Is It a Hotel or an Exclusive Social Club? The Answer Is Both
Some hotels are hoping to lure young locals by transforming underused ballrooms into members-only spaces
Will people pay thousands of dollars a year to socialize at a hotel?
That is the question facing the hospitality business as hotels across the country try to break in to a new line of business: members-only social clubs. But these clubs aren’t aimed primarily at out-of-town guests. Instead, hotels are mostly pitching the places to young locals, in hopes of creating a trendy destination in their hometowns—an intimate place to mingle with other members, or enjoy special amenities and activities.
The Elwood Club at the Pendry Newport Beach hotel in Newport Beach, Calif., for example, gives members access to the hotel’s on-site personal trainer and hosts an annual masquerade party for members only. The Aster, in Hollywood, grants members entry to its 36-seat cinema and outdoor pool, plus RSVPs to a calendar full of social events. Members of the Forth in Atlanta, meanwhile, can hang out by the rooftop pool and join in Pilates classes before enjoying a priority reservation at buzzy Il Premio.
The hotels are looking to piggyback on a current trend: Over the past few years, social clubs in general have gotten popular, as people seek out places to enjoy community post-Covid and real-life meetups. So, they are transforming spaces on-site that sometimes sit empty—like ballrooms and conference rooms—into spaces for members to gather.
“Hotels are looking at underutilized space and seeing an opportunity,” says Amanda Neanor, who runs a members-club advisory that partners with developers to bring online or reposition existing membership clubs. “I think that private membership clubs will be the next hospitality asset class; they will be more and more common.”
Midtier hotels are driving the trend toward private clubs. Not only can clubs bring in additional revenue, membership dues can help boost funding for new construction. “Where developers once sold condos to finance hotels, now they sell memberships,” says Jack Ezon, founder of luxury-travel agency Embark Beyond, which also conducts industrywide trend research.
The model is also spreading well beyond big metropolitan markets. A membership club called the Auric Room 1915 opened in May 2024 inside the Lone Mountain Ranch in Big Sky, Mont., for instance, and another club, called Club Bardo at the Hotel Bardo, launched in February 2024 in Savannah, Ga.
What it costs
Membership prices range widely, from the annualized cost of a brand-name gym to that of a storied men’s club. The Clayton Hotel & Members Club in Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood, which opened in May 2021, aims to attract the local creative class with co-working spaces, meeting spaces, yoga classes and wine-pairing dinners. A membership at the Clayton runs from $1,900 a year for those under 30 to $3,200 for anyone older, plus an initiation fee of about $2,000. The club won’t release revenue or membership numbers, but says it is very pleased with the results.
At New York’s Gansevoort Meatpacking hotel, the Seven24 Collective private-membership club offers access to a rare New York City amenity—a rooftop pool—plus a speakeasy, an infrared spa and a fully kitted-out gym, as well as discounts on rooms at the hotel, which are typically priced up to $900 a night. The club is also trying to lure parents with family-friendly amenities.
Seven24 Collective now counts upward of 600 people in its membership program. Rates vary based on a number of factors, but one basic plan for members under 32 years of age starts at $2,150, with initiation fees starting at $350.
In some cases, the hotels also grant hotel guests temporary access to members-only areas—rooftop pools, lounges, cinemas or wellness studios—where they can mingle with locals instead of other tourists. “Many travelers prefer them because they can plug into a local community instantly,” says Ezon. “It’s easier than hanging out at a random hotel bar.”
Locals only
In many cases, though, the clubs are reserved strictly for locals, with rare exceptions. To qualify for membership in the Auric Room 1915, for instance, members must spend at least 30 to 60 days a year in Montana. Members pay $6,500 a year plus a $5,000 initiation fee for access to private dining, curated experiences like sleigh rides and holiday parties, and optional private liquor lockers and cigar humidors for an extra fee. Renewal rates hover around 95%.
Some in the industry, though, say there are limits to the boom. “At some point, there will be too many clubs,” says Thomas Brown, CEO of Ad Altius Advisors, a brokerage that helps owners buy and sell luxury boutique hotels. “Not every hotel space deserves one, and not every market can support yet another club.”
And, of course, hotels face financial risk if the clubs fail. Hotels may also get a bad reputation if, say, there is a culture clash between local club members and hotel guests. A hotel’s older business travelers, for instance, might decide to stay elsewhere if they start seeing lots of young, edgy club members around the place, and vice versa. Having to wait in line to check in or get a drink could also turn off hotel regulars.
“If the membership scales too high, you’re making your regular guests feel marginalized,” says Brown.
