One of the most unique and heartwarming experiences for a member is the personal interactions that begin when they walk through the door. They are greeted at sign-in and then attended to at the dining outlets and gaming rooms. Increasingly, clubs are implementing technology solutions to help elevate this customer experience.
According to Mark Page, director of solutions engineering for Oracle Hospitality JAPAC, the hospitality industry has traditionally been slow technology adopters, but Covid accelerated this significantly.
“It’s a very competitive landscape out there and so the question is, ‘How do I, as an operator, acquire a customer, or in the club sector, acquire new membership and how do I expand all my sales channels?” he said.
Page also observed the current labour shortage is propelling the adoption of technology in clubs. He explained hospitality operators are continually integrating new technologies in the workplace to reflect what their digitally savvy staff use in their daily lives.
“If the technology doesn’t match what they’re used to using every day in their pocket with their phone, it’s hard to keep them,” Page said.
Page added adopting technology can ultimately improve the internal processes and the way of working for a club.
“There’s a place for technology in helping that, and there are plenty of options in that space,” Page said.
“Where we can help automate those processes and remove that friction of communication, and make that more seamless, that’s a key part for operations.”
It’s this improvement in operation and customer service that Illawarra Catholic Club – which owns and operates Club Central Hurstville, Club Central Menai, and Georges River 16Ft Sailing Club – has been benefiting from since it adopted Aristocrat’s membership and gaming system two years ago.
The integration also resulted in the development of the group’s Central Rewards mobile app and loyalty program. It’s been designed to give members access to the club magazine and their digital membership card to collect loyalty reward points. To date, the club has had 4,000 members download the app.
“The team’s always looking at how technology can improve our member and guest experiences,” said Anne Barron, Club Central loyalty manager.
This is an extract from Club Management Spring. Read the story in full here.