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Applications and nominations

Your club already knows how it wants to admit people. What breaks is everything around the decision: letters in inboxes, an agreement no one can find, dues collected three weeks after someone joined. Parlor handles that part.

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From a nomination to a seat

This is how the Greenville club is signing up its founding members.

  1. The nomination

    A member nominates someone. The nomination, and who made it, stays on record.

  2. The club decides

    Nominations land on a review list, and your owners or committee approve them, your way. Parlor keeps the nomination on file until they do.

  3. A private invitation

    Approved candidates get a personal invitation with their own code. There's no public signup page to stumble onto.

  4. The agreement

    They read and accept the member agreement as a step in joining, so it's on record from day one.

  5. Dues

    Paid by card or bank account, right there in the signup.

  6. A short profile

    Favorite pours and cigars, a birthday, the people allowed in their locker. The things staff need to make it feel like their club.

  7. A seat

    They get their member number, and their portal is ready.

The words you'll keep hearing

None of them are complicated.

Proposer and seconder

A current member proposes a candidate and another member seconds them. Plenty of established clubs still run it this way and require both to have been members for a set time first. The Royal Ulster Yacht Club's application pack is a plain example of the form.

Sponsored membership

Same idea, different word. An existing member sponsors the new one, and the sponsor's name is on it.

The membership committee

A small group of members who review candidates and decide. Their decision is usually final, and most clubs don't publish their reasons.

The waitlist

If you cap the club, you need a waitlist. Decide up front whether it's first come or the committee picks.

Questions about admissions

How do private club nominations usually work?

A current member proposes the candidate, a second member seconds them, and a membership committee reviews and decides. Many clubs require the proposer and seconder to have been members for a while, and the committee's decision is usually final.

What is a sponsored membership?

A membership where an existing member vouches for the new one, usually as the proposer. The sponsor's name is on it, which keeps people picky about who they sponsor.

Does Parlor decide who gets in?

No. Your owners or committee decide. Parlor keeps the paperwork: the nomination on file, then the invitation, the agreement, dues and the member's profile once the answer is yes.

Does a new member need to download an app?

No. They get a private invitation, follow it to a signup page and finish in one sitting on their phone: accept the agreement, pay dues, fill in a short profile.

Can founding members nominate the next members?

Yes, and it's one of the best ways to grow a club. The Greenville club Parlor was built with is filling its founding roster that way.

Let's look at your club.

Tell me a little about your club and I'll walk you through Parlor on a call, set up the way yours runs. It's a call with me, the guy who built it. There's no sales team to get passed to.

Takes a minute. I read every one of these and reply within a day.

Rather pick a time yourself? Grab a slot on my calendar.