The Road Back: With No Golf and a Skeleton Staff, Western Racquet Club Powers Through the Pandemic

This episode of C+RB’s video series looks at how Western Racquet Club of Elm Grove, Wis. hit the ground running after emerging from a stay-at-home mandate that forced it to shut down for eight weeks and reduce its on-site staff from 50 to 5, After maintaining its connection with members through a wide range of virtual programming, the rest of the year has brought utilization that’s been “off the charts,” says GM/COO Timon Corwin, helped by a successful referral initiative that added 25 members. This year’s success has showed that “you can’t underestimate the power of getting your brand out there,” Corwin says.

“The Road Back” video series from Club + Resort Business provides fresh insights into how club and resort properties are meeting the challenges posed by the pandemic and finding new and innovative ways to boost business levels and start their return to full operation.

This episode looks at how Western Racquet Club in Elm Grove, Wis. has had a successful year despite being forced by the state’s stay-at-home mandate to shut down for eight weeks in April and May and to reduce its on-site staff from 50 to five. The club maintained its connection with members through a wide range of virtual programming, and the on-hand staff even managed to deliver Easter and Mother’s Day meals as well.

General Manager/COO Timon Corwin describes how those efforts helped the club hit the ground running once it could reopen, even without being able to take advantage of the golf boom. The rest of the year has brought utilization that’s been “off the charts,” Corwin reports, fueled in part by a successful referral initiative that added 25 new members.

Western Racquet also took the proactive step of preparing to provide virtual learning services for members’ children if needed (and that need may soon arise, with Wisconsin now reconsidering prohibiting school attendance). “Even those who wouldn’t need the service took time to tell us it was amazing that we were thinking out of the box in this way, to find added value for the membership,” says Corwin.

Overall, Corwin says, Western Racquet Club’s success in the face of this year’s challenges has “showed us that you can’t underestimate the power of getting your brand out there. By properly preparing ways to describe and demonstrate how our club can provide a safe ‘second-home’ experience, we’ve built a trust that may not have necessarily been there before, and seen a real uptick as one of the only places in town where families have felt comfortable coming to.”

(Viewing time: 12 minutes)

View episode here:

Previous episodes of The Road Back series can be viewed at https://clubandresortbusiness.com/category/the-road-back/

Upcoming episodes will feature how clubs have successfully pursued renovations and improvement projects during the pandemic and highlight the details of expanded and effective new communications strategies that were developed out of necessity because of the pandemic’s restrictions.

If you have a great idea or success story you’d like to see featured on a future episode of “The Road Back,” contact editor@clubandresortbusiness.com.