After a nearly three month-long renovation and upgrade, Walnut Hills, the East Lansing country club that was in financial turmoil, has a fresh new look.
“Basically we’ve done some basic renovations,” says Walnut Hills partner Kip Miller. “We painted the new sign and worked on the pool to make it a nicer place to sit and eat. We did some very minor things, but aesthetically, it needed it.”
Aside from changing the physical look of Walnut Hills, Miller and his business partner, Paul Vlahakis, changed their marketing strategy, targeting families. Though the former owners welcomed families, the new owners are specifically trying to attract families.
“What we realized is that we’re a great golf course, but it just wasn’t enough to fit the bill,” Miller says. “The country club life is not what they (customers) want. They want it to be kid friendly. We’ve gotten our demographic down to where they’re in their 30s and 40s.”
Since Miller and Vlahakis took over, membership has increased by 17-20 percent. Miller attributes the increase to the club’s renewed financial stability and its focus on family.
On June 23, the owners and community celebrated an open house at Walnut Hills.
“We did our due diligence,” Miller says about the venture. “We thought it would be a good thing to turn around. It’s a great piece of land in a beautiful area of town.”
Source: Emily Wenstrom, Motion Marketing & Media
Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie
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