Make your gym work out for you

Aug 27, 2009

AL KAMDA

RAYMOND SPORT

Raymond Sport LLC managing partner Raymond Kelly, responsible for distributing brands such as Precor and Schwinn in the GCC, says the biggest mistakes made by hotel gyms in the region are not identifying the gym as a separate profit centre and not employing good enough staff.

Kelly’s tips for success are:

Sales: Employ sales professionals to sell the gym benefits, target friends and family of existing members and operate a client loyalty programme.
Integration: Use the Precor ClubCom® private TV network and digital signage system and integrate it with the hotel’s TV to advertise and sell the services, features and benefits of the hotel facilities (restaurants and spa) and the hotel chain in the gym. This can also be used to advertise third party services, so you can watch the dollars roll in.
Staff: Employ experts in physiology and qualified fitness instructors who love what they do. There is not much of this around sadly, but it is the gym team, combined with a light, chic, lively, buzzing, happening environment, that will make users pick your facility over another.
Group exercise: If you don’t have a dedicated studio, just round everybody up and go for it. A good instructor/presenter can infect the whole gym with enthusiasm for circuit training, which can be done in a group in the gym using existing equipment.

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