Whitepapers

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Zombie Debt: Causes and Costs

In a recently published report on proactive capital planning, Thinking Bigger Sooner, we referenced “zombie debt” as a by-product of inadequate and reactive capital planning. We committed to follow up with additional analysis and commentary and the...

Thinking Bigger Sooner: The Key to Proactive Capital Planning

Does the concept of “20 times current year depreciation” mean anything to you? As described below, that metric should be front and center as a discussion starter for your capital planning over the next 10 years. The key to proactive planning for...

2024 Governance Report: Nominations & Succession Planning

Club Benchmarking has been conducting surveys related to club governance since 2017. Over the last several years, many respondents have expressed concern or uncertainty about the nomination and succession planning process at their club. Our 2024...

2023 Governance Survey Report: Best Practices in Club Governance

The purpose of our annual Club Governance Survey is to explore gaps in board education and alignment across the industry and report those findings in a way that will provoke thought, fuel productive discussions, and promote adoption of best...

2021 Governance Survey Report: Best Practices in Club Governance

This is a summary of our findings from the 2021 Club Benchmarking Governance Survey. Conducted annually since 2017, the Governance Survey grew out of the exchange of ideas by a group of club presidents, treasurers and managers representing a dozen...

2020 Governance Survey Report: Best Practices in Club Governance

Merriam-Webster defines a best practice as “a procedure that has been shown by research and experience to produce optimal results and that is established or proposed as a standard suitable for widespread adoption.” 

The board of a private club is a...

The Capital Scorecard: Measuring Your Club's Capital Health

Experienced club managers are well acquainted with the metrics on their club’s income statement, and equally familiar with how intensely boards focus on those metrics in their monthly meetings. That focus on the income statement fuels frustrating...

Whitepaper: Data-Driven Perspective on Club Food & Beverage

Misconceptions related to food and beverage profit or loss are the private club industry’s most dangerous and pervasive issue. Too many clubs find themselves stuck in the F&B Trap which we define as rigid adherence to the belief that a club should...

Whitepaper: Framework for Strategic Response to COVID-19

Guiding private clubs through the short-termand long-term financial impact of Coronavirus

Our World Has Changed and economic and social activity in North America has been forced into hibernation for at least the next 30 to 60 days. The shutdown that...

GM and Executive Staff Bonus Plans in the Private Club Industry

This white paper is the result of research into the structure and drivers of executive compensation in the club industry. In the process of developing a customized compensation benchmark for a specific group of clubs, a thorough review of GM and...