2 Two 2 Assignment

Private-membership organizations are country clubs, or places that thrive off of the money that their customers and members pay. There is normally a yearly or monthly fee that the member pays, that goes toward the club and services that they provide for their customers. Five Seasons Sports Club, in Northbrook, Illinois, is a private-membership organization that promotes the well being of human beings. It is one of seven other clubs throughout the country, primarily in the Midwest. The first club was founded in 1988, but the one in Northbrook opened in 2000. For about four to five years the club in Northrbook struggled to bring in enough members and income. They were constantly changing managers, and had too many employees for the little amount of members that belonged. It wasn’t until 2005 and 2006 that their program started to take off and show improvement. They had a new Chief Club Officer, Lina Lubbat, who stuck around long enough for the club to start to succeed.

It is called Five Seasons Sports Club because it consists of five different clubs, tennis and racquet club, fitness club, swim club, dining and social club, and a day spa club. The whole club consists of eight indoor tennis courts, eight indoor tennis courts, an indoor pool, an outdoor pool with diving board, spa and hair salon, fitness area with machines, two paddle courts, a cafe, a snack bar, one racquet ball court, two dance studios, a nursery and a game room. Five Seasons wants to be able to provide for everyone, and cater to the family and not just focus on the individual. They have a wide variety of activities that one could do, so that they provide all that one needs to exercise, socialize, play, relax, eat and enjoy time with family and friends.

Five Seasons Sports Club has just recently in that past couple years really changed their program for the better. They were struggling with having enough members, and had too much open court time. One could almost get a court at anytime they would have liked to, whereas now it is very difficult to book a court at anytime of the day. Chris Sheldon, a tennis instructor and head of the tennis program, was promoted from working as a tennis pro to head of the whole tennis program. She was then able to use her connections to bring in a good staff of tennis instructors, which really kicked off the program. This is what the club really needed because these instructors brought in some of their customers, as well as attracted new members. Five Seasons thrives off of their members, so the more they have, the better. They also recently expanded their fitness area, adding brand new machines, and re-did their cafe and increased the quality of their food.

Five Seasons Sports Club is all about being able to provide to all people, and encourages families to join rather than individuals. There are a wide variety of activities and options for them, so there are many different jobs. Pretty much anyone could get a job kind of working behind the scenes, like cleaning up around the club, working the front desk, washing towels, or serving food. It is a little more difficult to just walk-in and get a higher job, like head tennis instructor, fitness trainer, or sales manager. Usually to get a higher job that pays a little more, you have to no someone behind the scenes to get you in and give you a good rep, as well as be well educated in that area. For example, Chris Sheldon was looking to hire new tennis instructors so she looked to people that she knew for help, or to hire. The club is looking to hire the best of the best because they want to provide the best for their customers. The customers are the ones bringing in the income for the them.

The agencies kind of “motto” is: that they have, “All the ingredients you need for winning at life.” They consist of the five different parts to the club because they feel that those are part of the ingredients to win at life. Five Seasons has a variety of activities and facilities so that they can attract families and a wide variety of people. The more people they attract the better it is for their profit because that means more people paying money for the same facility.

I have been a member of this club almost since it first opened, around 2001. I have been there when they went through their slumps and highs. It is a great facility that provides so much for their members. I think that it is a good country club, and the members definitely get a lot for what they pay, but I would not say that is cheap to belong there. The employees are trained to treat their customers properly and provide them with what they want, after all they are the ones paying. The club struggled a little in the beginning, but now they are very successful and have learned what it takes to run a private-membership organization. Five Seasons Sports Club fits into the leisure system because they are providing people a space to practice leisurely activities. The members are paying for these facilities because they are given the best and a wide variety of them all in one club , and have chosen this place to practice their leisurely activities.