Hospitality runs in the family. Alexandria LaRocca, Director of Member Engagement at The Beach Point Club in Mamaroneck, New York, and Matt Assumma, who served at Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, join the podcast. And, they’ve known each other for years, and we mean for years, since they were kids.

Alexandria and Matt are both offspring of well-known and highly regarded club managers, having grown up in the industry. Their respective backgrounds highlight how important both human resources and hospitality are in the private members club industry.

Matt spent eight years at one of the leading clubs in the country, Ocean Reef. He notes how he worked his way up through the ranks from banqueting and ended up working in the membership department, where he would flag visitors who may have visited the club more than twice in five years, but who had not expressed an interest in gaining membership. Membership plays such an important role at any club through events, such as outings and member guests, but for a iconic club on the tip of Key Largo, perhaps new members can be even more significant.

Ocean Reef, although a private club, can be seen as a destination with both a conference center and an inn on property. Matt notes the friction that can be caused between hosting events, attracting new members and the tradition of a small, fishing village which was the dream of its founder and present-day members, according to Assuma.

LaRocca notes that although email is very strong, different messages require different timings and different avenues of communication. Tennis, food and beverage, and timing of delivery all affect how communications are received by her elite and private membership at Beach Point Club. She realizes that with the numerous clubs in the area, a director of membership really is forced to know the entire brand – not just the activities at the club – but the brand that is the club’s identity. That identity separates the club from its many competitors, especially in the Westchester/Fairfield county areas of New York and Connecticut.

Assumma lived on campus at Ocean Reef for a year before he, for the first time in his life, commuted from a property off campus during his time in the industry. Housing can attract great talent, especially since many may be on J1 or H2B visas, states LaRocca. But, there are times when living on property can be difficult. Your thought process may be that you can never be “off duty” or a member might find you late at night as they might need their clubs for an early-morning flight, as has happened to Assumma.

In looking back at their respective careers, it’s clear that perhaps the hardest job one might have in the private members club arena is running a dining room. With that said, both these individuals started doing that as teenagers working with their fathers, and food and beverage is clearly a life-long love as well as a wonderful way to learn the club industry from the inside out.