering ways to further utilize the gold card that permits access. But Hathaway says the style would be entirely different, such as a small library, study, or movie room.
“It can be hard to pull off something like this,” Hathaway says. “Internally, we had to be comfortable with losing some meeting space and adding member lounge space. But the concept could be done, on even a small scale.”
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