Event Planning SWOT Analysis
The Olde Farm is an invitation only private golf and social club in Bristol, Virginia. Former coal baron Jim McGlothlin established the club in 2000. The club is home to a world-renowned golf course that has won several awards including 2013 Golf Digest: Top-4 Pick in The State of Virginia and 2000 Golf Digest: America’s Best New Course. The Olde Farm serves the golf industry as well as the hospitality, and food and beverage industries. Although the club is located in southwest Virginia, its membership is national and even worldwide. Many of the club’s members are celebrities, politicians, professional athletes, and business moguls. The company’s mission is to “Provide an environment of rest and relaxation which revitalizes and empowers our members and guests to go back out and change the world.” Once you pass through the gates of the Olde Farm you immediately escape the outside world, this is a place where people go to getaway. Because of the clubs exclusivity, it is a perfect venue to host private meetings and events.
Strengths: Highly acclaimed private club. The club offers the utmost discretion to all of its members and guests. Top quality services and staff. The Olde Farm provides the highest quality service and state of the art amenities for its members and guests. The clubs members are well respected and are opinion leaders in their respective industries. Members and invited guests will be able to make a connection with people face-to-face. Hosting a seminar for industry thought leaders will establish the Olde Farm as a driver of new ideas and collaboration Weaknesses: Club venues are somewhat small. Facilities are on an intimate scale, which would limit the amount of people that would be able to attend, roughly 150-175. Limited staffing for larger events. Can lead to service below the club’s standard and the cost of running background checks on one time staffing personnel would be expensive. Limited presence within the general community. Privacy, what the Olde Farm prides itself on, is also a weakness because local community members may not be aware of the company. Opportunities: Hosting events leads to the opportunity to acquire new social members for the club. The club can extend an invitation to guests to become a social member, which will build the Olde Farm community. A social membership starts at $1500 per year and a golf membership is $150,000. Build the Olde Farm brand. For example, the company can have private labels of wine produced so that it is exclusive to the club
Extend its services and venue offerings. The Olde Farm has enough land and cash to create new venues on the property to host new events. Threats: The club could be criticized for giving kickbacks to large companies for hosting events. People may think that certain companies receive perks for holding events at the Olde Farm. Loss of revenue. It is possible that the cost of staffing will be greater than the food and beverage sales are low from an event. Possible accusations of bribery of politicians that attend events. The club or its members can be accused of bribing politicians that attend events.
I am recommending that the Olde Farm host an event based around the coal industry to generate talks of what can be done to improve and save the industry. The communities of southwest Virginia and the nearby areas of Kentucky and West Virginia were built by the coal industry. The club has the capability to bring in notable speakers like former presidents, government officials, and CEOs of coal companies. The target of this event would be like-minded businessmen and women who are stakeholders in the industry.
Holding an invitation only meeting with some of the wealthiest members in the business will be very appealing for multiple reasons. The major reason would be that since the Olde Farm is a private club the press would not be allowed on property. Also, the amenities that the club offers are attractive, including world-class golf, exquisite cuisine, open bars, and on site lodging. The possible revenue for hosting an event of this size and stature could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This event would benefit the community because when these powerful executives get together policies will be talked about and suggestions will be made on how to change the face of the coal industry to a more positive note. Bringing back coal mining jobs to the surrounding areas would decrease the unemployment rate and generate revenues for businesses.
Citations: The Olde Farm Golf Club: Fun, Fellowship & Camaraderie. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2016, from http://www.theoldefarm.com/
Corporation, L. (2015, March 17). 9 Ways Your Organization Can Benefit From Holding Events - The Localist Blog. Retrieved October 01, 2016, from http://blog.localist.com/2015/03/17/9-ways-your-organization-can-benefit-from-holding/
Section 14. SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2016, from http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/assessing-community-needs-and-resources/swot-analysis/main
