Before the First Wall Comes Down: Clubhouse Renovation Communication That Keeps Members

Most clubs treat a renovation announcement as a construction update: scope, schedule, a rendering, a vote date. Members read it as something else entirely. They read it as a bill, a disruption and a test of whether the board can be trusted with a very large sum of their money.

That is why clubhouse renovation communication belongs to the membership and marketing side of the club, not just the building committee. The same members who vote on the project also decide whether to renew, whether to bring guests and whether to tell a prospective member the club is going somewhere. Below is a sequenced playbook, from the first rumor to the reopening party, with the places where clubs most often lose members along the way.

Why is clubhouse renovation communication a retention job?

Because the project asks members to take on three things at once: a financial commitment, a loss of the clubhouse they know, and a long period of uncertainty. Each one is a reason to resign if it is handled badly, and each one is mostly a communication problem. The accounting and advisory firm PKF O’Connor Davies warns that an assessment out of line with member expectations and financial tolerance can push members away, and the club planning firm Chambers writes that poorly managed renovation disruption can lead to dissatisfaction and even member attrition.

The baseline is not encouraging. The 2025 Club Leaders’ Perspective Report from CMAA and GGA Partners, found that just 46 percent of clubs consider their current communication adequate, while 18 percent call it ineffective. Before a renovation adds a new layer of bad news, fewer than half of clubs are starting from adequate communication.

Source: 2025 Club Leaders’ Perspective Report (CMAA and GGA Partners), as excerpted in CMAA’s October and December 2025 Board Briefs.

The same report points to what works: publishing clear, detailed updates on board and committee activity, assigning a board liaison, and holding town halls. It also notes that passive channels such as clubhouse message boards and member-to-member talk are perceived as less effective. A renovation is the moment to use the active ones.

What should members hear before the vote?

The pre-vote phase decides most of what follows. Members who learn about a project from a mailer that already contains a price feel decided-upon, not consulted. CMAA’s December 2025 Board Brief encourages board members to help fellow members understand the reasoning behind capital projects and how they are funded, and Rick Snellinger, president and CEO of Chambers, says members should be involved from the very start of planning and shown the whole picture, costs and funding included, at a town hall.

Start with the problem, not the design. A building that no longer meets code, aging infrastructure, a dining room that cannot host what members want to host: say what is wrong, and why doing nothing has a cost too. Then show the options the committee considered, including the cheaper one.

Castlewood, a California club in Pleasanton, is a useful public example. Its clubhouse opened in 1972 and had not been significantly updated since, and Alameda County was pressing the club to bring the building into ADA compliance. The article “Castlewood members celebrate clubhouse reopening,” published by the Pleasanton Weekly in November 2022, reports that in 2019 its members took two votes: one to set a $200-a-month assessment to cover 20 years of borrowing for a complete clubhouse renovation, in place of a lower assessment for a remodel limited to ADA compliance, and one to reject a takeover proposal from the Bay Club. The members were choosing between real options, with a real monthly figure attached to the full renovation, and the plan was then developed by a committee of members with construction expertise.

Before the vote, give members:

• The reason in plain language, with the do-nothing alternative stated honestly.
• The options considered and why the committee recommends one.
• A way to be heard: town halls, small-group walk-throughs of the building, a question inbox that gets answered in writing.
• The governance path: who votes, what threshold applies, and what happens if it fails.

Other clubs have documented the same approach. A CMAA Idea Fair entry from Desert Highlands describes winning member approval for a $7 million project with regular, consistent communications, informational meetings, a printed voter guide, and 35 member volunteers who called every eligible voter.

How do you write a club renovation assessment letter?

The assessment letter is the single most-read and most-resented document of the project. Write it as if every member will read it with a statement in the other hand. If you need background on how capital dues, special assessments and financed structures differ, send members to our explainer on club assessments explained rather than rebuilding it in the letter.

A good club renovation assessment letter does the following, in roughly this order:

• Opens with the decision and the date. What the vote approved, when, and by what margin.
• States the member’s number. What each membership category owes, in dollars, and what that looks like monthly if it is financed. Do not make members hunt for it.
• Shows the term and the billing. Lump sum or installments, when each bill arrives, and what happens to members who pay early or are in arrears.
• Explains what is not covered. Contingency, furniture and equipment, and anything the club will fund from reserves. Surprises after a letter like this are what members remember.
• Answers the hardship question. If the club has a payment option or a process for members who cannot absorb the charge, say so up front instead of waiting to be asked.
• Names a person. A real contact, with a phone number, who can answer questions about the letter.

Pair the letter with a one-page FAQ and a short video or town hall for members who prefer to hear it. And have someone who did not write it read it cold. If they cannot find the amount in ten seconds, rewrite it.

How should a club manage construction disruption?

Disruption is where goodwill gets spent. Members tolerate a closed dining room far better when they were told, in advance, exactly which rooms close, for how long, and what replaces them. Rick Snellinger of Chambers makes the same point, saying members grow more understanding and patient when they know what to expect.

Treat the construction phase as an operating program with its own plan:

• Publish a phase map. Which areas close when, which entrances to use, where parking moves. A simple diagram beats paragraphs.
• Keep a regular cadence. A short update on a fixed day, even when the update is “no change.” Silence reads as trouble. Chambers recommends regular updates and progress reports so members can see the changes taking shape.
• Offer substitutes, not apologies. Temporary dining, outdoor service, pop-up events, a member lounge in whatever space is open. Give members a reason to keep coming.
• Tell the truth about delays early. Old buildings hide problems. At Castlewood, committee member Ron Capilla, who helped redesign the building and oversaw construction, described how the committee held its collective breath every time a wall was opened in the 50-year-old clubhouse, because no one knew what they would find. Tell members in the original plan that surprises are likely, and what the club will do when they happen.
• Brief the front line. Servers, the golf shop and the front desk will get the first questions. Give them the same script and facts members get in writing. Desert Highlands’ entry notes that front-line staff were kept knowledgeable about the project.

Disruption can also be survivable. At Castlewood, construction started in April 2020, the pool area and main clubhouse closed, and the golf shop and staff offices moved into trailers in the parking lot. The finance team had expected membership to drop during construction. Instead the club’s general manager reported equity membership rising from 421 at the end of 2020 to 508 in 2022. The same report notes 555 equity members were eligible to vote in 2019, so that comparison starts after construction began rather than before it. That is one club, in one market, and the Pleasanton Weekly credits the club’s established direction for the growth, not communication, but it is a reminder that a clear direction can hold members through an ugly stretch.

Source: Pleasanton Weekly, “Castlewood members celebrate clubhouse reopening,” Nov. 22, 2022, citing the club’s general manager. Bars are scaled to the largest figure.

How do you keep complaints and resignations down?

Renovation resignations are often not about the renovation itself. They come from members who feel surprised, unheard or unsure what they are paying for. A few habits reduce all three.

Make complaints easy to give and visible when answered. A dedicated inbox and a monthly “you asked, we answered” note show members that questions go somewhere. Desert Highlands set up a dedicated email address for member questions, answered by whichever board member or staff person was best equipped to respond. The CMAA report excerpt credits board liaisons and town halls with fostering open dialogue between boards and members.

Segment your messages. A golfer who never uses the ballroom, a family that lives at the pool and a member who is at the bar every Friday are worried about different things. Tell each group what changes for them, in their language, rather than sending one general bulletin. CMAA’s December 2025 Board Brief makes a similar case for tailoring communication to different stakeholder groups.

Reach the members most likely to leave. New members, members who have not used the club recently and members who just received a large bill deserve a personal call from the GM or membership director. This is a retention task and should sit on someone’s list with a deadline. Desert Highlands did something similar, with volunteers phoning every eligible voting member to answer questions and correct misconceptions.

Show progress. Photos, walk-throughs in hard hats, a sneak peek of finishes. Visible progress turns a cost into something members can see being built. This is the marketing content the project produces for free, so plan to capture it.

Do not make promises you cannot keep. A date given loosely becomes the date members hold you to. Give ranges until the schedule is firm.

What about prospects? Clubs often wonder how to keep selling memberships during construction. That deserves its own treatment, but the short version is the same principle: be honest about the timeline and give prospects something to look forward to, such as a dated reopening and a preview of the finished design.

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How should a club communicate at each stage?

Use this as a working checklist. Print it, assign owners and dates, and review it at every committee meeting.

1. Stage 1: Pre-vote. Explain the problem and the options. State the need and the do-nothing cost. Present every option considered. Hold town halls and small-group tours. Publish a written Q&A. Name who votes and what threshold applies.
2. Stage 2: Vote. Make the decision easy to understand. One-page summary of cost, per-member impact and timeline. Reminder sequence. Report the result and margin the same day, and thank the committee.
3. Stage 3: Assessment letter. Put the member’s number first. Amount by category, billing schedule, what is and is not covered, hardship process, named contact. Send with an FAQ. Follow with a call list for members likely to struggle or leave.
4. Stage 4: Construction. Run it as an operating program. Phase map, fixed-day updates, substitute amenities, early notice of delays, staff scripts, photo and progress content, a visible complaint-and-answer loop.
5. Stage 5: Reopening. Confirm the date well ahead. Hold a member event, share before-and-after content, and close the loop on what the assessment paid for. Invite feedback in the first 90 days of use.

What should happen when the doors reopen?

The reopening is a marketing moment, so treat it like one. At Castlewood, hundreds of members came to a reopening event on November 12, 2022. A celebration lets the members who paid, waited and put up with the construction see what it bought.

Then close the loop. Report back on the final cost against the plan, thank the committee and the staff who carried the disruption, and collect member feedback on the new spaces. Use the finished rooms for the member-get-member and tour programs you paused. And keep the renovation story in your regular communications for the following year, because new members will ask what it was and why it happened.

If your club is planning a renovation and wants help with the member story, the Private Club Marketing development and renovation team works with clubs on exactly this, including construction-period communications and member updates. Our guide to choosing carpet for a clubhouse renovation covers one of the largest surfaces in the building and is a good companion for the building committee.

Clubhouse renovation communication FAQ

When should a club first tell members about a renovation?

Before the design is final and before any price is attached to a member. Members who are consulted early are more likely to see the plan as theirs, and Rick Snellinger of Chambers says members need to be involved from the very beginning of planning.

What should a club renovation assessment letter include?

The decision and date, the amount owed by membership category, the billing schedule and term, what is not covered, any hardship option, and a named contact. Send it with a one-page FAQ.

How often should a club update members during construction?

On a fixed, predictable rhythm, with the same day each week or two. Add urgent notices as needed, and send an update even when nothing changed.

Will members resign over a renovation?

Some may, particularly those who feel surprised by the cost or lose the amenity they use most. Castlewood’s finance team expected membership to fall during construction, and the club instead reported growth from the end of 2020 to 2022, but that is one club, and results depend on the club and market. Personal outreach to at-risk members is the safeguard we would reach for first.

Should the club keep selling memberships during construction?

Generally yes, with honesty about the timeline and a dated reopening to point to.

Who should own renovation communication?

One accountable person, usually the GM or membership director, working with the building committee and the board. Splitting it across several voices is how members get conflicting answers.