Strong Statements

A new billing system is helping this group of clubs speak to its collective membership in a much more direct, and clear, voice.

by Joe Barks (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
January 2007
 

In the club world, the devil is not in the details, but rather the lack of them. This is especially true for the accounting side of the business— specifically, member billing statements.

Sending out statements that only show a lump sum due, with no breakdown of specific charges, is the quickest way to bury staff with phone calls or office visits from members seeking explanations of what they’ve been billed for. That’s not a good use of anyone’s time, not to mention a deterrent on timely and accurate collection of receivables, as well as membership good will.

For a group of affiliated clubs, this lack of detail can really lead to compound headaches. That’s what Gate Petroleum Company discovered after it created The Gate Governors Club in 1990, to offer special values for combination membership in two or more of the private clubs that it owns in the Jacksonville, Fla., area.

While the concept quickly helped to increase membership in all of the Gate-owned clubs, it also created a new and growing set of administrative challenges. Not having enough detail in the statements generated by each club was just the start of the problem; it wasn’t even possible to consolidate them into a single billing.

“If members belonged to four clubs, we had to send four different statements and have them write four different checks,” reports William Ackland, Controller of The Gate Governors Club. “If they wrote one check for [the sum of] all of the charges, we couldn’t process it. It was annoying for us, and understandably, much more annoying for the member.”

One Level of Detail
At the start of 2004, Ackland set out to find a system that would not only make consolidated billing possible, but also provide Gate Governors members with the needed details of their expenditures at each club. At the same time, he wanted the new system to help Gate Governors step up to the world of online statements and payments.

Each of the four Gate Governors properties offers a wealth of amenities now covered by the consolidated billing system; the Epping Forest Yacht Club (above at right), built in the late 1920s as the Florida estate of industrialist Alfred I. duPont, includes a heated lap pool (left) and a 72-slip marina (top right).

Adding to the normal challenges of such a project was the expansive range of amenities and services—and billing activity centers—represented by the four clubs in the group. For example, two of the properties, The Ponte Vedra Inn & Club and The Lodge & Club, include resort operations with a total of 316 oceanfront guest rooms and suites. The Ponte Vedre Inn & Club also has one of the world’s top-rated spas, offering more than 100 treatments and services. Meanwhile, the Epping Forest Yacht Club includes a 72-slip marina and offers reciprocity with a network of premier clubs around the world, as does the fourth member of the group, The River Club, a fine-dining club atop a downtown Jacksonville high-rise.

All told, the new billing system would need to cover potential activity from a collective total of 36 holes of golf, over 20 tennis courts, eight swimming pools, three fitness centers, more than a dozen retail shops and boutiques, numerous dining rooms, restaurants and lounges, plus extensive wedding, banquet and business conference bookings, and such exotic amenities as ocean kayak rentals.

Clean Slate
To find a new system that could support all of these potential billing needs, a team headed by Ackland evaluated a wide range of software, including some that was more hotel-based than club-based. Eventually, the decision was made to work with Technology Training Associates of Tampa, Fla., to build a customized platform using Jonas Software.

Early in the development process, it became clear that an overhaul of the Gate membership system, including new account numbers, would be required. There was initial concern this might cause trepidation, especially at the more established properties like Ponte Vedra and Epping Forest, where some memberships spanned three generations. But it was clear that even for members who might never join more than one of the Gate clubs, starting with a fresh ledger would make it easier to build all of the needed benefits into the new system, including messages on point-of-sale screens that, for example, help staff welcome new members or alert them to birthdays or existing allergies.

A new account numbering system was created based on seniority (using members’ “join dates,” to recognize long-standing members), and a firm date was set for a full-scale transition. “We didn’t want to do it piecemeal,” Ackland says. “We really pushed the benefits of ‘one number, one card.’ ”

The system also accommodates billing for lodging at The Lodge & Club (above) or the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club.

On October 1, 2004, after extensive communication about the “exciting and vastly improved club accounting system,” the new billing process went live. A few months later, the online component was introduced. In both paper and electronic form, members’ statements now are itemized by individual club and include copies of chits generated by the system.

About 20 percent of the membership now prefers the online option, Ackland reports. “We’re promoting it as much as we can,” he says.

Ackland feels he’s already realized a return on the system in the first two years, through reduced administrative costs, improved receivables, and enhanced customer service. And the foundation has been laid, he adds, for more club-by-club customization, based on properties’ specific needs.

“Integrating the needs of four clubs that are so diverse didn’t look like it would be a fun task,” he says. “But this has probably been the easiest transition to new software I’ve ever had.” C&RB