Join the “Favorite Place Status” Wave!
Favorite Place Status
Managers at clubs throughout the country are recognizing the benefits of achieving “Favorite Place Status”. While the sports and recreational amenities at clubs remain significant drivers that initially attract new members to clubs today, it is the social camaraderie and the quality of the club’s hospitality that are core to members’ unique experiences and why members stay members well after their sporting and recreational passions subside.
McMahon Group’s data shows that 89% of club managers say their club should be a favorite place to dine, and 79% feel that it actually is; while 92% of members of these same clubs say their club should be a favorite place to dine, and yet only 42% say that it actually is. Why is there such a disparity in perception between managers and members? Where is the breakdown or gap in communication and understanding?
How to Bridge the Gap
A complimentary Dining First Impressions Visit is your best first step in discovering how well your club is delivering the dining experience your members want. Our visit encompasses investigating a variety of factors affecting your culinary program. The subsequent Dining First Impressions Report provides the manager with McMahon Group’s observations and recommendations of ways to achieve “Favorite Place Status”. Areas to be observed and evaluated are:
- The Club’s Dining Mission and Vision Statement
- An understanding of the management’s, board’s and House Committee’s concerns regarding current operations, execution and financial results, along with opportunities and goals for the future
- Key staff interviews
- Human Resource department processes and initiatives
- Sampling food and observing service
- Reviewing the club’s training and procedures manuals and its systematic training process
- Evaluating the alignment between the club’s a la carte dining room seating capacities, the kitchen layout and production capacity
- Reviewing member feedback and self-evaluation systems the Club has in place
- Reviewing club communications with membership, club governance, management and employees
To start your journey of achieving “Favorite Place Status” by scheduling a Dining First Impressions Visit, please click here to fill out our First Impressions Form.
About Bill McMahon, Sr. AIA, OAA
Bill is a strategic, financial and architectural planning consultant to clubs throughout North America. He established McMahon Group in 1983 as an affiliate of the family architectural firm his grandfather founded in 1906. Over the ensuing years, the firm has expanded its club consulting services beyond clubhouse improvement planning to a full range of services for all aspects of private club challenges. To date, the firm has assisted more than 2,000 private clubs across the United States, Canada, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. McMahon Group provides a unique approach to developing club facility projects first establishing design and financial feasibility so membership approval is achieved. Thereafter final design and construction firms are selected to build the member approved project.
Mr. McMahon is unique among club consultants in providing an integrated strategic, financial and architectural approach to solving club problems. His personal involvement with his own clubs in St. Louis (serving in the roles of president, board member and committee member) has allowed him to bring unparalleled experience to each client. Mr. McMahon’s club memberships have included Bellerive Country Club (St. Louis), Racquet Club Ladue (St. Louis), University Club of St. Louis, Spring Lake Yacht Club (Michigan) and the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.
Mr. McMahon is a graduate of Washington University School of Architecture in St. Louis and holds architecture licenses in 44 U.S. states and in Ontario, Canada. He is a featured author in industry publications and a featured speaker at the annual conferences of the Club Managers Association of America, the Canadian Society of Club Managers, the National Club Association and the Hospitality, Financial and Technology Professionals. He serves as a visiting lecturer at continuing education sessions offered by regional CMAA chapters and at Michigan State University. Bill is a co-author of McMahon Club Trends®, the comprehensive research reports on strategic issues facing private clubs published with the National Club Association. He is also founder of the Excellence in Club Management Award.
Mr. McMahon is a member of the American Institute of Architects, and the National Club Association. He is a former president of the Missouri Council of Architects, AIA and has served on various charitable boards in the St. Louis area.
