A welcoming community

Bella Vista has always welcomed guests. It formed the basis of the original Cooper strategy, both by attracting new members and by reducing costs to current members. That continues today, not only in Bella Vista but in virtually all private clubs, even the most expensive and exclusive ones.

Some years ago, my daughter was married in Cooper Chapel. It was before Lakepoint and Country Club were reopened, so we held the reception at a nearby private club, technically as the guest of a member I didn’t know or meet. Over the years I have also played golf and enjoyed a meal many times as a guest of numerous private clubs across the country. In all these situations, my golf and food costs have been less than the costs to members if you include their membership fees. Nevertheless, every dollar spent by a guest reduces the costs to members by a dollar. It is also the best possible way to build a positive reputation and recruit future members.

In Bella Vista, guest fees currently total more than a million dollars a year through golf alone, in addition to revenue for meals, merchandise, etc. Without that, we would not enjoy the quality and beauty that surround us, unless we implemented much higher costs to property owners. Our future viability would also be precarious.

Welcome to Bella Vista! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Perhaps enough to make it your own.