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As country clubs, gated communities and facilities close across the country due to the Corona Virus, we have a moment to pause, reflect, and learn. Let’s take this opportunity to do those things that we never have time to do. Although these are dark times, let’s throw light on our own business in the country club industry. Take this truly unfortunate and unpredictable crisis and make the best out of it in terms of using the opportunity and the time given at home to investigate, learn and make better our offerings at our country clubs and in the tennis and fitness departments.
The Corona Virus is hitting us in the country club industry hard – very hard. No part of the economy is truly immune. Coming at a time where we in the industry sometimes see thirty to forty percent of our annual revenue during Spring Break, this year will be marked by a lack of revenue and praying that we “flatten the curve”. The virus has certainly flattened the revenue curve.
Today at Windsor Club, in Vero Beach, we saw the true extent of the finality of the situation, and just how affected are country clubs. Courts were marked “Closed” and the tennis shop and clubhouses were locked tight as the sun shone brightly with no rain in the forecast. It’s not a pretty scene for any country club, tennis club or fitness facility. With fitness facilities under immense pressure to close due to germ transfer, we were hard pressed to find a light at the end of the tunnel. But there is a light in the tunnel.
We have been given an opportunity of time. Time where we are not servicing members and clients on a daily basis. Time where we are at home with our data. Time where we can work on those items that are always pushed to the back burner.
The Big Picture
Look at the big picture. This is your chance to rework that budget for 2020/2021. You’ll never have a better time to work on a new business plan for your department, business, or club. Now is the time as we are forced to hibernate in our homes.
Look at your systems. We are reworking our Intuit Quickbooks Desktop settings to make billing easier this summer at our managed clubs. Can you reword your point of sale system on Jonas, or Northstar, to make billing clinics and lessons faster and simpler? If you’d like some help, let us know. We have specialists on all point of sale systems ready to help.
You have time to create that report in your point of sale system that will break down your revenue streams just the way you have always wanted them. What is the true ratio between personal training and group classes in your fitness facility? Have revenues from the spa grown in comparison to personal training and group classes revenues? If so, how much and why? Did you teach more private tennis lessons in 2019 than in 2018? What was the ratio and revenue breakdown between your junior and adult programs?
These larger questions will bring us a new focus when we are able to resume at our clubs and facilities.
On our Patreon page at http://www.patreon.com/beyondthebaselines we provide an outline of these bigger issues. Look to tick each issue off as we work through this tough time. If we d
