City Club Summit

Entry Details

The City Club Summit, a dynamic, first of its kind, two-day event for City Club Managers and CMAA Members was hosted by CMAANYC in New York City in January 2024, featuring educational sessions, targeted discussions, networking opportunities, and exclusive club tours, tailored to city club professionals.  Throughout the Summit, esteemed industry experts from across the country generously shared their knowledge and invaluable insights into the latest trends and best practices for managing the ever-evolving dynamic landscape of city club management.

Implementation

CMAANYC partnered with Chapter clubs and industry experts to host a full two-day event for city club management professionals, with both domestic and international attendees. Local clubs provided discount lodging for attendees, while other Chapter clubs served as host sites for our educational offerings, club tours, and networking events. The chapter then partnered with industry experts to provide relevant and engaging educational programming on topics including City Club Trends, Capital Project Planning, Rooms Division Trends, Food & Beverage and Catering Trends, Artificial Intelligence, Governmental Influences and Human Resources, providing attendees with an opportunity to receive up to 9.5 CMI credits. Lastly, the Chapter called upon industry allied partners, Clubspot and Northstar Technologies to serve as sponsors for our networking events which featured racquet demonstrations, rifle range sport shooting, cocktail receptions and a multi-course wine dinner.

Tangible Takeaways from the Summit:

1. Club Trends Panel – “Our job as managers is to be the best club for our niche of the industry, by cultivating and elevating, through innovative programming inside and outside of the club.  Simply stated, create the “happy meal effect” by staying true to your brand and building customers (members) for life.”
2. Capital Project Planning – “Effective capital planning is the root of financial success.”
3. Rooms Division Trends – “Beleisure is the biggest new trend in industry, combining business with leisure travel.” Variable room rates, artificial intelligence yield management systems, safety and security technology, and a focus on health and wellness are the most prevalent trends for 2024.
4. Food & Beverage & Catering Trends – “Create a culture of excellence by focusing on the fundamentals.” “Culture can’t be seen or photographed; it can only be felt!”
5. Artificial Intelligence – “There’s an app for that!” Whether you’re looking to solve anything, write anything, manage your time, create documents or spreadsheets, take notes, or even get legal advice, Artificial Intelligence has and app or website for that!
6. Governmental and HR Influences – “The hospitality industry has seen a 30% increase in average wages since 2019.” Hot topics in Human Resources  for 2024 include DOL overtime rules, independent contractor distinctions, pay transparency, cannabis use in the workplace, and gender identity issues. 

Attendee Feedback:
You collectively did a superb job, I wouldn't change a thing, very well done, THANK YOU!  Overall, it was a wonderful experience. I really enjoyed the social aspects/networking with other city club managers, and the ability to see so many other clubs along the way. Thank you for a fantastic 2 days, I look forward to 2025!  The whole event was a credit to the Chapter. The networking was excellent. Looking forward to next year.  It was great to get into some of the issues that specifically affect city clubs rather than golf clubs. These topics were geared in that direction and spark great thoughts & conversation.