LM: How important is a good membership base as a revenue generator for hotel recreation facilities?
Weerasiriwardena: It is extremely important as regular members utilise the facilities consistently all year round, unlike the tourism sector, which has both peak and off-peak seasons.
Having a regular stream of users helps ensure equipment is kept conditioned and we can trial new ideas and initiatives that our hotel guests may enjoy as well.
Brom: Any club offering a certain level of facilities, services and trained staff to accommodate its visitors will say having a membership base as a revenue generator is very important.
Cordero: Membership revenue is used for recreational facility maintenance and employee compensation. The remainder will then be added to hotel revenue so membership is very important.
Franzen: The membership component of our recreation department is very important, representing more than 70% of the total recreation revenue. A healthy membership base is a must for Club Olympus and it motivates us to ensure we are staying at the top of our game in terms of services and classes offered.
Kenyon: The membership sales are what drive business for the department. Hotel guests are interested in facilities and services, but they are not consistent.
Members give the department stability from taking up and renewing their membership to forming habits depending on their interests. That’s why it’s good to have a variety of services to meet varying interests — therefore maintaining a steady income from members once someone has paid their membership fees.
The entire hotel benefits from members as they provide revenue in terms of membership fees, but also for other services such as water-sports, food and beverage, and also rooms.
Advertisement
LM: What other recreational aspects generate revenue for the hotel?
Brom: We have professional instructors offering personal training, swimming classes, tennis and squash, as well as the boat trips our marina team offers.
Furthermore, we have an events team taking care of kids’ camps, themed parties and additional activities.
On the recreation side, these are very important factors generating a significant amount of revenue for the sports club. The juice/pro bar is something we are looking into for the near future and we anticipate that will also drive revenue.
Cordero: Aerobic classes, personal-training services, sales on juice bar and health products, and rentals on lockers, racquets and headphones all generate additional revenues for the hotel.
Franzen: Besides regular memberships, Club Olympus offers members the options of personalised workouts, tennis and squash lessons and different types of classes. Local people who do not have a Club Olympus membership are welcome to use the facilities against a daily fee. There is also a wide range of merchandise that we sell, which adds to the revenue stream.
Kenyon: Additional ways of generating revenue include selling sports drinks and supplements (where the revenue comes under recreation and not F&B), as well as sports accessories and clothing. If the coaches are using/wearing particular products, it is almost guaranteed that members will want them. It’s all about role models and image.
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
