Comparison · 17 material differences
Petroleum Club of Houston vs Soho House
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact; it is not a zero.
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining: Petroleum Club of Houston: Junior membership is available to applicants under 40 years of age; Soho House: Applicants under 27 qualify for Under 27 pricing.
- Minimum age: Petroleum Club of Houston: All published membership categories start at age 21; Soho House: No published minimum age.
- Accredited-investor status: Petroleum Club of Houston: Applicants authorise a consumer background report from Associated Services Employment Check and supply a Social Security number, date of birth and seven years of address history; Soho House: No published accredited-investor status.
- Geographic restriction: Petroleum Club of Houston: No published geographic restriction; Soho House: Local House membership is tied to the House nearest the member's home; Cities Without Houses is for applicants based where the group has no House.
- Annual dues: Petroleum Club of Houston: Fees come from the membership-categories page of the club's own application PDF, dated 12 July 2024. Members also pay $15 for valet parking against a standard $25 building rate, and a 3.5% convenience fee applies to credit-card payments.; Soho House: $6,000 a year.
Side by side
| Petroleum Club of Houston | Soho House | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Private club | Private club |
| Founded | 1946 (The club's history page dates the founders' efforts to 31 January 1946, crediting Wilbur Ginther, Howard C. Warren and Harris Underwood; the clubhouse itself opened on 15 December 1951 atop the Rice Hotel.) | 1995 (Founded by restaurateur Nick Jones above his Cafe Boheme restaurant on Greek Street in London's Soho, per Wikipedia's account of the club. The corporate parent is incorporated in Delaware; operational headquarters and the original House are in London.) |
| Headquarters | Houston, United States | London, United Kingdom |
| Geographic footprint | Single clubhouse on the 35th floor of Total Plaza, 1201 Louisiana Street, downtown Houston | Houses across the United Kingdom, continental Europe, the Middle East, North and South America and Asia; the club states Every House members reach 48 Houses in 19 countries |
| Members | Not publicly disclosed by the club. Wikipedia gives approximately 1,200 members as of November 2014; that figure is more than a decade old and has not been independently verified. | 269,606as of September 2025 |
| Chapters | Single clubhouse; no chapters | 48 |
| Primary audience | The club says it is "open to men and woman of all industries" and describes a membership that includes energy industry professionals, medical, legal and business professionals, professional women and young professionals. | People working in the creative industries, described by the club as "a home for the world's creatives to come together"; the application asks for occupation and interests rather than income or job title |
| Typical member | Members range from energy industry professionals -- the club's founding constituency -- to lawyers, doctors and other business professionals. Membership categories are age-banded, with Junior members under 40, Active members 40 to 64 and Senior members 65 and over. | Members are drawn largely from film, television, music, art, design, fashion, media and adjacent creative businesses. The club publishes no income, net-worth or seniority test, and Wikipedia records that the club has publicly emphasised creativity over net worth and job title. |
| Qualification | ||
| Maximum age at joining | Junior membership is available to applicants under 40 years of ageOn reaching 40 a Junior member is entitled as of right to Active membership on paying the balance of the then-current Active initiation or transfer fee; all Junior members are enrolled in the Young Professionals' Associationverified September 2026 · source ↗ | Applicants under 27 qualify for Under 27 pricingThe club states the discount runs "until your 30th birthday", so the age test applies at joining rather than throughout membership. There is no published upper age limit on membership itself.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum age | All published membership categories start at age 21Junior membership covers ages 21-39; Non-Resident, Clergy, Diplomat, MBA/Graduate and Legacy categories are open from 21verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum age |
| Accredited-investor status | Applicants authorise a consumer background report from Associated Services Employment Check and supply a Social Security number, date of birth and seven years of address historyThe authorisation remains on file for the duration of the membershipverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published accredited-investor status |
| Geographic restriction | No published geographic restriction | Local House membership is tied to the House nearest the member's home; Cities Without Houses is for applicants based where the group has no HouseEvery House membership carries no geographic restriction.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | Not documented |
| Application process | Applicants download the club's application PDF and submit it with a background form and a payment form (ACH or credit card). The application goes to the Membership Committee and the Board of Directors, which meet twice a month; the initiation fee is processed only once both approve. The club states the approval process can take less than four weeks. An online membership inquiry form is also available. | Applicants complete an online form on the club's application portal, which the club says takes around 15 minutes and requires a recent profile photograph, credit or debit card details and information about the applicant's interests and occupation. The portal also offers a pricing calculator before submission. Soho House does not publish the criteria used to assess applications, nor whether proposers or seconders are required. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. The club publishes no acceptance rate or waiting-list information, and describes an approval process that can complete in under four weeks. | Not disclosed as a rate. Soho House told members in December 2023 that it would stop accepting new members for New York, Los Angeles and London from 2024 after complaints about crowding; CNN reported the club then had about 185,000 members and 98,000 people on its waitlist. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Fees come from the membership-categories page of the club's own application PDF, dated 12 July 2024. Members also pay $15 for valet parking against a standard $25 building rate, and a 3.5% convenience fee applies to credit-card payments. | $6,000 a yearEvery House membership, New York or Los Angeles home House, standard (non-Under-27) rate. The club's own pricing calculator returns "Quarterly cost $1,500.00 / Annual cost $6,000.00".verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Monthly dues | $191–322 a monthPublished schedule: $322 for Active and Premier/Secondary Active company members; $191 for Junior, Senior, Non-Resident, Clergy and Diplomat. Legacy $191-$322. The schedule labels the column simply Dues; the application text refers to monthly membership dues. Subject to 8.25% taxverified September 2026 · source ↗ | Prices are taken from Soho House's own public pricing calculator on 2026-09-06 and vary by home House, membership type and age band; the figures above are the New York, Los Angeles and London cases. Local supplements at some Houses and Soho Works access are billed separately. |
| Initiation fee | $500–7,500 one-timePublished schedule (application dated 12 July 2024): Active 40-64 $5,000; Junior 21-39 $2,000; Senior 65-89 $2,000; Non-Resident $1,500; Clergy $500; Diplomat $500; MBA/Graduate none; Legacy none (assessment fee instead). Company accounts: Premier Active $7,500, Secondary Active $4,000, Secondary Junior/Senior $1,500. All initiation fees are subject to 8.25% taxverified September 2026 · source ↗ | $1,000 one-time"One-off House Introduction Fee $1,000.00" for Every House and Local House membership at New York and Los Angeles. The club states it "will be converted to Members credit and can be used on food, drinks and bedrooms across the Houses".verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Ongoing with monthly dues; the MBA/Law/Medical/Graduate category waives dues for twelve months from approval and then rolls automatically into a dues-paying account unless the member gives 30 days' notice | Rolling membership billed quarterly or annually, plus a one-off House Introduction Fee |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Continuous clubhouse operation with member social events, networking events and family events through the year; the Petroleum Club Dance Club holds three ballroom dances a year | Houses are open daily; the club advertises more than 2,400 member events and experiences a month |
| Peer forums | Committees (Food and Entertainment, Wine, Membership and others) plus three associations: the Young Professionals' Association, the Ladies' Association and the Petroleum Club Dance Club | Not documented |
| Confidentiality | Not publicly disclosed | Could not be independently verified |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Clubhouse premises, Event-focused | Clubhouse premises, Chapter-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | No | No |
| Local chapters | No | Yes |
| Virtual membership | No | No |
| Online community | No | Yes |
| Member directory | Not documented | Not documented |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Partial | Partial |
| Leadership development | Partial | No |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | Yes | Yes |
| Family programming | Yes | Not documented |
| Spouse and partner programming | Yes | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | Not documented |
| Investment discussions | No | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Yes | Not documented |
| Networking emphasis | High | Medium |
| Social emphasis | High | High |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Petroleum Club of Houston · Soho House