Opening doors: what’s the future of Hong Kong’s private membership clubs?
- Private clubs like Soho House, Club C+ and Bar Cyclone are thriving against the odds, with new venues offering exclusivity for everyone from young creatives to boardroom stalwarts
Freelance writer Sandra Göldi and the founder of Finoverse – the organiser of Hong Kong FinTech Week – would often cross paths in the same workout class at Soho House, where they are both members. It was early 2024 and Finoverse was seeking talent like Göldi, who, after a round of interviews, signed a contract to work for the company. Not bad for a few chats after spin class. But in many ways, that is what these members’ clubs are for: informal networking with select strata of society.
“This sounds superficial, but it feels nice to be part of a club,” says Göldi. “The feeling of exclusivity is intriguing.”
Göldi grew up with private membership clubs: her teenage summers were spent golfing at Mission Hills Resort in Shenzhen with her family and friends; and she and her father still frequent Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club for dim sum. She was employed at Soho House Hong Kong as part of the membership relations team, when it opened in 2019, and remained a member after the job finished in 2021.
“Maybe it’s subconscious,” she says. “I’ve grown up with clubs and now I have a membership that my dad doesn’t have.”
A resident of Mid-Levels, Göldi frequents the Sheung Wan club at least three times a week for meetings, workouts, happy hour, films and events such as wine tastings or DJ nights. She also enjoys Soho House’s global footprint, friendly staff and the community of young, creative people she can’t find at her father’s clubs.
Start-up founder Carla Martinesi, on the other hand, is a member of Soho House mainly for economical reasons, not what she calls the “pretentious nature” of a private membership club.
