Month: March 2020

59CLUB PROVIDES COMPLIMENTARY SURVEY TOOLS, HELPING CLUBS IDENTIFY MEMBER NEEDS AMID CHALLENGING TIMES

59club, the Industry leading Customer Service Analysts and Training Provider firm, 59club announced today they will offer complimentary use of their proprietary survey tools amid the current COVID-19 crisis. Golf clubs and other hospitality venues may use the survey tools to communicate directly to their membership and identify member and guest needs for free through till 31st May 2020.

“Obviously, the tourism and hospitality industries have been greatly affected by the pandemic,” said Will Hewitt, General Manager, 59club UK. “We want to help these clubs communicate with their members and guests so they can be best prepared to accommodate special circumstances until things get back to normal. We’re in this together. We want to do our part and help as much as we can.”

59club’s proprietary survey tools enable club managers to identify member and guest needs, strengthen customer retention and recognise a clear direction on ways to improve the overall experience at their respective clubs. 59club will provide specific COVID-19 survey templates as part of their complimentary offering of the survey tool. Managers and decision makers can use this service to pick and choose from pre-set questions already available within the platform, and/or choose to add custom questions of their own. The ability to gather data from one’s own members and make direct comparisons based on the current situation facing the industry will provide clarity and vision on a global scale when its needed most.

“These are extraordinary times. Many managers are trying to figure out if their club should remain open or what, if any, services should still be available,” said Simon Wordsworth, founder of 59club.
“Clubs themselves are navigating unchartered waters trying to determine what their members actually want or expect from their club. Relying only on substandard communication tools like social media and non-reply emails does a disservice to the club, its members and guests. We want our friends and colleagues in the tourism and hospitality industries to have everything they need to weather this storm.”

Go to www.59club.com to sign up for your complimentary 59club survey tools.

LEADING SERVICE PROVIDERS HONOURED AT 59CLUB’S 10TH ANNUAL INDUSTRY OSCARS

High-profile venues across the UK and Europe recognised for service excellence in glitzy ceremony at the Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club

The golf industry’s very best clubs, resorts and individuals descended on The Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, on Thursday March 12, 2020, with the hope of claiming an industry ‘Oscar’ at 59club’s 10th annual Service Excellence Awards.

A day which started with a series of inspirational educational seminars, ended in a glittering awards ceremony honouring the finest customer service providers for having achieved the highest standards of excellence across 2019.

59club’s illustrious accolades are determined by scores collected from their impartial mystery shopping audits, which evaluate the experience afforded to visiting golfers and prospective members, in accordance with 59club’s objective benchmarking criteria. On the night, 59club presented 64 awards across 27 categories, recognising ‘service excellence’ across all areas of the businesses – sales, service, operations, retail, golf course, food & beverage and management. With 59club continuing to reflect the very best performances, regardless of a venue’s size, scale or profile, by segmenting several individual accolades based on a venue’s average green fee rate, of either above or below £75 per person.

Stoke Park and The Belfry Hotel & Resort picked up the highest prized awards of the evening, The Ultimate Members’ Club, and The Ultimate Golf Resort respectively, withThe Belfry retaining their title for a second consecutive year and Stoke Park having claimed The Ultimate accolade previously in 2015.

Stuart Collier, Stoke Park Director of Golf, said; “It’s a huge honour for the entire team at Stoke Park to be awarded the prize of Ultimate Members’ Club at this year’s 59club annual awards dinner. We have worked very closely with 59club since 2011 and this has enabled us to review, develop and improve the overall member and visitor experience at the club.

“At Stoke Park we are blessed to have world class facilities but we feel the interaction with the staff is the most important element of any visit and we rely on the 59club to provide us with real feedback to monitor, manage and improve this”.  

In addition to being crowned The Ultimate Golf Resort, The Belfry’s celebrations continued, as Chris Reeve retained his Golf Manager of the Year title (>£75 category) with Jacques Hobson crowned Food & Beverage Manager of the Year (>£75 category).

Upon collecting numerous awards personally and on behalf of The Belfry Hotel and Resort, Chris Reeve, Director of Golf, said: “Having received crowning glory from 59club once is truly an honour, to maintain the highest prized accolade 2 years in a row across our entire operation amplifies the teams solidarity for delivering the greatest experiences in golf, cementing our position as Europe’s Ultimate Golf Resort. 

“It was fantastic to see Jacques Hobson crowned Food & Beverage Manager of the Year, and retaining the Golf Manager of the Year title is a personal highlight in my career – as we continue to deliver the unforgettable member and guest experience that The Belfry is synonymous with, we all have a lot to celebrate”!

59club’s Industry Benchmark of excellence, it’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Flag Designations, are always a highlight of proceedings. These highly prized accolades recognise member clubs’ and resorts that provide excellent facilities for golfers to enjoy, as well as having achieved the required standard of customer service throughout 2019.

This year, 59club presented 14 ‘Gold Flags’. The deserving winners were: Celtic Manor Resort, Club de Golf Alcanada, Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, Foxhills Club & Resort, Gleneagles, Golf Son Muntaner, Los Naranjos Golf Club, Monte Rei, Mount Juliet Estate, Rockliffe Hall, Roehampton Club, Stoke Park, The Belfry Hotel & Resort and The Grove.

The Foxhills Collection were left revelling on the night having been awarded Golf Group of the year, with Foxhills Club & Resort achieving Gold Flag status, Golf Operations Team of the Year (>£75 category), and Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year. Further celebrations saw Sophie Whitmore honoured for her Leading Individual Golf Membership Sales Performance, and Sean Graham crowned Golf Retail Manager of the Year (>£75 category).

Marriott Golf also boasted numerous successes on the night, with Forest of Arden seeing Fraser Liston crowned Golf Manager of the Year (<£75 category), with 2 further team awards recognising their Golf Operations and  Golf Sales departments, the latter having been retained for the 4th consecutive year, as well as the venue retaining their Gold Flag status. Tudor Park provided more reason to celebrate after Rachel Palmer was honoured for her Leading Individual Group Golf Sales Performance. St Pierre continued the winning streak having scooped the Golf Membership Sales Team accolade, with Hanbury Manor achieving Silver Flag Status.  

Of this year’s awards, Simon Wordsworth, CEO at 59club, commented: “Forest of Arden was the perfect host for our 10th annual awards ceremony, and my unerring congratulations go to our nominees, tonight’s winners, our supporters and everyone involved with 59club for their commitment to perfecting service standards across our industry. 

10 years ago tonight, we celebrated our first award winning performances, and as I look back at that wealth of data, I am privileged to have witnessed 59club quite literally reinvent member and guest experiences across Golf & Hospitality using technology & data to measure, train and support our clients to achieve service excellence.

Our promise to our clients, and to those just embarking on their journey with 59club – as 12 Franchises take hold around the world servicing golf, leisure, spa & hospitality providers – has always been to continue supporting their customer journey, with new tools and more intel, to equip our most ambitious companies in their pursuit of excellence. The first half of 2020 sees ‘Business Metrics’ and our ‘Education Platform’ launch simultaneously, with many more progressive tools waiting in the wings”.

Other prestigious award winners on the night included Matt Aplin of Goring & Streatley who retained his Greenkeeper of the Year title (<£75 category), with Scott Fenwick & Craig Haldane from Gleneagles crowned Greenkeepers of the Year in the over £75 category.

Jonny Dye of Rockliffe Hall was hailed Golf Retail Manager of the Year (<£75 category), whilst the Food & Beverage Manager of the Year title (<£75 category) was presented to Glenn McNaughton of Long Ashton Golf Club.

Five-time winner, The Vale Resort was awarded Leisure Membership Sales Team of the Year, and Alice Cox-Cooper from The Mere was recognised for her Leading Individual Leisure Membership Sales Performance.

8 ‘Silver Flags’ went to Golf Club Castelconturbia, Frilford Heath Golf Club, Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club, La Manga Club, Le Golf National, The Duke’s, St Andrews, The North Berwick Golf Club and Woodhall Spa.

A further 7 ‘Bronze Flag’ Awards were presented to Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, Gullane Golf Club, Porters Park Golf Club, Royal Automobile Club, Royal Dornoch Golf Club, Sandy Lodge Golf Club and Slaley Hall.

To recognise venues which have shown continued commitment to engage, analyse and enrich their member and guest experience, utilising a collateral of survey tools across 59club’s software platform, 13 ‘Service Excellence’ designations were presented on the night. Recipients included Aldenham Golf & Country Club, Branston Golf & Country Club, Celtic Manor Resort, Cotswold Hills Golf Club, Edgbaston Golf Club, Goring & Streatley Golf Club, Long Ashton Golf Club, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, Moor Park Golf Club, Mount Juliet Estate, North Middlesex Golf Club, The Scandinavian and Vale Resort. Radyr Golf Club and Stoke by Nayland Hotel, Golf & Spa received distinction in this category achieving the Ultimate Service Excellence honour.

Celebrations continued the following morning as guests re-assembled for the 59club golf day, sponsored by Golf Genius which teed off on the Arden Course, and saw the winning individual Phil Rowsell of Asbri Golf – 59club’s most recent industry partner – claim the Claret Jug, with an individual score of 40 points. The winning team consisted of Eryl Williams, Richard Dinsdale both of Asbri Golf, Chris Dowrick of Foxhills Club & Resort and Will Hewitt, 59club who led a 3-point team victory.

For more information on 59club, visit www.59club.com

Full list of award winners can be seen in the table below.

59club ‘Service Excellence’ Award Winners 2019/20:

The Ultimate Members’ Club: Stoke Park

The Ultimate Golf Resort: The Belfry Hotel & Resort

Golf Group of the Year: Foxhills Collection

Gold Flag Designations: Celtic Manor Resort, Club de Golf Alcanada, Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, Foxhills Club & Resort, Gleneagles, Golf Son Muntaner, Los Naranjos Golf Club, Monte Rei, Mount Juliet Estate, Rockliffe Hall, Roehampton Club, Stoke Park, The Belfry Hotel & Resort and The Grove.

Silver Flag Designations: Golf Club Castelconturbia, Frilford Heath Golf Club, Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club, La Manga Club, Le Golf National, The Duke’s, St Andrews, The North Berwick Golf Club and Woodhall Spa.

Bronze Flag Designations: Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, Gullane Golf Club, Porters Park Golf Club, Royal Automobile Club, Royal Dornoch Golf Club, Sandy Lodge Golf Club and Slaley Hall.

My59 Ultimate Service Excellence Award: Radyr Golf Club and Stoke by Nayland Hotel, Golf & Spa

My59 Service Excellence Award: Aldenham Golf & Country Club, Branston Golf & Country Club, Celtic Manor Resort, Cotswold Hills Golf Club, Edgbaston Golf Club, Goring & Streatley Golf Club, Long Ashton Golf Club, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, Moor Park Golf Club, Mount Juliet Estate, North Middlesex Golf Club, The Scandinavian and Vale Resort.

Golf Manager of the Year (<£75 green fee): Fraser Liston (Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club –    Aylesford Course)

Golf Manager of the Year (>£75 green fee): Chris Reeve (The Belfry Hotel & Resort)

Greenkeeper of the Year (<£75 green fee): Matt Aplin (Goring & Streatley)

Greenkeeper of the Year (>£75 green fee): Scott Fenwick & Craig Haldane (Gleneagles – Kings Course)

Food and Beverage Manager of the Year (<£75 green fee): Glenn McNaughton (Long Ashton Golf Club)

Food and Beverage Manager of the Year (>£75 green fee): Jacques Hobson (The Belfry Hotel & Resort)

Golf Retail Manager of the Year (<£75 green fee): Jonny Dye (Rockliffe Hall)

Golf Retail Manager of the Year (>£75 green fee): Sean Graham (Foxhills Club & Resort)

Golf Operations Team of the Year (<£75 green fee): Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club (Aylesford Course)

Golf Operations Team of the Year (>£75 green fee: Foxhills Club & Resort

Leading Individual Group Golf Sales Performance: Rachel Palmer (Tudor Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club)

Golf Sales Team of the Year: Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club

Leading Individual Golf Membership Sales Performance: Sophie Whitmore (Foxhills Club & Resort)

Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year: Foxhills Club & Resort & St Pierre Marriott Hotel & Country Club

Leading Individual Leisure Membership Sales Performance: Alice Cox-Cooper (The Mere)

Leisure Membership Sales Team of the Year: Vale Resort

Stay up to date with all 59club development on social media at @59club1 on Twitter, @59club on Facebook and Instagram at @59clubuk

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES RECOGNISED AS 59CLUB ANNOUNCE QUARTER FOUR AWARD WINNERS

Sponsored by 3difs, CGI Insurance & Gunners, 59club’s regular accolades reward individuals staff performance throughout the year

59club, the leading specialist customer service analysts and training provider, announce their prestigious quarterly award winners, as they continue to recognise staff excellence throughout the year across its affiliate golf venues. The designated European awards focus on three categories – Group Golf Sales Enquiry Calls, Golf Membership Sales Appointments and Food & Beverage, the latter two categories also recognise top performers across Asia, the Middle East & Africa.

The quarterly sales and service honours, ahead of 59club’s 10th Annual Service Excellence Awards Ceremony taking place next month, saw Rachel Palmer of Tudor Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club recognised specifically for her outstanding delivery in the Leading European Group Golf Sales Enquiry Call category, as she achieved a 2 percentage point advantage over her closest rival for her performance against all qualifying audits (calls under 15 minutes in duration) delivered between October and December.

Fine margins between the top contenders meant Daniel Leigh of Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club, Kathryn Collier of Barnham Broom, Phil Brown of Breadsall Priory Marriott Hotel & Country Club and Damion Gee of Ashburnham Golf Club all narrowly missed out following very successful audit reviews, as adjudicated by 59club in accordance with its non-subjective benchmarking criteria.

59club’s Leading European Golf Membership Sales Appointment title, was claimed by Sophie Whitmore of Foxhills, with an impressive 37 percentage point margin over the 59club global industry average across quarter four. Richard Bowman of Herons Reach took second place, with Steve Webster of Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club and Phil Stickler of St Pierre Marriott Hotel & County Club also performing extremely well.

When it comes to the Leading Golf Membership Sales Appointment delivery across Asia, the Middle East & Africa, Khay-Gie Aniciete won the title for Trump International, Dubai with an overall score 36 percentage points higher than the 59club global industry average, with Zenia Elise Wivou, also of Trump International, Dubai coming close second, with Michael Major of Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club in third place.

To recognise service excellence delivered within the clubhouse, during a golf visitor mystery shopper experience. The Leading European Food & Beverage accolade goes to Bernat Llobera of Son Muntaner, with an impressive 22 percentage point advantage over the 59club global industry average. Other top performances across the quarter saw Kingswood Golf Club take second place, followed closely by La Manga, Alcanada and The Grove.  

Meanwhile, across MEA & Asia, the Food & Beverage title was awarded to Kim Marshall of Royal Golf Club, Bahrain with a 20 percentage point lead over the 59club global industry average.

Another close victory saw Trump International, Dubai in second place, followed by Emirates Golf Club, Education City and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club all claiming runner up places for their Food & Beverage provisions respectively. 

Albert Sinfield, Director of Golf- Tudor Park Marriott Hotel and Country Club,said: “Tudor Park prides itself on the warm welcome which we provide our golfers and this journey starts with our passionate sales team ensuring that they fully understand the needs of a group during the enquiry stage. Rachel is an asset to the Resort and it is great to see her performance being recognised by 59club”

Chris Dowrick, Membership Sales Manager – Foxhills Country Club & Resort, said: “Foxhills is extremely proud of Sophie’s achievement in winning Quarter 4.  The ability to benchmark Foxhills against other great clubs ensures that we can consistently deliver excellence.  The feedback we receive from 59 club mystery shoppers drives the processes we put in place and has helped us achieve fantastic results this year.” Sophie Whitmore, Senior Membership Advisor – Foxhills, followed on to say “I am so proud to have won The Service Excellence Award. It not only reflects my passion as a membership sales advisor but also the commitment Foxhills has to ensuring every prospect and member alike receive outstanding service. I am hopeful that the team and I will win more awards in the months to come”.

Casper Schonfeldt, General Manager – Trump International, Dubai, said: “Trump International Golf Club Dubai are very proud of our associate and colleague Ms. Khay-Gie Aniciete for receiving the 59club Service Excellence Award for 2019 Quarter 4 for the leading Golf Membership Sales appointment. This is a wonderful recognition and testament to the passion, dedication and professionalism she brings to her role each and every day”.

Bernat Llobera, Food & Beverage Manager – Golf Son Muntaner, said: “”We are delighted to be working with 59club to help our team deliver exceptional service in our restaurants.

Franco Botha, Director of Golf – Royal Golf Club, Bahrain, said: “”We are delighted and humbled to receive this award. Here at Royal Golf Club we strive to meet and exceed experiences through culinary and service excellence, consistently. Working together as a team is key. Feedback like this is what we pride ourselves on. The Food & Beverage team will continuously strive to create memorable experiences and create a home away from home for all our valued members and guests”.

Commenting on the success of each of the winners,Simon Wordsworth, 59club CEO, said:

“Congratulations to all Quarter Four award winners, and to all of our contenders, it’s always an extremely close race and everyone is hungry to win. The winner in the end, is always the customer. Experience is driven by teams on the front line, service is only ever as good as the emphasis the people at the top place on it. Successful staff need process, motivation and rewards if we expect them to excel, and these individuals are a great example of venues getting the balance of support right.

We look forward to our 10th annual Award Ceremony next month, every year bigger and better than before, and always grateful and honoured to witness the impact that everyone involved with 59club, from our award sponsors, industry partners and our client venues at the very centre of operations, are contributing to advancing customer experience – tickets are selling fast, we hope you can join us”.

59club is the world’s leading customer service & sales analysts and training provider and is set upon raising the service standards of the leisure industry to new highs through the gathering of primary data and implementation of strategic solutions. 59club’s ultimate objective is to transform the revenue performance of its clients by enhancing their approach to customer service and sales. By understanding where strengths and weaknesses lie (information provided via raw consumer data) 59club can help venues implement lasting change to the benefit of their members, guests, staff and revenue.

Stay up to date with all the action, and behind-the-scenes insight by following 59club’s on Twitter and Facebook.