By Laurie Andrews,
President, Cotton & Company
Across the private club industry, leadership teams are hearing a new question more frequently in boardrooms and governance discussions: “What is our club doing about AI?”
For many general managers and membership directors, the question is arriving faster than the answers. AI is being discussed across hospitality, technology, and operations conferences, and club boards are understandably asking how it will affect their organizations. What is less clear—and rarely discussed—is how AI will change how prospective members discover private clubs in the first place.
That shift may carry a risk many clubs do not yet see.
The Quiet Assumption Behind Most Club Websites
Most private club websites were never designed for public discovery. Historically, club websites evolved primarily as member service platforms. They manage tee times, dining reservations, event calendars, and member communications. In many cases, they function as a digital extension of the clubhouse itself.
Public-facing information about the club—membership, lifestyle, amenities, and community—often exists, but it is usually secondary to member services. This structure made sense for decades. Private clubs were designed to be selective and discreet. Visibility to the general public was rarely a priority. But the way people research and evaluate organizations—including private clubs—is changing rapidly.
Discovery Is Moving Upstream
In the past, prospective members typically learned about a club through local reputation, real estate relationships, or personal introductions. Online search reinforced what they had already heard. Today, discovery often begins much earlier. Prospective members—especially those relocating, purchasing second homes, or evaluating lifestyle communities—are increasingly conducting independent research online before ever speaking with a club representative
Artificial intelligence systems are accelerating that shift. AI-driven search tools and research platforms are beginning to influence which organizations appear during early discovery and how they are interpreted. In other words, the process of discovery is moving upstream, often before a club even knows someone is evaluating it. For organizations whose digital presence was never designed for discovery, this creates an emerging challenge.
Invisibility Is No Longer a Strategy
Private clubs have long valued discretion. In many cases, visibility has been intentionally limited. But AI systems interpret visibility differently than traditional search engines. These systems synthesize publicly available information to understand organizations, communities, and experiences.
If a club’s digital presence is structured primarily for internal member communication, rather than clearly communicating its lifestyle, community, and membership narrative to the outside world, those systems may simply overlook it. The result is not negative visibility—it is no visibility at all.
For clubs competing for future members in an increasingly mobile and research-driven environment, that absence may matter more than many realize.
The Real Estate Connection
Cotton & Company has spent decades working within club-based residential communities, where membership demand and real estate demand are closely connected. During the early phases of a community’s development, clubs typically invest heavily in lifestyle storytelling and public-facing marketing. Membership positioning supports the sale of homes and helps shape the community’s identity.
Once the community matures and real estate inventory becomes limited, that focus often shifts inward. The club becomes fully operational, member services take priority, and public-facing marketing naturally becomes less central. Over time, however, the broader environment continues to evolve. What worked in the past for attracting members may not fully support how people evaluate clubs today—particularly as AI-driven discovery becomes more influential.
An Industry Beginning to Ask New Questions
This moment is becoming increasingly visible across the industry. Club boards are asking general managers about AI and technology strategy. Membership directors are being asked how marketing should evolve. Leadership teams are beginning to recognize that something fundamental may be changing.
At the same time, many clubs are discovering that the conversation around AI is often dominated by operational technology—software, automation, and internal systems. Those topics are important. But they may not be where the earliest impact appears.
Bill Langley, a long-time advisor to private club leadership and now launching his own consulting practice within the Private Club Group network, has observed this dynamic firsthand. Through recent discussions about AI and digital discovery, Langley notes that the implications for membership marketing are only beginning to surface within the industry.
“Many clubs are understandably focused on operational questions,” notes Langley. “But the bigger strategic issue may be how prospective members find and evaluate clubs in the first place.”
A Strategic Question for Club Leadership
The goal is not to turn private clubs into mass-market brands, nor to abandon the discretion and culture that define the industry. The more relevant question is simpler:
Does your club’s digital presence accurately communicate who you are to someone discovering you for the first time?
If a prospective member were researching lifestyle communities, private clubs, or residential opportunities in your region today—often with the help of AI-driven tools—would your club make the short list recommended by AI? And would they understand what makes your club distinctive? Or would the club remain largely invisible because the information available online was never designed for that purpose? These are not technology questions. They are strategic positioning questions.
Looking Ahead
Private clubs have navigated decades of change—from generational membership transitions to evolving lifestyle expectations and shifting real estate markets. AI-driven discovery represents another structural change in how people gather information and make decisions.
The clubs that begin asking thoughtful questions now will be better positioned to understand how their digital presence supports their long-term membership strategy. For membership directors and club leadership teams, the conversation does not need to begin with technology. It begins with understanding how discovery is changing and how that shift may influence future demand.
If this topic is starting to appear in your boardroom discussions, it may be worth exploring further.
Cotton & Company has been working closely with private club communities for decades, particularly where membership and real estate strategy intersect. As AI-driven discovery continues to evolve, we are actively helping leadership teams understand what should be on their radar—and what questions may be worth asking next.
If this is a conversation you are beginning to have within your club, I welcome the opportunity to connect and share what we are seeing across the industry.
About the Author
Laurie Andrews is President of Cotton & Company, a nationally recognized marketing and strategic advisory firm specializing in luxury real estate and private club communities. Since 1988, Andrews and Cotton & Company have garnered decades of experience at the intersection of membership strategy, lifestyle positioning, and residential real estate marketing within club-based communities.
The firm has represented many of the most respected private clubs in the country, including Ocean Reef Club, Boca West Country Club, Lost Tree and The Bears Club in Florida. As well as Grande Dunes Country Club in Myrtle Beach, Wychmere Beach Club on Cape Cod, and Bay Harbor Club in Traverse Bay, Michigan.
