Yes, the Harbor Club has kept its dues down for the last seven years and increased membership, but the club has also hired a public relations firm, a trend the upper-crust clubs find distasteful. Tebbs claims his club seeks a more exclusive membership. The Columbia Tower Club and the Rainier Club charge more than the Harbor Club, but the members are bigger players, he says. We're not going for the same type of club. Prestige is no longer enough to guarantee survival, notes Thomas Finan, publisher of Club Management magazine.
People are afraid of working to death.
Clubs have to be very, very aggressive. Clubs can't attract members on name alone any longer, so they concentrate on food, service and amenities like exercise rooms and personal trainers, Finan says. The Spokane Club is holding up fairly well by following this strategy, says general manager Alan Arsenault. Approximately 3,100 families currently belong, down only about 100 from the all-time high. This development is ironic.