The 2026 Club + Resort Business Engagement Summit agenda is now live, offering a clearer look at the conversations shaping this year’s event and, increasingly, the club industry itself.
Scheduled for October 5–6 at the University Club of Chicago, the two-day program is built around the growing overlap between membership strategy, communication, branding, onboarding, operations, and long-term engagement. As clubs face rising expectations around member experience and differentiation, this year’s agenda focuses heavily on the practical decisions that influence how clubs present themselves, communicate internally and externally, and maintain relevance over time.
“The conversations happening inside clubs are getting more sophisticated,” says Joanna DeChellis, Editorial Director of Club + Resort Business. “Membership strategy no longer lives in its own lane. Communication, branding, onboarding, operations, and engagement all influence one another now, and clubs are trying to figure out how to create more consistency across those areas.”
The 2026 program reflects many of the themes attendees identified following last year’s inaugural Summit. According to post-event survey data, 100% of attendees said they would attend the Summit again or recommend it to a colleague, while 88% rated their overall experience as “Excellent.”
Survey responses also revealed strong interest in deeper discussion around digital engagement, onboarding, communication strategy, and cross-department alignment. Many of those themes now sit at the center of the 2026 agenda.
This year’s sessions include:
- Beyond the Logo: Building a Distinctive Club Brand
- The Membership Sales Blind Spots Clubs Can’t Afford to Ignore
- 3 Email Campaigns Every Club Should Already Be Running
- The Social Standard: A Social Media Workshop
- What Clubs Keep Overcomplicating About Engagement
- Reputation Matters: Maintaining a Consistent Club Identity Over Time
- The Club Industry’s Identity Crisis
The event will feature speakers and panelists from Ocean Reef Club, Desert Mountain Club, HamptonGolf, Shadow Wood Country Club, The Club at Olde Cypress, Invited Clubs, University Club of Chicago, and more.
Several sessions focus specifically on how clubs define and maintain identity in an increasingly crowded and competitive landscape. Melissa Hansen, Director of Membership and Marketing at The Club at Olde Cypress, will lead a session titled “Beyond the Logo: Building a Distinctive Club Brand,” exploring how branding extends beyond visual identity into communication habits, onboarding, culture, service standards, and operational consistency.
Bonnie Scoggins, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Invited Clubs, will present “The Club Industry’s Identity Crisis,” examining how clubs across the country are balancing modernization, communication demands, and shifting member expectations without becoming interchangeable.
Other sessions take a more tactical approach. Justin Kuehn, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for HamptonGolf, will break down membership sales pipeline visibility, conversion tracking, CRM implementation, and marketing attribution in “The Membership Sales Blind Spots Clubs Can’t Afford to Ignore.” Danita Osborn, Director of Membership and Marketing at Shadow Wood Country Club, will focus on behavior-driven communication strategy in “3 Email Campaigns Every Club Should Already Be Running.”
The agenda also includes workshops, networking receptions, panel discussions, and structured roundtable conversations designed to encourage peer exchange and practical discussion among attendees.
The Engagement Summit is designed specifically for membership directors, marketing and communications professionals, general managers, and other club leaders focused on strengthening engagement, communication, and long-term growth strategies.
The 2026 Club + Resort Business Engagement Summit will take place October 5–6 at the University Club of Chicago. Early bird registration rates are available through September 1, 2026. Learn more.
