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Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, where we give you the scoop on all things private golf and country clubs From mastering leadership and management, food and beverage excellence, member engagement secrets, board governance and everything in between, all while keeping it fun and light.
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Whether you're a club veteran just getting your feet wet or somewhere in the middle, you are in the right place.
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I'm your host, Denny Corby.
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Welcome to the show.
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In this episode, today's guest is a friend of mine.
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I've been wanting to get him on here for a little bit Salil Bokhil, and he is one of the nicest guys in the biz and somehow convinced an entire team to never leave.
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His chef has been there for 17 years.
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His controller's been there since fax machines were cool.
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It's insane.
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It's just a wonderful conversation because we talk about how a kid from India with a dream and a hospitality degree ended up running one of the coolest and most respected clubs on the Jersey Shore, and he shares how he keeps things fresh, how he leads with empathy, not ego, and why he still starts every morning with a call to his parents halfway around the world.
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We get into the magic of seasonal resets, loyalty that is earned and respected, not forced.
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We have great stories, great lessons from a great dude.
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I cannot wait to get into it.
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Before we do, a quick thank you to some of our show partners.
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They help drive Private Club Radio.
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If you think you might be interested in learning about any more from our sponsors, let them know.
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You heard about them or you hear them and you like hearing them on Private Club Radio.
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They like hearing it, we like hearing it.
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We all like hearing it.
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We have our friends Kenneth's member vetting Golf Life Navigators Club, capital Group Members First, and myself.
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We have our friends Kenneth's member vetting golf life navigators club, capital group members First in myself the Denny Corby experience.
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There's excitement, there's mystery.
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Also there's magic, mind reading and comedy One of the most fun evenings your club will have guaranteed.
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This is not just a show, it's a full evening, immersive experience your members are going to talk about for months and months and months, Guaranteed.
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And listen, I know a lot of clubs look at what I do with the magic and related to stand-up comedy and it's similar but it's different.
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And I've heard of too many clubs having bad comedy nights.
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And if you were thinking about having a comedy night but haven't, or you're a little nervous, or maybe you've done one that was just okay, or you want to just learn more about how to have one of the most fun comedy nights your club can have, I put together a little guide just to help, because I don't like seeing clubs have bad events and having a comedy night a bad comedy night is just not good for anybody.
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So I want to help you in your clubs.
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Even though it's not what I do directly.
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I still want to help you.
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Go to dennycorbycom slash comedy guide to snag the guide.
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It's quick, it's easy and some of the best tips you can have to make sure you have the best comedy night ever.
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Enough about that.
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Let's get to the episode.
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Private Club.
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Have the best comedy night ever.
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Enough about that, let's get to the episode.
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Private club radio listeners, let's welcome to the show.
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Salil bokil, yeah, and and were you?
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How old were you when you, when you came over, were you already doing hospitality?
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Yeah, so I start, I studied hospitality, I got my uh, my bachelor's done in india, um, and then I came here to do my master's, which was in 2001.
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So I was 21 when I came in and I'm 46 now, 25 years later.
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Did you ever think you were going to be at the same club for 18 years?
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No, never imagined, Never, ever imagined.
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It was kind of like an unheard of thing for me coming from the hospitality space.
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It, you know, it's like who stays for that long, like it was never on.
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You know, it was never heard of until I started and you know, honestly, I know why and you know it's very rewarding and it's very rewarding.
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It's hard to kind of explain that, but you know, once you're at a club, that you, you know, and I guess it has to be mutual too, because I've seen, you know, my predecessors, you know, have not been here, obviously, as long as I have.
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Now, to be clear, like I haven't been the GM for 18 years.
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I started off as the clubhouse and director F&B and then AGMs, have been the GM since 2015.
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So, um, but even my previous GMs weren't here, you know, for that long.
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So it's a uh, I guess it just has to work, you know, within, within that set.
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So yeah, but I mean, I mean your, your whole bench has has tenure.
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You, I like what you're.
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You're telling me your chef's been there 17 years, controllers there, like 36 years.
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Who else?
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There was someone your, was it your agronomist?
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Your, your agronomy.
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Yeah, so this is my 18th season.
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My chef's 17th season controller has been here over 36 uh years.
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Our golf row has been over 25 years.
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Our superintendent's been here over 11 seasons.
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Tennis pro 12 seasons.
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So all our like our executive team has been here.
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You know a good amount of time and it yeah been here.
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You know a good amount of time and it resonates, you know, really you know part of, not part of, I think I think a lot of the club's success over the years that we have had, you know, is a direct result of that, because you know it's just, consistency breeds success.
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And these are just the top, you know, just the top layers, if you will.
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But even within our general team, it's our average tenured individual right now like a full-time, because we're kind of seasonal down the Jersey Shore Our average tenured full-time employee is about, I would say, about eight years plus.
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Tenured full-time employee is about, I would say, about eight years plus, which is huge, especially in today's day and age and in terms of the options that are available or not.
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People are not looking to come into this space also, but people are also getting burnt out and are leaving the hospitality space for that reason.
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So we're blessed.
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You know, we're really lucky to have the team and you know everything that they do on a day-to-day basis.
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It's just uh, you know it's awesome yeah, and it sounds like everyone kind of got there at the same time as well, I guess.
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I guess sounds like the club started, you know, like like that sort of happened, like all like around the same time frame, ish there yeah, no, I mean.
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So 2008, I think, was a little bit of a um, a little bit weird time.
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No, well, that too.
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But you know, also a transition period, I think, for the club.
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Um, you know, I think in that year.
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I mean the club has been here since 1898, right?
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So we just had our 125th year anniversary last year and two years ago, and so you know it's been here for a long time and it was, you know, one of those kind of traditional clubs.
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We're down the Jersey Shore, so it's very seasonal, so it was always meant to be for individuals that came down the shore or had summer homes or came down in the summer, you know, for them to kind of be engaged in play.
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So we were never, you know we still aren't, you know we're only open nine months.
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We closed for three months in the winter for that reason, but it was very, you know it was operated very differently.
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It was a very kind of a close knit type of, you know, family type of a setup.
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It was a very kind of a close-knit type of a you know family type of a setup.
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But in 2008, that transition happened, you know, we had a new board and a new president and he really took the reins and said you know, we're really going to start looking at this or running this as a business and started to make certain changes and the professionalism kind of came in or started to come in a little more at that time, not that it was not saying it wasn't there before, but it just kind of started to get a little more refined with the hires.
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So there was a new GM that took in that year who you know subsequently hired me, and the chef and the superintendent and you know starting to put policies and procedures in place and trying to just get everything back on.
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So it helped that cause and that's when majority of the team came on board.
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I mean, with the exception of our head pro and our controller, everyone else kind of started during that time and has been obviously been consistent since.
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Oh yeah.
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So take it back quick.
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How did you even get into hospitality?
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Because you started in, because you didn't come from clubs, you came from the hotel route, right?
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Yeah, yeah.
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So I mean again, you know, originally I, you know, from India and I did all my schooling and everything.
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So I went to the hospitality school there wanting to become a chef.
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And you know, the reality is like, you know, I wasn't super great at that studies and generally, you know, in Indian families it's like, you know, doctors or engineers is kind of like the thing you know you have to study and that's the focus.
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And you know I was trying to look for something, something offbeat, and I think it was in 96, there was actually a TV show that came on which one of the celebrity chefs, if you will, started the show.
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Yeah.
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And it really, like you know, I kind of like clinged on to it and that became my thing and it was like you know what, this is awesome, I want to be a chef.
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And I started to kind of pursue that.
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I got into the hospitality school in India wanting to be a chef and once I got in and I kind of spent a little time in the kitchen, I was like, eh, this may not be for me, but again, obviously it opened up the avenue for other things hospitality-based.
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So I graduated, worked for a year in India with the Marriott and then I had the opportunity or always wanted to get my master's done in the US and I got the opportunity to come here to Johnson Wales in Providence and I did my master's there 2001 to 2003,.
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And then started working.
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I got my first job was at the.
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Actually it was a small gig in Michigan for six months, I was trying to help a family friend, but then my first job was at the Hilton in Short Hills, new Jersey, which was a AAA five-diamond hotel at that point, one of the only ones in New Jersey when AAA was you know, we're really doing their ratings and such and I worked there for a couple of years and I, you know, moved over to a neighboring town and it was the West End and, you know, always like hotels was the thing, like clubs was never on the radar to the extent.
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Which is the funny part is.
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So I had my resume up on this website called H Careers, which is which is, I don't know.
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I think it's still probably there, but I don't know.
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But it was a hospitality based website and the GM who had started here came over from Baltimore.
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So he was working in Springfield, living in Morristown, and I was working in Morristown and living in Springfield, so he kind of had that connection, knew the areas, and he called me and he's like, hey, you know da, da, da, and you know Hollywood Golf Club and you know, like Deal, new Jersey, I'm like where is that?
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Like even as big as New Jersey?
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It's like Deal, new Jersey.
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So I come down and you know, talk to him, you know things work out well.
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I'm like great.
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So I start and as soon as I start I got enrolled right away.
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He was a big, big supporter and you know I kind of consider him as my kind of like my mentor and a friend in this industry.
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But he was, like you know, got to get into CMA.
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You got to get involved, you know, njcma, the whole chapter, and as soon as we got involved, every other week I was going up for meetings, like two minutes from where I was living.
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For four years, no-transcript, the only club that I knew was there were two clubs.
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One was obviously Walterstraw, because when I was at the Hilton they had hosted the PGA championship and all the players were staying at the Hilton.
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So I kind of knew, you know that, and obviously it was like I could walk to Walterstraw, that's kind of where I lived.
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And then the other one was Canoe Brook, which is, you know, across route 24 and they have two courses.
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So every time in the Hilton is right behind Canoe Brook, so every time you know you drove to work, you could see the golf courses.
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I figured, yeah, there's, you know something here, but no concept of private clubs, because it was.
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You know, this is 2003 to 2005.
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Right, so there's no Instagram, there's no crazy act of social media, not that the clubs were also looking to put themselves out, so it was hard.
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Nobody was advertising for jobs, so you didn't really know, unless you know there was somebody from within the industry.
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So it's crazy Like I literally go up there.
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I'm like wow, I lived here for four years and I had no idea these clubs existed.
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That's so neat, it's so funny.
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It's like you know when, like you buy, buy your uh, you buy a car and like you never see it.
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Then all of a sudden, like it's on your mind, you see them, like everywhere.
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So I was like where are all these clubs coming from?
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This is crazy.
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Oh, they've been here for hundreds of years.
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Wow but that I mean to, I guess, to answer your question.
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You know that's how I, and it wasn't really you know specific.
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I was just looking for a change at that point.
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And hotels is tough.
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I mean it is.
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You know it's a tough business to be in and I wish I'd known about clubs, you know, a lot sooner.
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Not that, you know, I was with hotels for 10 years or so, but even that window, I think it just, you know, just gives you that, or at least for me personally and I'm sure you know certain individuals may think differently but for me it gave me that, you know, that satisfaction of coming to a place where you know, you know people, and the challenge because you, literally, you have to reinvent yourself every single year, every single season.
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You got to do something different, you got to do something better.
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I mean you do something great and everyone's like this was awesome, like all right, well, how do we top that next year?
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Right, so it gives you that constant challenge and also the relatability because you're, you know, you mean I've been here 18 years, right, so I've now, you know, and it's kind of scary because I've literally I have kids that I did their bar mitzvah.
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You know when I I've now, you know, and it's kind of scary because I've literally I have kids that I did their bar mitzvah, you know, when I started, or now, you know, getting married soon or have been married or having kids, you know like, so it's, it's like a whole you know thing to see, like, oh my god, it's been, it's been, uh, so it's, it's very rewarding.
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And then you make those connections, you're part of the family and it's um, and the club's been, you know, hollywood's been an awesome.
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I mean I can't, I couldn't have thought of another place to to be at and um, it's just something I'm very, very grateful that came, uh, that you know that came, came along my way.
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So yeah, how do you, you know, speaking of being there for for so long, how do you, how do you keep it fresh?
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You know, like, how do you, like you and the team, keep it?
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It it's, it's, it's hard to.
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I mean, you guys have a glorified, you know, marriage there between, like you, know you and like all the staff.
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Like how do you keep that relationship and culture and just even like with, like the members, how do you keep it all fresh?
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um, so it's I mean it's, it's definitely hard I mean, I'm not you, I'm not, you know, I'm not gonna, you know I'm not gonna lie but it but what I think helps us in a way is, because of our seasonality and because of that, the winter downtime that we have, it really allows us that reset time to, like, you know, really give it time and think about things and you know what can we do and look at the calendar and plan everything ahead.
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You know, and I think you know that's what helps us in a way, because if we were, you know, a constant, year round club, I think it, you know it does, you know it doesn't give you that moment to like just pause and you know, look back and you know what worked and what didn't work.
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So I think that you know what worked and what didn't work.
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So I think that, you know, helps us.
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You know definitely, I think, just like I said, you know, just having the team here for as long as they've been, it's also, you know, positive, because they also understand, you know, the dynamics and it's not, you know, hard for them to, you know, really take it upon themselves to say, okay, hey, let's, you know, do something different or come up with another idea or, you know, make things, tweak things differently, and it could be, you know, silly things.
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It could be as little as changing up the.
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You know it could be a similar event, but you know you're changing up the way it's set up or you're changing up you know the way the.
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You know certain things are presented.
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You know, and that also gives it a different, you know flair.
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Like you know, we have a beautiful patio and you know we're actually in the process.
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Right now we have a clubhouse renovation, you know, approved, which I'm super excited about.
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It's a unique setup.
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We have a campus-style facility.
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So this is one of our buildings that primarily has our dining spaces and the kitchen and the locker room and whatnot.
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So that primarily has our dining spaces and the kitchen and the locker room and whatnot.
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So you know that's.
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You know fingers crossed, that's going well.
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It's supposed to start, you know, in November, but currently, even with that, we have a beautiful patio that you know overlooks the golf course and you know we do as much stuff outside on the patio as we can.
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And you know even little events, like one of the events last year, we just, you know, literally kind of reversed the setups, as opposed to sitting on the patio and doing something, we also have like a lower area of the golf course and so you're doing something there.
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You kind of switch it up and put the seating there and then, you know, did certain things on the patio and just that was like a refreshing change, because you know you're so used to kind of doing things in a certain way, or even the members they're so used to like okay, we're going to come in and this is where we're going to sit to like all of a sudden, oh wow, this is, this is cool and string lights and like the whole thing.
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So just you know, little, little aspects like that also make a huge difference yeah, what's your I don't want to say like secret, but you know everyone has their like thing.
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But like, what do you think is your thing that keeps the glue together for, like the whole team, or your like management style?
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Like, what do you think has played into that role, that, that success?
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Cause you know it's, it's one of those.
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You can still give anybody the the best scenario.
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You know everything, like the perfect conditions.
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They can still mess it up.
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So you know how, how do you keep?
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How do you keep it moving?
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What's your, would you say, or what would like your people say, is your secret little sauce, so to speak?
00:18:57.957 --> 00:19:00.559
Yeah, from the man who hates cooking no From the man who hates cooking no.
00:19:04.679 --> 00:19:19.183
Yeah, I think it's, you know it's really, you know how, you know how the club as a whole and you know, obviously, me being, you know, the representative of the board or the club you know it's how we, you know, really take care of the employees.
00:19:19.183 --> 00:19:25.117
Now it's cliche and everybody, you know, talks about it and does the same thing, and employee appreciation and this and that.
00:19:25.117 --> 00:19:30.993
But I think you know genuinely, I think you know here at least what I've seen.
00:19:30.993 --> 00:19:48.954
I think it really, you know, is done right and I think my approach, and especially because you know I'm you know not, you know I'm not from here Like you know, I have a different background and a different culture and I think hospitality is kind of ingrained in me.
00:19:48.954 --> 00:19:53.306
You know that's how you know I grew up and was brought up and you know.
00:19:53.306 --> 00:20:22.536
So my approach to individuals and addressing, you know, concerns or challenges, or just being able to relate to them, or just being able to relate to them, I think that's what I feel is one of my strong suits that it is very, very easy for an individual to kind of relate to what I'm saying and just appreciate that and once you're doing as much as you can and you're just giving the respect that every individual deserves.
00:20:22.536 --> 00:20:31.400
You're going to get that respect back and they're going to do as much as they can to try, and, you know, put in a good show for the club.
00:20:31.505 --> 00:20:35.589
But I think you know the membership at large, the way they treat the staff.
00:20:35.650 --> 00:20:57.718
You know I've talked to a lot of my peers where you know it's a challenging membership and they don't have the support that you know they think they should have from members of the board in terms of how the staff is being, you know, being treated, or how their staff is being handled or the ability or the trust that they have.
00:20:57.845 --> 00:21:02.497
And I think over the years, and I think, just given the fact that I've been here for so long, also, you know, allows the board and there's a lot that has happened.
00:21:02.497 --> 00:21:07.796
You know over the years and I think, just given the fact that I've been here for so long, also, you know, allows the board and there's a lot that has happened.
00:21:07.796 --> 00:21:38.717
You know, over the years and you know we've kind of gone through ups and downs but I think 2015 onwards, I think you know to this point now there's there's really a comfort level and you know trust and a faith that you know you run the operation the right way and I think the staff kind of you know, sees that and and kind of gets motivated from that as well yeah, and when you have that kind of like you you've had the boots on the ground, like you keep the boots on the ground, and like you've been in different positions, like you've worked all the aspects in the area, so you know it's even hard, you know it's.
00:21:38.924 --> 00:21:41.570
You can't, you know no one can come to you and be like oh, oh, I don't think it's.
00:21:41.570 --> 00:21:45.638
Like I've been there, like I know how long things should take, I know what should be done, I know how it is.
00:21:45.638 --> 00:21:48.412
It's hard to pull a fast one on you.
00:21:50.078 --> 00:21:55.557
No, but you know I and I think you know the other thing too is you know we're, we're, we're kind of like a midsize club.
00:21:55.557 --> 00:22:07.186
You know we're not a.
00:22:07.186 --> 00:22:09.394
You know it's very engaged like you know it's a smaller, you know property size.
00:22:09.394 --> 00:22:09.955
So I am, I mean it's my.
00:22:09.955 --> 00:22:15.972
My admin staff is, uh, is usually gets mad at me because I'm like never in my office so they have to like peek in and say, oh my god, he's in the office, like you know.
00:22:15.972 --> 00:22:18.146
So I'm always around.
00:22:18.146 --> 00:22:23.067
You know I'm always connecting, always talking to staff and members and you know that's one thing.
00:22:23.067 --> 00:22:24.353
You know they'll always see.
00:22:24.353 --> 00:22:30.597
Like you know it's never I'm not the type of individual that's, you know, more of an office-based, you know guy.
00:22:31.727 --> 00:22:53.574
And I think it's super important for you know, and again, I've listened to and you know taken, you know, advices from a lot of you know my peers who do that successfully and you know, as you talk to a lot of people in the industry, it's you know, if you're not present and if you're not, you know, engaged, you know you could be here for 16 hours a day sitting in their office.
00:22:53.574 --> 00:22:54.746
It ain't going to do any.
00:22:54.746 --> 00:23:10.904
You know and I've known of individuals that kind of, have that sort of, have that sort of a mindset and have obviously, you know, not lasted Right.
00:23:10.904 --> 00:23:16.375
So I think you know one of the you know the answers to your previous question too is I think you know when you see, or the members see, you know the genuineness of your engagement.
00:23:16.375 --> 00:23:18.679
I think it does get appreciated and does go a long way.
00:23:20.166 --> 00:23:29.689
Yeah, yeah, how, how many staff do you have when you're like you know, in season we could be about 100, 125.
00:23:30.711 --> 00:23:42.943
Um, you know, we have a lot of seasonal individuals because our, because of where we are, you know our seasonality is more like may to september-ish uh, with the weather, um.
00:23:42.943 --> 00:23:44.730
So we, you know, we do a lot of the seasonal.
00:23:44.730 --> 00:24:02.733
We do the H2B staffing program, which we've been doing for over 12 years now and it's been fantastic, it's been extremely rewarding and I think that program as a whole is and a lot of clubs, including clubs in Florida, that rely on that program.
00:24:02.733 --> 00:24:05.714
But there's so much value to it because you get to experience a lot of clubs, including clubs in Florida that rely on that program.
00:24:05.734 --> 00:24:21.464
But there's so much value to it because you get to experience a lot of the individuals that are coming from all over the world right, and especially for me, I kind of empathize a little bit because I was in their shoes at one point in time and trying to come to a new country altogether.
00:24:21.605 --> 00:24:38.990
So I kind of have that sort have that sort of a in, and I think it's great when you see certain individuals that are engaged and even you know to that point, like even we we actually have four of the H2B guys that have literally been coming back to us almost for eight or nine years.
00:24:38.990 --> 00:24:45.403
So even within that we have a, you know, kind of like and they're, like now part of like.
00:24:45.403 --> 00:24:53.836
You know we have a gentleman you know at the halfway house who's been there for six years and it's like when he comes in, everyone's like oh my God, like welcome back.
00:24:53.836 --> 00:24:57.511
Like you know it's part of the family and so it's.
00:24:57.511 --> 00:25:04.006
You know, it's really a great program that we've had a lot of success with, a great program that we've had a lot of success with.
00:25:04.006 --> 00:25:13.490
But it kind of tapers down because when our season slows down then they go to Florida, so it really helps us manage that volume window.
00:25:14.171 --> 00:25:18.813
Yeah, were they doing an H-2B program when you first started?
00:25:19.853 --> 00:25:23.214
No, so I think H-2B wasn't even and I could be wrong.
00:25:23.214 --> 00:25:25.036
Maybe it was there, but we weren't using it.
00:25:25.036 --> 00:25:34.079
We initially started with the J1s for a couple of years and it was okay, but it has its limitations.
00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:41.722
And then I think we came across the H2B in I want to say 2012 or 2013, I think.
00:25:43.464 --> 00:25:47.108
Also fairly recent, yeah, yeah, but since then it's been.
00:25:47.108 --> 00:25:50.517
You know it's like clockwork.
00:25:50.517 --> 00:26:01.145
You know, every year, you know, we go through sports of having, like this year, we have like 80% individuals returning back and then a few new ones, and then a few new ones.
00:26:01.145 --> 00:26:09.256
So you always have some new individuals, but more so the repeat ones, which is huge because they get the ground running day one.
00:26:09.256 --> 00:26:14.000
You don't have to go through training them and going through the whole thing because they know the program.
00:26:19.001 --> 00:26:28.511
Yeah, edit, when you were working in hotels was there?
00:26:28.531 --> 00:26:30.076
anything that you learned or picked up there that you brought over to clubs.
00:26:30.076 --> 00:26:30.517
I think you know what.