FAMILY VALUESis the second part of a special four-part “Industry in Transition” series being presented by C&RB in 2009. The first installment, “GoLF’S FUTURE: How Clubs Can Help Save the Game,” appeared in the January 2009 issue (pg. 14); it highlighted the approaches that all club and resort properties should now take to reverse the trend of declining rounds and not only get more people out to play more golf, but to enjoy it more when they do.Upcoming parts of the series that will appear later this year in C&RB will include: August Issue: FACILITIES THAT WORK Whether the clubhouse and other parts of a property are brand-new, fully renovated or “well-aged,” buttoned-down facilities management is now critical for success, especially in a tight economy. This feature will focus on how club and resort operations must devote as much attention to behind-the-scenes efficiencies as to putting forward their best public faces through their buildings, courses and grounds.November Issue: WINNING TEAMS In the end, running a successful club and resort operation still comes down to effective management. But the profile of what’s required to be a top performer is now quite different not only for general managers, but all department heads. We’ll introduce an “all-star team” of talented innovators who personify what it takes to lead and succeed in today’s—and tomorrow’s—club and resort management environments.

“We’re a family club” now rolls of the websites and other marketing voices of club and resort properties-and the tongues of their managers-as freely and frequently as “we have great golf” or “we have good food.” But saying you’re family-oriented is much easier than being that way. Here are the standards and qualities that distinguish properties that are truly delivering on the promise.

Club Med, the French company credited with creating the all-inclusive resort concept—but better-known for developing (and not discouraging) a connection with “swinging singles” escapism during its largest growth period from the ‘60s through the ‘80s—is now making a big point of showing that it has grown up and settled down.

“Club Med is now [all about] family,” the company’s North American CEO, Xavier Mufraggi, said in a recent interview. “Seventy percent of our U.S. customers travel with their children, and [only] 12 percent of our U.S. guests are singles.

“Our children’s programs are a strong recruitment tool in our target market,” Mufraggi added. “35,000 new families became Club Med clients in 2008.”

Club Med’s idea of “family,” as depicted by its marketing materials, is still a bit different than the average American family. Club Med “moms” are model-perfect,  “dads” don’t show any signs of spare tires under their perfectly pressed linen shirts, and “kid”—often there’s just one—seems quite content sharing just a few minutes with “mom and dad” on the beach before enthusiastically heading back to childcare.

What’s more, Club Med isn’t pricing its packages to appeal to those who pack up the mini-van and sleep six to a room; the company makes it clear it is focused on “the highest-revenue households [that take] premium, upscale vacations.”

Whether this strategy can pay off, particularly with the lifestyle changes prompted by the current economy, is an open question. But the fact that such a high-end, once-linked-with-hedonism resort provider is now pursuing a family-oriented niche shows just how consumed all club and resort operators now are with trying to capture a piece of the “family” market.

When a recent C&RB online poll (see results, below) asked for the key to being “family-friendly,” all suggested choices got significant support; no clear, single or best route for achieving that status emerged.

Walking the Talk
The obsession to be family-oriented now also becomes quickly and overwhelmingly evident from a visit to any club or resort website, or during a conversation with any staff member at those properties. “We’re a family club” is now being uttered by electronic and managerial voices as freely and frequently as “we have great golf” or “we have good food.”

But as with most things, saying something is often quite easier than actually doing it, or becoming it. The good news—perhaps—is that when a recent C&RB online poll asked respondents to identify the real key to being “family-friendly,” all of the suggested choices got significant support; no clear, single or best route for achieving that status emerged.

That would seem to indicate that clubs and resorts have some flexibility in how they can shape themselves to become “family-friendly” for their specific property and member/guest profiles. But it also means there are a lot of bases to be covered, and that becoming a true “family club” isn’t a simple transformation.

It’s still early in the overall conversion process, but here are some of the characteristics and approaches that industry observers believe will distinguish properties offering real, enduring and across-the-board family appeal, from those that don’t:

1) Take a cue from the cell-phone plans. The drive to be  “family-friendly” must extend beyond actual bloodlines. While this may seem obvious, it’s important to constantly remind everyone on the management team that what you’re really after is making sure there’s always something for everyone.

The marketers behind the “Friends and Family” cellphone calling packages knew exactly what they were doing when they gave the two categories equal status. The last people some teenagers want to call is their parents, and vice versa. The same can hold true when members of a family are together at a club or resort; they may not want to hang together, but if everyone can find plenty of other good company and activities to enjoy, they’ll all be OK with being on the same property.

“In fact, the real proof that you’re truly family-friendly,” one industry consultant says, in full seriousness, “is when everyone from a member family that you know doesn’t get along very well keeps coming to the club, and they all have a good time while they’re there. By the same token, if ‘full’ family units are showing up, but it’s clear some members have come kicking and screaming, you’re as far away from the family-friendly goal as you can be.”

The changes that have occurred in just 20 years to the club profile of what is now Eagle Oaks and Country Club (shown above and at right) attest to the nimbleness that’s needed to stay on top of the family trend.

2) Get beyond “junior moments.” Quite often, in the next breath after a club manager (or website or marketing brochure) touts a property’s family-friendliness, the strength of junior golf, tennis, swim programs, and summer camps are cited as prime examples to back the claim.

Thriving junior programs are certainly important, especially when it comes to assuring new members that there will be plenty for their kids to do. At the same time, these types of programs also help kids develop comfort and familiarity with a club at an early age thus improving the chances of sustaining memberships to the next generation.

However, in and of themselves, junior programs don’t create family atmospheres. In too many cases,  they often serve as ways to separate families and age groups at a property, with kids getting dropped off for their programs, adults going their separate ways, and everyone hooking up again only when it’s time to leave.

A real family-friendly club culture places extra emphasis on developing and promoting activities—both for everyday schedules, and as special events—that bring all generations and age groups together. This should go well beyond sports to also include crafts, clubs, trips, and other attractions that can add tremendous value to a membership or guest fee, by providing benefits and opportunities that families, or groups of friends, would never organize or accomplish on their own.

3) Bridge the generations. Where actual family members are involved, the friendliest opportunities are proving to be those that make it easiest for grandparents to spend extended time with their grandkids in safe, accessible, fun and low-maintenance settings. As discovered by The Clubs of Kingwood outside Houston (C&RB, August 2008) and the many other properties that have invested in expanded and upgraded pool areas, providing a place for a full day of water fun that can also include grabbing an easy lunch (and maybe even a beer) is proving to be the best option Pop-Pop has had in years. Some clubs, in fact, are now instituting special rates or season passes as part of “Granny” or “nanny” policies (go to “Making a Splash,” ), to make it even easier for these outings to become part of a regular, affordable routine.

Finding unique ways to add new excitement to traditional areas of their properties helps to position clubs and resorts against one of their biggest forms of outside “family-friendly” competition: splash, amusement and theme parks.

4) Think outside the course…and court…and pool. Adding new excitement to traditional pool areas is just one of the ways club and resort properties are now positioning themselves against some of their biggest forms of outside “family-friendly” competition—splash, amusement  and theme parks. Innovative management teams are taking a new, open-minded look at how all parts of their properties—including golf courses, exercise rooms, tennis courts, parking lots and many other areas, indoors and out—can be better utilized throughout the year for special events like campouts, carnivals, outdoor movies, obstacle or go-cart races, hockey, treasure hunts, haunted hayrides and other attractions that can collectively make a club membership look a lot better than shelling out big bucks and fighting the traffic and lines for a single trip to Six Flags.

“An added benefit of having these types of events is that it gives you opportunities to get people to different parts of the property where they otherwise might never go,” notes an industry consultant. “That not only helps give them new appreciation for all that the club is providing, it may also spark some interest in taking up regular activities like golf or tennis that wouldn’t have otherwise occurred to them.”

5) Introduce your families to their families. As part of embracing family-friendliness, many properties are now encouraging their own staffs, and their families,  to participate regularly in family-oriented events. Sometimes this starts as just a way to help make sure there’s a decent turnout or to help fill in labor gaps. But properties that have openly adopted this approach have seen several residual benefits: staff members will have a better attitude about the extra work involved with events, many of which are held after regular hours and on weekends, if they know the time spent will also double as an activity with their own families; getting staff families to mingle with the club population breaks down barriers and establishes better connections between members and managers; and, much like getting tuition benefits when working at a college, giving staff families ample opportunity to use club facilities can be seen as a valuable perk that will help to retain good employees.

Strong junior programs are important to help attract members and make the next generation comfortable with club life, but care should be taken to make sure they aren’t conducted as “separatist” operations, and that plenty is also done to encourage all age groups to mingle.

“Family-friendliness,” in fact, is also proving to be an important recruiting tool for properties as they seek to attract top talent. In a recent announcement about the appointment of John Shapcott as the new Head Golf Professional at Meadowlands Country Club in Blue Bell, Pa. (suburban Philadelphia), it was noted that “an emphasis on positioning Meadowlands as the ultimate family country club has [helped it] buck the national trend and see a membership increase in recent years”—and further, that “Shapcott [is] perfectly suited to mesh with this image, [as] he and his wife Jennifer have five children, ranging in age from 13 years to three months.” In stating why he saw the move as “a perfect opportunity,” Shapcott noted that “the club is vibrant and solid, and the family atmosphere is a pleasure to be a part of.”

6) Step up the connections. A clear key to being truly family-friendly in a 21st-century club or resort setting is doing more to communicate with families (and everyone else) in the same ways they now communicate with themselves. As the example of Forest Hills Country Club demonstrates (see “Having a Blast,” pg. 52), this starts with making full and better use of existing systems and Internet technology to maximize the impact and efficiency of regular communications. It can also mean relying more on readily available and familiar electronic tools to generate more instantaneous and meaningful feedback from members and guests; the North Hills Club in Raleigh, N.C., for example, boosted its survey return rates to 50%, well above the norm for traditional measures, by using the Survey Monkey site to institute shorter (10 questions or less), more frequent polling of its membership.

Being family-friendly where today’s technology is concerned also involves revisiting existing policies to try to find happier mediums for rules on the use of cell phones, PDAs, laptops, etc. One of the biggest barriers to family-friendliness is a perception of stuffiness—so while it remains important to maintain the decorum and respect for others that is a core attraction of club membership, clubs and resorts that aren’t finding ways to acknowledge the now-ubiquitous nature of personal communication devices, or haven’t recognized how much of a turnoff it can be to overly restrict their use, will stay at the back end of the trend.

7) Don’t be casual about considering new policies. Another important consideration that nearly all club managers cite when discussing how they’re trying to move their properties into the realm of family friendliness is what is commonly referred to as “dealing with denim.” Here, too, ignoring the issue won’t make it go away—but it can certainly cause many members and guests to wonder if perhaps they, and their families, wouldn’t be more comfortable somewhere else.

An approach employed recently by a private club in the Midwest typified how even the most traditional properties are now trying to find ways to “meet in the middle.” The club’s newsletter had an item announcing “Denim Comes to Our Club” promoting a “Kickoff of Denim, with Family Dining and Karaoke,” in the club’s lounge. The item made it clear that the event marked the start of a 90-day trial period where “country club denim” would be allowed in selected areas during designated times. It also provided a clear definition of “country club denim,” including photos with Xs drawn through the violations.

In this fashion, the club showed it was willing to try to make its environs more comfortable for families, but that it also was going to establish, and adhere to, firm standards while doing so. “The club staff has been instructed not to serve any member or guest in violation of this new club rule during this trial period,” the newsletter item concluded.

A real family-friendly club culture places extra emphasis on developing and promoting activities—both everyday and as special events— that can bring all generations together.

New Names, and Faces
These points constitute a short list of the many areas club and resort properties need to revisit as they strive to achieve full family-friendliness. But of all the needed attributes, the most important one is flexibility and a willingness to evolve. And as the case of Eagle Oaks Golf & Country Club in Farmingdale, N.J. shows, this can be accomplished in stages, without the need for a radical makeover.

Eagle Oaks will celebrate its 20th anniversary as a private club this year. But even at that young age, it has already gone through several transitions. It started under private ownership as a golf-only club with no homes, and then, after part of the property was developed, remained positioned as Eagle Oaks Golf Club.

In 2006, as part of an expansion that included a new 62,000-sq. ft. clubhouse, Eagle Oaks reinvented itself, not only by adding the “& Country Club” part to its name. The club also instituted a host of new membership categories, many geared to the non-golf playing, family-oriented segment of the market (see “Worth Waiting For,” C&RB, March 2008). And while Eagle Oaks remains an invitation-only property, it is now aggressively marketing itself as “a full-service, family-oriented club.”

“We’re certainly a far different place today than what the original vision and plan for the club included,” says Joseph Callahan, President & General Manager. “But what people want from clubs, and how they use them, has changed dramatically, too.

“You can’t just build a [club] operation around one thing like golf anymore,” Callahan adds. “You have to make sure there’s plenty for everyone, and you have to provide those things in unique and comfortable ways that [members] won’t get anywhere else.

“Our gazebo [see photo above] is a perfect example—it’s become a creature of its own because of the popularity of the regular barbecues that we hold there in the summer. I also don’t think [the original owners] of the club ever thought they’d see the golf course here being used for the [family-oriented] things we’ve had on it recently, like a petting zoo or a “Great Pumpkin Patch” hayride, with 350 pumpkins piled up at the first tee. But that’s just all part of what the club business has now become.”