The American Club 2019/2020 Annual Report

11 PAGE

MEMBERSHIP

strong. We welcomed 75 new Term Members, +41% to Budget and prior year number of 56. While there was no change to The Club’s Ordinary Membership entrance fees, the four- year payment plan for Ordinary Members proved popular. We welcomed 101 Ordinary and six Service Members on this payment plan option, compared to 36 Ordinary and three Service Members on the lump sum payment option, despite a premium for the Ordinary payment plan option. Effective July 1, 2019, the price of Associate Membership was increased by 25% to $70,375. As this is a closed category, new activity was largely limited to new Legacy Memberships or the upgrade opportunity offered to long-time Term Members who had joined The Club prior to July 1, 2019 and supported The Club through the redevelopment. Revision of Transfer Fee In view of The Club’s sustained and strong open market value, the General Committee approved the Membership Committee’s recommendation to revise the transfer fee for open market transfers to 25% of open market value or $24,075, whichever is higher. With open market value ranging between $123,000 and $135,000 during the year, this revision of transfer fee boded well for The Club’s transfer fee income. Increase in Associate Membership Entrance Fees (Closed Category)

The launch of the Lobby, Tradewinds and The Gourmet Pantry in the Claymore Hill building in the summer of 2019 signalled the completion of the key aspects of a Clubhouse redevelopment project that had lasted about 3 ½ years. Good news traveled fast and the Membership team was soon busy fielding Membership enquiries and conducting tours of our new Clubhouse. In the first ninemonths of FY20, the Membership team conducted 317 tours, 17% more than the same period last year. The new Member intake for the first nine months was 338, +26% to the Budget target for the period. The new Member intake activity during this period made up 93% of the full year’s new Member intake of 365. New Member activity in the last quarter of the fiscal year was impacted by the pandemic and ensuing regulatory restrictions. Net Membership resignation for the full year was only 325, so Membership level for FY20 closed at 3,316, +40 accounts or +1% from 3,276 at the end of the last fiscal year. The pandemic threw a curve ball in an otherwise strong Membership growth trajectory. Strong Market Interest Post-redevelopment Completion Strong Demand for Term Membership and Payment Plan Options Despite a 5% increase in Term Membership entrance fees with effect from July 1, 2019, the demand from this market segment remained

New Lobby