How private members clubs set joining fees and annual subscriptions

Private members clubs usually charge two separate amounts: a joining fee, paid once when a member is admitted, and an annual subscription that renews each year. The joining fee covers admission and brings in cash before the member has used anything, while the subscription pays for running the club. Clubs then vary the subscription by age, by how much of the club a member can use and by how often they pay, and they set rules for waiting lists, renewals and refunds. Each of those choices affects cash flow, how many members stay and how much time the membership team spends chasing payments.

What is a joining fee for?

A joining fee, sometimes called an entrance fee, does several jobs. It pays for processing and admitting a member, gives the club cash up front, and makes people think before they apply. In a club with a waiting list it also puts a price on the scarcity of a place. A members' club owned by its members may set the fee in its rules or at a general meeting, while a proprietary club sets it commercially.

The joining fee is easier to adjust than the subscription, because it only affects new members. A club can waive it for founding members, charge younger members less, spread it across the first year's instalments, or reduce it for a period to fill places. Each option has a cost: a waived fee is cash the club doesn't collect, and a fee that changes often tells applicants it is negotiable.

Annual or monthly subscriptions?

An annual subscription paid upfront gives the club a year's cash and one payment to collect. Monthly payment is easier for members to start and keeps each payment small, but it means twelve chances for a card to fail. A club that offers both can price monthly payment a little higher to reflect the extra collection work and risk.

Say a club charges £1,800 a year upfront or £165 a month. A monthly member pays £1,980 over twelve months, £180 or 10% more. State clearly whether a monthly member has agreed to a full year paid in instalments or a rolling membership they can cancel on notice, because that decides what they owe if they leave in month four.

Age-based, tiered and category rates

Clubs set different subscription rates for different groups of members. Common categories include:

• Age-based rates, such as a lower price for members under 27 or 30, which bring in younger members who may move to the full rate later
• Access-based rates, where a member who can use one site pays less than one who can use every site
• Country or overseas rates for members who live far away and visit less often
• Household or couples memberships, priced below two individual memberships
• Corporate memberships, where a company pays for named employees

Age-based discounts can be large. Some clubs publish a separate under-27 rate well below their standard subscription, so look at the published prices of clubs you compete with before setting yours. For more on setting the gaps between levels, see our guide to pricing membership tiers.

How do waiting lists work?

Decide how the waiting list works before the first applicant joins it. Places can go in order of application, by committee choice, or a mix of the two, for example with some places kept for nominations by existing members. Tell applicants which applies and give them a realistic idea of the wait, and keep their details only as long as your privacy notice says.

If you take an application fee or a deposit when someone joins the list, say whether it is refundable and when, and whether it counts towards the joining fee if they are admitted. Qualifying members' clubs with a club premises certificate have an extra rule: under section 62 of the Licensing Act 2003, the club's rules must require at least two days between a person's nomination or application and their admission.

Renewals, price rises and refunds

For a proprietary club, the membership terms are a consumer contract. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, written terms must be transparent, meaning plain, intelligible and legible, and an unfair term is not binding on the consumer. Non-refundable joining fees, minimum terms, notice periods and the right to raise prices all need to be set out before someone joins. On price rises, give members notice before the renewal date and apply the new rate from that renewal.

If members pay by saved card, check that what they agreed to covers a change in price. The FCA's guidance on payment services says payments taken at a new price outside the original mandate would be unauthorised unless the member agrees to amend the mandate or set up a new one.

When a member signs up online or by phone, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 usually give them 14 days to cancel a contract for services. There are exceptions, including some leisure services provided for a specific date or period, so check how the rules apply to your memberships. If a member asks to start using the club within the 14 days and then cancels, they pay a proportionate amount for the service already provided.

Part 4, Chapter 2 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 sets up a new regime for subscription contracts, and it is not yet in force. On 2 April 2026 the government said it expected the rules to come into force in spring 2027, with the detail to be set out in regulations.

The government's announcement describes reminders before a free or discounted trial ends and before contracts of 12 months or more renew automatically, a straightforward way to cancel, and a new 14-day cooling-off period after a trial ends or a long contract renews. An annual membership that renews automatically looks like the kind of contract the regime is aimed at, so review your renewal reminders and cancellation process once the final regulations and guidance are published.

Setting fees in Tiquo

In Tiquo, each subscription option can be a membership plan with its own price and billing interval (weekly, monthly or yearly) or a single one-time payment, and plans can be assigned to individuals or to companies. Members are billed automatically on the plan's schedule, with payments, renewals and failed charges tracked in one place. Membership analytics show active members, recurring revenue, churn and retention, which helps when you are judging what a price change did to renewals. The memberships page has more detail.

This is general information on UK consumer law in May 2026. Check current guidance from the government and the Competition and Markets Authority, or take legal advice, before changing your membership terms.