With the latest trends in hospitality pointing towards social entertainment and competitive socializing, people are looking for increasingly interactive social experiences and situations. For those who are part of a country club, the return to interacting is all the more important. But how can you, as a business owner, ensure that your club is doing the most for your members? And how about growing your members’ lists by way of some savvy new incentives?
Nowadays, as with anything, the more creative and unique the ideas, the better. Turn an otherwise static evening into an event that your existing members will look forward to. If you’re looking for a few ways to increase business and grow membership lists at your country club, there are several options available.
We’ve put together a list of some creative promotional ideas for private country clubs that aim to drive up membership, providing a significant return on investment, while increasing existing business revenue all year long. Check them out below:
1. Add a karaoke room
If your country club business could use a boost in membership, while also appealing to your existing clientele base, one of the best investments is a karaoke room. Private clubs, by definition, are designed to bring people together for the purposes of dining, imbibing, socializing, and entertainment.
Karaoke manages to combine all these elements within an ideal setting. Adding a room to your club's amenities list allows you to capitalize on the growing, post-pandemic trend of indoor social gatherings. What's more, including a karaoke space lets you create a destination and market it to audiences who may not be members but soon could be.
The beauty of having this kind of room in a country club is that it creates an event experience. Karaoke night can be staged throughout the week, thus encouraging more members to visit more often. And given the fun, interactive nature of karaoke, it's more likely that members will bring friends as guests – and if those guests are shown a great time, the likelihood of them becoming members themselves increases dramatically. Learn more about how to promote your karaoke night here.
Karaoke rooms require some initial investments in professional karaoke equipment and room design. Additionally, you will need a karaoke streaming software like Singa. Karaoke rooms can be high-quality additions that add significant value by creating interactive social experiences for just about any business in any industry. You can read more about how to get started with a karaoke room here. If you are looking for a more temporary karaoke solution you can also try throwing an outdoor karaoke party.
2. Start a indoor or outdoor movie nights
Another foolproof way of bringing in more members each week – or multiple times a week – is by hosting movie nights in either a luxurious, theatre-style screening room or, in summer months, outdoors, projected against a large screen in front of a few picnic blankets and under a sea of stars.
Seriously, nothing brings people together like watching movies outside of their own living room (especially after two years of having nowhere else to watch movies). Once you’ve set up the scene, hosting a night of classic films (complete with popcorn and wine) can easily get members into seats. Take requests and include some post-screen trivia to build the momentum and turn this event into a year-long happening.
3. Open a dedicated space for networking
Country clubs don’t always have to be about play. Sometimes, it’s good to get work involved. After all, what better place to talk shop than with local members of the same socioeconomic background and tax bracket than at the club? There are many advantages to networking, chief among them: they help people drum up business. More business means more disposable income which, as a club owner, is always a good thing.
Throwing these types of events is a great icebreaker and social tool for allowing newer members to meet more established ones under the guise of work. From there, the commonalities discussed tend to ease conversations towards more recreational chitchat, which leads to friendships. And members are more likely to stay members the more friends they've got at the club.
4. Throw a theme party
There's nothing like a little bit of cosplay to brighten up a Friday night. People love an excuse to get dolled up in costumes, so why use one of your empty conference rooms or meeting facilities and throw a good old-fashioned costume ball? Deck the halls with velvet drapes and have people arrive in period pieces complete with powdered wigs. The following month, try a different theme: maybe 80s prom? Followed a few weeks later by "Studio 54"? Invest in a solid sound system (it'll end up paying for itself), curate a few novelty cocktails and you've turned an empty room into a weekly event space that could end up being the talk of the town. Check out a full list of theme party ideas here.
5. Host a book club
Oprah had the right idea all along. Very few things bring people together – and make them stick together – than a book club. Choosing a title to read and committing to finishing it, followed by gingerly discussion among others is a great way to encourage socializing. And it can literally cost nothing to put together. Any member interested in joining your book club event can simply meet up with others, decide on a classic, or the latest bestseller, and reconvene weekly to catch up. And no, book clubs don’t have to be just for the wives – reading up on the latest trends in sports, cars, or entertainment each week over a few glasses of finely aged scotch can be the next big thing for a boys' night out, too.
6. Keep the kids entertained with game rooms
One of the biggest challenges facing country club owners is entertaining members’ young children. After all, country clubs are typically for adults looking to unwind and engage in social events designed for…adults. But the more welcoming your business is to young ones, the more likely mom and dad are to remain members.
Setting up a room dedicated to just kids is a novel idea for keeping them engaged while their parents are off doing their own thing. The kids’ room can also play host to events like-board game bonanzas, junior casino nights, arts and crafts fairs, and video games tournaments – all do the trick for teenagers, tweens, and younger.
7. Art showings and gallery nights
Sometimes, hanging a painting on the wall can be more than just a thing of beauty. Add a few more paintings to a few more walls (better yet, source local artists and borrow works from nearby galleries to get a bunch of non-members into your space) and have your guests discuss. Boom! You’ve got yourself an arts event night for your country club. Turn a lackluster Tuesday night into the new neighborhood hotspot.
Creating discussions about art and creativity is very on-trend, and guests love any excuse to get dressed up and share their take on the creative process. Best of all, it’s incredibly easy to host a night of culture…for cheap. Crack open a few bottles of wine, plate some of the kitchen’s finest cheeses and just let the mingling begin.
There you have it! Some unique and engaging promotional ideas for increasing business at your members-only country club. While no business idea is truly out of reach, these simple thought-starters can work wonders and virtually guarantee membership growth and long-term client satisfaction. Try them out today.