Maintaining Your Fitness Center: How to Keep Gyms in Tip-Top Shape

Whether it’s an athletic club, hotel amenity, or residential perk, guests appreciate a fitness center that exceeds expectations and makes working out a breeze.

Once a fitness center is established, however, it can’t just be a one-and-done project. Gyms need constant attention so guests continue to enjoy this environment – and feel inspired to return.

Maintaining an attractive gym can increase gym membership renewals. For residential properties, it’s an enticing feature for potential residents. Hotels can also use their fitness amenities to boost bookings and cater to the health-conscious traveler.

Wellness tourism, a type of travel focused on “improving and enhancing an individual’s physical, mental, and spiritual well-being” is a popular trend that is expected to grow another 12% through 2030.

It’s apparent why focusing on health features for any type of property can potentially increase revenue.

In order to keep guests happy, gyms need to provide:

1. A range of equipment
2. Functioning machines
3. Clean, organized space

Offer unique options

Now there are a variety of ways to workout, so guests need access to a wide range of equipment. Most gyms have the basics, like free weights, treadmills, stationary bicycles, and weight benches. If you want your gym to stand out and truly satisfy the health-savvy guests, think outside of the box.

Playground-inspired structures, like this monkey rig, allow guests to use monkey bars for pull ups, giving enough room for a few people to utilize at the same time. Another option is using partitions to build stalls where guests can do reps with more privacy. Add TVs that can play back yoga or dance tutorials for an extra fun – and personal – experience.

Mirrors seem to be a no-brainer in terms of setting up a gym, but adding extra, especially in individual workout spaces, will help guests have an individual and customized workout.

Whatever your workout offerings are, make sure they are in operating condition.

Repair, replace, or remove

Invest in repairing and replacing machines if they break. If it’s not in the budget, consider removing the machine to storage until it makes sense to bring it back to the floor. The sight of a broken machine with a “DO NOT USE” sign, or the feeling of hopping on the elliptical only to have it not turn on, is not something you want guests to experience.

Sometimes simple monitoring can prevent breakdowns. There are plenty of instances where people misuse gym equipment, or children and teens run wildly throughout wreaking havoc on expensive equipment.

Make it a point to schedule regular employee walk-throughs so unwanted fitness center activity can be monitored and caught in time before things go south.

Also consider limiting the amount of high-maintenance equipment. Especially with the wide variety of workouts out there, there are plenty of ways to provide resources that require little to no maintenance, like bands, stability balls, mats, trampolines, and more.

Make space and keep it clean

Another feature some guests will really appreciate – and will cost you nothing – is, well, nothing at all.

Since the pandemic, people have been utilizing empty rooms and even virtual workouts with headsets to burn extra calories. More and more, workouts require little to no equipment, except maybe a visual guide, some music, and plenty of space.

There are a variety of no-equipment exercises. Post guides and provide a TV with strength-training, stretching, and cardio videos that require no physical objects at all.

Sound systems are equally important in setting up an inspired workout environment. Install speakers in ceilings and walls with Bluetooth capabilities so guests can hook up their favorite music. Or play established music selected by management. Either way, music is an element that will need to be monitored so every guest has a quality experience.

Have employees reorganize equipment and wipe weights clean. Don’t forget to incorporate mirror and door cleaning into regularly scheduled walk-throughs, too.

In general, a workout facility can benefit from simple improvements that are both inexpensive and easy to implement. Companies need to manage these key amenities properly so the initial investment does not become a waste.