Why people shell out lakhs for a club membership in metros?
5 min read 14 Jun 2023, 10:41 PM ISTWhy people shell out lakhs for a club membership in metros?
PremiumIt is a place where the elite hobnob with others of their fraternity, cultivate friendships, host lavish parties and even strike a business deal or more. And it offers an avenue for a host of entertainment and sports activities. Welcome to the world of elite clubs where business leaders mingle and network with other influential and wealthy people. Here, the memberships are restricted and the fees quite substantial. Yet, people continue to line up to become members of such exclusive clubs, be it in Mumbai, Delhi or other metros, and for various reasons.
For many of them, it is about access to an exclusive group that enhances their social status. Others use the networking to gain advantages in professional or personal life. Parth Parikh, 35, finance content creator, had his own reason. His wife was expecting and the couple saw the need for a bigger and better sports facility for their child’s all-round development. Kandivali, the place where they stayed in Mumbai, did not have public sports facilities around. So, they decided to shell out ₹8 lakh for a lifetime membership at the Sachin Tendulkar gymkhana.
The membership gave them full access to the club’s sporting facilities like the swimming pool, badminton, and squash courts, a bowling alley, etc. The club holds regular sports competitions and also offers coaching at a minimal cost. Parikh expects his daughter to use these facilities soon. That’s not all. Parikh uses the club as his office as well—he does most of his work from the clubhouse, sitting amid familiar faces. There is another advantage. For members, the club’s restaurant offers a variety of food at subsidized rates .
Mihir Patki, 37, a finance professional, got a club membership for a different reason. He and his wife were looking to buy a flat in Mumbai six years ago. The real estate brokers they contacted had two options: to buy a flat in a society without any good amenities or pay more. The couple found a third option: It was cheaper to buy a house without many of those amenities and buy a club membership separately. That’s how they got a club membership at the Bandra Kurla Complex MCA for ₹21 lakh in 2017.
The exclusive nature of these clubs ensures that it is not too crowded always. Outsiders aren’t allowed to enter unless they tag along with a member. It is but natural then that Parikh, Patki and other club members consider these clubhouses their second home.
“Many members cultivate business relationships over a cup of tea in the club," said Natahn Khanna, a senior manager at the MCA Club. “I wrote a book and it was a club member who helped me publish it."
To be sure, there is nothing new about the elite clubs in the country. They date back to the colonial era and were then called ‘gymkhanas’. The Bombay Gymkhana, set up in 1875, was the first members-only club in India. It was established by the Britishers —an exclusive domain away from prying eyes. Its success spawned many gymkhanas across the country.
The gymkhanas were meant only for the British elite, and only a few select (if any) Indians were even allowed to enter them. Notably, the Parsi philanthropist, Sir Coswaji Jehangir, contributed a princely sum of ₹1,000 then for the construction of the Bombay Gymkhana but was never allowed entry.
After India’s independence, these clubs were opened to the Indian public and eventually turned into centres for sports and recreational activities. Many of these gymkhanas still retain the European architectural design and some have to date kept alive Western traditions that include barring entry without formal wear.
“I think it is high time clubs did away with certain dress restrictions that originated in the colonial era" said Ammu Joseph, a primary member at the Bangalore Club, adding that even newer clubs are adopting this policy. On a lighter note, she said that it’s only in these clubs that there’s policing of what men wear whereas there are no stated dress restrictions for women.
Most of these older clubs are run by elected board members, many of whom face criticism for restricting entry to the general public. But, since memberships are passed down generations, there is hardly space for new members. Thus, the price for new membership is often exorbitant. A case in point are the Chennai elite clubs. Typically, a whole-time member can nominate one candidate in a year for entry into the club and their candidature can be blackballed, a term used for voting against a member’s candidature. Some gymkhanas like the Bombay Club charge as much as ₹50 lakh admission fee for new members, while others like the Bangalore Club have a waiting period of more than 20 years.
These issues, along with the rise of a new middle class with mega aspirations, have propelled the launch of new modern clubs, typically run by professional management. And these clubs too are seeing good demand for membership.
Devansh Mehta, 27, who runs OpiGo, a startup, had just left his corporate job and was looking for a new place to work. Initially, he thought of taking up a seat at a co-working office space but his startup was bootstrapped.
That was just around the time Quorum launched in Mumbai and was offering a good discount. He took advantage of the offer and took an annual membership for ₹90,000. That worked out slightly cheaper than booking an individual seat at a nearby co-working office. The club organises various events with industry leaders and this helps him build contacts for his startup. Like other new age clubs, Quorum does not have sporting facilities but caters to businessmen and professionals who are looking to network with each other.
Soho House is another such club, located in Juhu, Mumbai. Here though, most members are from the creative industry: fashions designers, artists, graphic designers and even Bollywood artistes. The club also hosts various events. For instance, it screens films and short movies and allows members to interact with the makers of these movies.
Swati Sekhar, 27, an associate at Radico Khaitan, is considering taking a membership at one of these newer club despite being a member of the Chembur Gymkhana club.
She said the new clubs cater to a younger population and that provides opportunities to network with like-minded professionals.
Yet, where it concerns exclusivity and prestige, nothing can seemingly beat the high-end clubs frequented by ultra high net worth individuals. The Chambers, run by the Indian Hotels Company, is one such and offers extraordinary privileges to members at the Taj group of hotels. The membership at this exclusive club costs ₹27 lakh and there is an annual renewal fee of ₹3 lakh.