Hi X, I’m the Programming Manager for Common House, a membership based social club that opened in X. Our programming creates opportunities for members to connect via shared experiences and I’d love to have you bring X to Common House. I’m scheduling in X right now. Are you interested and available for an X evening? If so, I’d love to meet to discuss and show you the space.

Timeline for planning

• You should be completely planned for the following month by the 10th of the month before (example, by March 10 all of April should be planned). There are exceptions to this at times, but the 10th of the month deadline is what you should share with partners and the internal teams who are part of programming.

Weekly and monthly checklist. These are the recurring programs that members come to expect on the calendar.

• 3-4 F&B programs (generally on a slower night like a Tuesday or a Wednesday)

• 3-4 Happy Hours/connection programs including a New Member Happy Hour, things like trivia, big concert pre-parties, etc

• At least once per week music (definitely on Wednesdays + an additional if needed to boost sales)

• Music or a DJ on Friday or Saturday

• Program that acknowledges any holidays that month

• Making class

• Wellness class or series

• Anything attached to large community events (very dependent on city and local partners, but something good to keep in mind during the planning process

Yearly checklist. Reference the yearly & across house guide to make sure you’re including the brand level traditions

• Holidays

• Big parties

• Some house-specific programs that become their own yearly traditions (CH1 Crab Feast, CH2 Oyster Roast, etc)

F&B Programming Calendar

• Generally 4-5 programs/month

• Wine tasting

• Wine Club pickup & tasting

• Spirits tasting

• Beer tasting or other beverage promo

• Holiday with food component, Wine Dinner, special program with food as the focus like Raclette Night or Drag Brunch, Brunch with a Band, etc

Equipment (what we have and what they will need to bring), share general thoughts on floor plan and space you see the program taking place, what to expect day-of (timeline)

Once you’ve decided on a date and have a feel for the program, you need to input information for the CH internal team:

• Notion

  • Planning timeline: you’ll want all details in by the 10th of the month for the month ahead

  • Info needed for “Ready for copy/images”

  • Within notion there is a huge checklist of everything you’d possibly need to include for promo

• Tripleseat

  • When a program is definitely happening and you’ve made an entry in Notion, make it in Tripleseat too. Tripleseat is the calendar that is shared with Private Events and all FOH and BOH have access to it (whereas they do not have access to Notion), so it is very important to have all details in Tripleseat as well as Notion.

  • Every entry in Tripleseat should have an ROS linked. We use a standard ROS template that should be linked in the “Additional Notes” section. Make sure that the ROS template doc is set so that anyone can edit. And that all links within the ROS are set that way, too.ROS examples

• Payment

  • Tracking: work with your unit’s accounting team to decide how you want to organize programming payments. Some units track within Notion (there is a template there), while others track through shared Google Sheets. As long as you both decide on the system, that is okay with me

  • Timeline: all payment should be on the same timeline as the program deadline of the 10th of the month. So once everything is settled in Notion and Tripleseat, send a note to the accounts person that programming payments are ready for the month ahead.

We’ve found that members gravitate to the social spaces the most. For example, the Social Hall or equivalent casual spaces will be preferred to the spaces that are used for private events. When planning larger parties, think about where people gravitate. Example, if it is outdoor weather, people will want to be outside, so put the focal points of the party there (like the musicians or DJs). It is hard to move people through the space unless the movement through the space is the expectation for the program.

• Brief bio

• Photos

• Social media handles

• Brief description of their offering

• W9 for payment

During the pre-open phase of a new house, a Partner Guide will be created for your use. This is a Google Doc that should be copied, filled in, and downloaded as a .PDF and emailed to the programming partner. It includes all the logistical details like when to arrive, where to park, what equipment we have onsite, where to pick up payment, as well as house rules and policies and how to promote their program at Common House

• When it gets to the payment portion of the conversation, ask the programming partner what their rate is and go from there. We don’t want to haggle with a programming partner unless there are very specific reasons to do so (one exception: touring musicians who book through a manager are used to negotiating). Some programming partners will ask what we generally pay. Typical payments:

  • Musicians: $250-500 for weekly music, can go way up from here but should be discussed with Director of Operations

  • Wellness professionals: $150-300 (some wellness partners may want to do a per person price, but try to steer them to a flat fee because RSVPs tend to be fluid and we prepare checks ahead of time)

  • Speakers: this is a huge range, some speakers want hospitality only, others have specific fees

  • Artists for making classes (some artists may want to do a per person price, but try to steer them to a flat fee because RSVPs tend to be fluid and we prepare checks ahead of time)

• The majority of programming costs less than $500

• Because you are working with a small monthly budget, that’s a good number to keep in mind. Anything above that, you should think about how many members the program will engage and talk to the Director of Operations if you’re unsure if the return is there. There are, of course, exceptions to this, especially if there are ticket sales to offset the cost of the partners, so if you’re unsure have a conversation with Virginia or the Director of Operations

Weekly BEO meeting

• Every week, you will update the ROS for the upcoming weeks with accurate RSVPs and make any changes to the details needed in the ROS

• ROS Template

Weekly Concierge Meeting (Programming + Concierge Workflow):

• This is similar to BEO, but gets more granular with specifics for concierge

• Run through the programming events for the upcoming two weeks

• Internal print needs and signage

• Payment for partners/vendors (all checks should be at concierge and paid at end of event)

• Payment for members/non-member guests + where to charge

• Direct emails from Concierge (reminders, payment, pickup, waitlist, confirmation, etc)

• Any programs that concierge could push verbally at the front desk

• Any other member communication that has come up and needs clarification

Now we’re two weeks from a program, so you reach out to partner

• Confirm they received the Partner Guide and answer any questions

• Send the Goings On link if they ask for it or we want them to promote it. It isn’t always necessary to share this.

Now it’s the week of, so re-engage partner

• Confirm arrival time and who they should expect to see at the house (if Programming Manager isn’t going to be present, who will be and how do they reach them?)

• Updated RSVP numbers to give the partner a final sense of the program

And update internal planning documents

• BEO

  • Floorplan may need updating based on new numbers

  • Numbers may need to be updated for the F&B teams

• All Team

  • Your section for discussion

  • Include RSVPs in chart and tag Digital Content Creative if anything needs a boost

• F&B Programming Meeting

  • A week before this monthly meeting, update the meeting notes with discussion agenda and linked docs for the 2 months ahead and send around to every on the calendar invite

  • This may require creating new docs. These are the ROS docs linked in Tripleseat

  • Link them in the Meeting Notes, Notion, Tripleseat, and the F&B Programming Calendar, if necessary