Make your gym work out for you

AL KAMDA

According to Julia McPharlin from fitness equipment supplier Oemmebi, which is launching in the Middle East this month through local distributor Esadore International, of which McPharlin is also business development manager, not only are gyms a must for hotels but they should be included as part of an entire wellness offer.

“This is because the added value is even higher when the different areas are set up and offered in a co-ordinated and integrated way,” says McPharlin.

As well as ensuring that the gym is designed to suit the hotel in which it is located, McPharlin says that “the actual size of the gym must be coherent with the number of guest rooms at the hotel, the flow of users the hotel management intends to reach, the time spent in the gym room on average by users, and the level of access by non-guests”.

Convenience of use and safety should be the priority, adds McPharlin.

“Unless one or more trainers or supervisors are always present, manual loading machines and barbells with discs should be avoided. Weight stack machines, benches, dumbbells and cardiovascular equipment are the appropriate choice,” she says.

“Synthetic flooring allows for a higher degree of hygiene and for faster cleaning; parquet flooring adds elegance and class; and carpet is not the most appropriate floor material for a gym,” says McPharlin.
The use of towels should be encouraged, “ideally by free supply,” she adds.

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• Equipment choice: When choosing equipment pay attention to things that the supplier may not tell you in advance and that you would discover when it is too late: maintenance requirements; which materials/tools should be supplied with the equipment); reliability; warranty; availability of technical assistance/maintenance services; availability of spare parts. The technical selection of machines is important, but keep in mind that the extensive range available on the market is more important for non-hotel fitness centres.
• Look at the options to customise gym equipment (choice of colours, upholsteries and the addition of the hotel logo) in order to maximise the hotel brand image.
• Cleanliness: Keep the centre clean and in perfect order: one set of dumbbells more or less impacts on nobody; lack of hygiene impacts on everybody.
• Quality: Don’t look at short term profitability: your target is long-term return and that is based on quality first.
• Satisfaction: Customer feedback should be monitored closely and any intervention to keep the quality in-line with the target must be immediate. A guest staying at the hotel will not return to the gym if their first experience does not meet his/her expectations.

Esadore Supplies (for Oemmebi)
Tel: +971 (0)4 431 0851
Fax: +971 (0)4 431 0854
Email: info@oemmebi-me.com
Webmail: www.oemmebi-me.com