Lori LeBard, Clubhouse Manager of El Niguel CC, embraces constant change when it comes to the club’s event schedule in order to engage and excite members.
I fell in love with hospitality as a child. I used to watch my mom decorate the table for dinner and see how much joy it brought people as they entered the house. From the minute people arrived, they felt loved. They felt important and cared for. They felt at home.
I have a deep passion for hospitality and the true meaning behind it. To this day, I still love making people feel! I made a career out of what I witnessed and fell in love with as a child. I believe one of the ways to make people feel so loved is that each time you have them over you make it new. No one likes to come to the same exact dinner twice or the same exact event twice. It no longer feels special. It no longer feels like you put in the effort and care. To show you care and have heart you must keep it fresh.
So how do I keep the table looking fresh so to speak so members will feel all the love each time? I change it up every time. I never do the same event twice. If you have ever read the Purple Cow, you absolutely understand this message. My job is to create new events that are exciting each time—and I love it. I will never do the same event twice because if you do it right the first time you will not want to repeat it as it becomes average and no longer exciting. I am not saying I don’t keep the same type of events in my lineup. I just enhance them and make them new. An example of this would be our Bourbon Events.
Woodford was our very first Bourbon Dinner. We paired the different flavor profiles with each course and stayed true to the Woodford brand. I used copper and champagne as my color palette to enrich the brand and make members feel like they were experiencing a trip to Woodford’s distillery. The educational piece was also very important as this was our first event spirit-based. Members engaged with our Brand Specialist on the deep-rooted history of Woodford.
For my next bourbon event, we needed something much more than just dinner and a tasting education. We needed a fresh table. With that our Bourbon Bash was born! This event would feature the unveiling of our very own label, El Niguel Bourbon. Our own label bourbon development and tasting became an event of its own as we asked members to come and sample different bourbon from different distilleries and flavor profiles. Our members selected their own bourbon and just like that, this became an event within an event.
At the Bourbon Bash, members were greeted with a welcome cocktail of our El Niguel Old Fashioned made with our very own ENCC Bourbon. As they entered the dining areas we created a casino-like atmosphere with game tables like craps, roulette, poker, and a DJ. Included in the Bash was dinner. This was part of the newness as we barreled and batched our very own bourbon. The Bash was the release party.
Next up and coming in 2022, we need something new and exciting. I will produce the Bourbon Bonanza in February. This will be a mashup of 3 different labels: Whistle pig, Kentucky Owl and Garrison Brothers. Cigars and Bourbon will end the evening as I wanted to add a new feature to the event. Keep in mind, bourbon is always the central theme, however, I change it each time so it is fresh and exciting for members.
Being a category of one and creating memorable experiences is what we are about. It is what we are as hospitality-driven leaders. It’s how we show we care deeply for the member experience and keep it exciting each time.
Hospitality is a choice. We choose to put the effort in, show up and care. We choose to have hearts. Hospitality is a vision with your entire team on board. Every member of your team, from leaders to front-line employees, must understand and support this vision otherwise it will be impossible to deliver our service.
