Overview
Capstone Hospitality works with private clubs and organizations across North America, bringing each a customized sales plan, renewed energy, and competitive spirit.
The company has partnered with over 65 private clubs in the golf, tennis, resort, boating and social spaces, helping them experience tremendous growth and financial stability through their proven methods and cutting-edge technologies.
Among the high-profile and respected brands that have benefited from Capstone Hospitality’s services include Nemacolin Resort, The Biltmore, The Golf Club of Amelia Island, Concert Golf Partners, Hawks Ridge Golf Club, Pensacola Country Club and Waynesville Inn and Golf Club, among many others.
Background
Brian Friederichs has 20+ years of hospitality experience and has had a passion for the game of golf since first being introduced to it at age nine. Played college golf at Florida Gulf Coast University where he received a Bachelor’s of Science in Resort & Hospitality Management.
After graduating, played golf professionally for four years on worldwide tours. While traveling through South, Central and North America, he not only fine-tuned his golf game but also his knowledge of the industry. After seeing a need for golf and country clubs to change the way they approach membership development, he formed Capstone Hospitality.
The Friederichs Story
My dad, Phil, coordinated a Ryder Cup style golf event every season with the St. Paul Lutheran Church. One year, he finally convinced me to play. What I didn’t know was that the guy who I was matched up against, the No.1 seed from the other team, was a gentleman named Jim Tumminello.
Jim was not only a great golfer, but he had a ton of knowledge about the golf industry and specifically the workings of private clubs. We became good friends and it was because of him that I got into the industry and ultimately started Capstone. Today, Jim and I are not only still close, but he serves as the Executive Vice President of Capstone Hospitality.
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You wake up in the morning — what’s the driving passion?
From a professional perspective, I’m driven by finding new and innovative ways to improve our business, which will in-turn improve the businesses of our clients. From a personal perspective, I want to be sure I have the right work/life balance to guarantee I’m not only succeeding as a business owner, but as a father and husband.
What differentiates Capstone from your competitors?
Our executive team has 75 cumulative years of club management and sales experience. This wealth of knowledge allows us to deeply understand membership sales and private club needs.
Further, we have created a training program that fosters sales professionals of the highest caliber. These individuals don’t just help clubs from afar, a main part of the Capstone difference is that we embed our sales staff in the clubs they serve.
This way they become intertwined with the cultural fabric of the club and understand it at the deep level necessary to be the most effective.
How has Capstone fared since the arrival of the global pandemic?
Much like the private club industry in general, we’ve experienced rapid growth. This is true both for our company as well as our client clubs. For example, we work with Hawks Ridge Golf Club outside of Atlanta and since partnering with us in 2019 they’ve added 160 new members and recorded a 505% increase in initiation fees sold in our first year as partners.
However, with the world slowly moving back to “normal,” the golf industry is seeing its participation numbers return to pre-pandemic levels. The real value we bring to clubs is that we help them modernize their membership practices so they will continue to see growth, as opposed to clubs stuck in the past who are already experiencing a decline.
Selling memberships is a constantly evolving science and we’re equipped to help clubs of any size grow even without the bump in interest that came with COVID-19.
Are you doing things any differently since?
Generally speaking, our approach to servicing clients has remained the same. It’s a formula that worked during the height of the pandemic and is equally effective in the current landscape. To put it simply, the No.1 issue we see when analyzing a club’s membership practices is they don’t have a sales staff dedicated solely to growing members. That might not have been an issue during COVID when prospective members were knocking down the doors of clubs, but as interest in golf has normalized clubs cannot rest on their laurels.
Often Membership Directors or GMs are overwhelmed by wearing too many hats. They get bogged down in member relations, communications/newsletters, billing questions, operations, events/catering, etc.
With all of this, it’s easy to see why there is a lack of strategic outreach to potential new members and no long term and sustainable pipeline. At Capstone, we provide clients with a highly trained sales professional who implements our proven lead generation systems and stays hyper focused on selling memberships all day.
Many companies — in all phases of the economy — continue to face staffing issues. What’s been the impact on Capstone and how have you opted to deal with it?
Capstone has continued to grow and hire throughout the past two years of the pandemic. Since founding the company in 2009, I have put a major emphasis on investing back into our employees, through various retreats and reinvestments into technology. In fact, we were just named among the “Best Places to Work in Jacksonville,” by the Jacksonville Business Journal, an honor we’re very proud of.
Further, we recently hired former PGA Tour Multicultural Marketing Manager, Sara Diaz, as our new VP of Recruiting. She has been pivotal in helping us find the right employees who can make a real difference for our clients.
There was a surge in golf interest immediately after arrival of the pandemic as people opted to remain closer to home. What steps is Capstone doing to keep the past momentum going forward?
There was absolutely a surge in golf participation when COVID hit. However, thinking the COVID generated uptick in membership is the new norm is a recipe for disaster. We’ve partnered with more than 70 clubs and can say for certain the number of organic leads in 2022 has dipped substantially in all regions.
This is a natural reaction to the market, rising inflation and the fact that for the first time in two years people are traveling, attending sporting events and exploring hobbies other than golf. To keep momentum going forward Capstone utilizes a variety of proven strategies.
One of the first steps for all of our client clubs is to undertake a full membership audit – this results in a very honest reflection of where the club has been both historically, and present day in the marketplace. The audit also ensures all members are paying appropriate dues for their level of access, and allows for a clearer path of next steps.
Companies routinely tout the importance of customer service. Define the term and the approach followed by Capstone.
Customer service can be broken down into how an organization deals with customers before, during and after a sale. At Capstone, we’re dedicated to helping our clients grow and that might mean that our approach needs to evolve to meet the needs of our customers.
Not all clubs are seeking the same types of members and not all potential private club members are looking for the same thing in a club. Our job is to identify the pieces of the puzzle that make sense for our clients and ensure the pipeline of new members is strong.
If you could change one thing in golf unilaterally — what would it be and why?
Pace of play. I feel it is one of the biggest barriers to anyone trying to get into the game of golf.
Places that offer shorter golf experiences will continue to grow and thrive. Short courses offer the best of golf and only take up a fraction of the time.
What’s the biggest mistake clubs make in membership development and how does the involvement with Capstone help change that?
As previously mentioned, not having a sales staff that is dedicated to solely growing members is the biggest issue we see with most clubs. To take that a step further, clubs simply don’t do enough lead generation. Without qualified leads a club can’t reach its full potential.
Finding the right individuals and families to join your club is the only way to create long-term health. To do this properly, you need to get out into the community and understand the needs of potential members.
Biggest challenges for Capstone going forward – short and long term — and what specific steps is the company implementing to deal with each.
One short term challenge is managing club expectations coming out of the pandemic. Most have a false sense of success/security due to the increase in interest over the past two years. Capstone continuously advises GMs, owners, and board members on the importance of developing a deep waitlist with invested new members.
A longer-term challenge is continuing to recruit and retain top level talent to serve our client clubs nationwide. We have developed a team of full-time dedicated recruiters, who are currently campaigning nationwide to find the best fits for the company. We also use cutting-edge training and development programs to ensure maximum results and retention rates.
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Photos Courtesy Capstone Hospitality
