continued from page 21 An enhanced food-and-beverage business is one of the changes Melanie Maslow has championed at Huntsville Golf Club. From these modest changes, the atmosphere of the club transformed quickly. “It had a much bigger effect than I expected, which definitely told me something,” Maslow says. Finally, when the general manager grumbled about members who didn’t come to the club’s 2011 holiday party, Maslow reached her breaking point. “I said to him, ‘Are you serious We have to make it so they want to come here,’” she recalls. “He simply was not a people person, and a GM can’t be that. So I let him go.” Less than a year later, Maslow also terminated the head professional of 17 years. “He took a liking to some members and ignored others,” she says. “He didn’t put himself out there like we needed him to.” And when a group of about 20 angry members insisted that she reconsider, “I told them, ‘I understand you love the way he treats you, and I want you to be happy. But the way you feel is the way everyone here should feel, so we’ll find someone who does that.’” None of those members left the club, while literally dozens of other members thanked Maslow for making the move. Yet that wasn’t the only big change at Huntsville in 2012. The club used every dollar of its line of credit to remedy significant drainage problems on two fairways; to create a new Web site featuring detailed information for members and nonmembers alike, plus great course photography; to add a large tent to the outdoor patio for social events; to improve the restaurant and adjacent space; and to hire a topquality chef. “All of these were investments, not expenses,” Maslow says. “They bring in more revenue and make members want to be here more often.” The results strongly back Maslow’s contention. First, the club is now back in the running to host local tournaments that had stayed away due to unpredictable course conditions. Second, the new Web site proclaims that Maslow “has informed members of things they did not even know about the club.” It’s also used to provide a communication platform for members to set up games individually and in groups, while educating the public about the club’s offerings. Third, the new patio tent contributed to the booking of four weddings during 2012, with more set for 2013. And fourth, the newly added Friday night “family dine” event has become a huge success, combining fine-dining fare for adults, appealing yet healthy choices for children, plus a kids’ club in a nearby event room offering games and activities so parents can mingle with other members. Average attendance at Friday dinner rose from 40 to 240 in one year, and the restaurant is now popular enough to stay open more often in winter, further boosting revenue. Even more impressive is that 35 new golf members and 55 new social members joined during 2012—a 20 percent increase in total membership. In fact, Maslow had to cap social memberships at 125 to maintain the member experience. “The driving philosophy for all our decision-making now is ‘member-oriented,’” Maslow explains. “They choose to spend their discretionary income here, and they should get what they deserve for that money—which is being very comfortable and forgetting whatever else was on their mind that day. If you give them that, they come back and bring family and friends, too. Some other clubs in our area have folded, but we are on the way up. So we know this works.” Rob Carey is a freelance writer and principal of Meetings & Hospitality Insight, Inc.
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