Dan Schmitz, owner of KE Camps, a company that provides children’s summer camps for country clubs, offered suggestions on how to operate a successful youth program.
DO … Offer an ‘all-around’ camp at your club.
DON’T … Offer a ‘Sports-camp.’ Why cannibalize your current Junior programs? Our research has shown that on average over 70 percent of members’ children are not involved in the current Junior Programs the Club offers based on age and/or interest. Capture the ‘rest’ of the kids by offering something unique, yet traditional at the same time – an all-around summer camp.
DO … Offer camp to guests of members. One of the best ways to gain membership is through your current members, especially current members with kids. Invite guests to stay after camp for dinner at the pool and a bottle of wine on Friday.
DON’T … Tell a member that camp is sold-out if you’re allowing guests. Whatever you decide is your maximum weekly amount of campers, always undersell by five spots to ensure you have spots for last-minute members. We all know how last-minute some members can be.
DO … Hire camp staff who are experienced working with kids. Hiring a staff for camp is not easy and should be taken very seriously. Background checks, sex offender checks, CPR/First Aid certifications and professional references should all be mandatory prior to hiring.
DON’T … Make your full-time staff operate camp (unless you have a full-time activities director). Why would you put your event manager, member relations director, F&B director (yes, I’ve seen this), or pros in charge of running camp? They have a job to do and it has nothing to do with summer camp. While it’s nice to have a familiar face for parents to see at drop-off, camp will suffer without staff who are focused entirely on the kids and program.
DO … Listen to the needs of the parents and campers. I know there may be several different needs from diet to behavior to “my camper can’t be in the sun after 3:30 on Wednesdays in July.” Whatever it is, needs should be heard, documented, acted upon and followed up with. (See above regarding staffing as to how to effectively and successfully pull this off).
DON’T … Be afraid to find out from campers and parents how to make your program better. Often it’s difficult to hear negative feedback but it’s essential in improving. It’s easy to write-off certain members as ‘they complain about everything’, but you must be surveying members on their experience or creating committees to find out what it is people are looking for. We can’t be all things to all people, but we can try.
DO … Start advertising and planning in the fall and early winter. After the New Year parents are looking into summer programs. Don’t miss out on the families who are ahead of the game. Be the first camp in your area to be ready with camp information.
DON’T … Wait until spring to begin spreading the word. Even though your members tend to ‘last-minute’ with many things, you never know who may be looking to register early-on. You always want the best opportunity to get as many campers as you can.
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