HOW TO: MAINTAIN YOUR FITNESS ROOM ON A BUDGET
Has your budget taken a hit? How can you maintain a high-quality fitness amenity without breaking the bank? Learn about where to save, where to spend, and other practical steps you can take.
In these unprecedented times that we’re facing, many budgets have taken a hit. You want to be able to provide the same high-quality services and amenities to your customers that you have in the past but current economics make that difficult. With the right approach and careful analysis, you can maintain a high-quality fitness center on a budget. Here are some tips:
MAINTENANCE!
The primary way that you can continue to provide a high-quality fitness amenity is by keeping it high quality with proper maintenance.
Wipe everything down regularly. Even if your fitness center is currently closed, do not neglect vacuuming and dusting. When dust and dirt make their way inside the machines, they will drastically increase friction on belts and chains, causing them to break down faster. Keeping your fitness center clean can help to prevent buildup inside of your machines.
One of the more destructive elements that you should be mindful of is sweat. Cleaning the ramps of your elliptical, around and under the belt of your treadmill (carefully!), and any area where sweat collects will go a long ways towards extending the life of your machines.
Rotate your equipment. Studies have shown that every fitness center seems to have a "sweet spot” that exercisers tend to gravitate toward. This means that you will likely have one treadmill with substantially more miles than the rest. Or an elliptical that needs a new belt when the rest of your ellipticals have minimal use. If you regularly rotate your equipment, you will even out the usage and extend the life of all of your equipment. (Note: Most fitness equipment is extremely heavy. If you ask your employees to rotate your equipment, make sure that they are physically capable and understand how to do so safely.)
Have you been closed for a while? Ensure that all of your equipment is completely dust-free before you let your customers back into the fitness center. This includes removing covers from your ellipticals and bikes to clean anything that has built up on belts and chains. You will also want to clean under your treadmill belt.
If you’re not sure how to perform this maintenance effectively, give us a call or request a preventative maintenance visit here. We can do a one-time deep clean or recommend a regular maintenance schedule.
But, eventually, things will wear out. How should you proceed? Ask yourself a couple of questions.
DO I ACTUALLY NEED THIS PIECE OF EQUIPMENT?
We find that many of the facilities we work with have more equipment than they need. Today’s fitness trends are often best facilitated by open space for body and free weight exercises. For instance, what if you have a chest press that is in dire straits? You might not need to replace it. Do you have a multi-purpose unit like a functional trainer? Or heavy enough free weights? These can easily replace your need for selectorized units depending on the demographics of your customers.
A big key to maintaining a great fitness offering while reducing the amount of equipment you have in your space is providing direction. Great looking wall charts that demonstrate how an FTS Glide can be used to perform flys or the proper mechanics of a dumbbell overhead press make all the difference.
There are many factors to consider. We provide complimentary space planning and long term replacement recommendations. We’re here to help you decide if something should be replaced or eliminated based on the demographics of your customers. Let us know if you need assistance.
What about those pieces you know you need?
SHOULD I REPAIR OR REPLACE?
Does your elliptical have a strange knock? Is your treadmill belt slipping? Maybe the handle is broken on a piece of strength equipment that you need to keep. An important question comes into play: should you repair the piece or replace it?
We would love to be able to write an exhaustive list of circumstances and recommendations… But it would be impossible! We can’t cover all of the scenarios and diagnose your equipment with a blog post. Our service technicians are trained to make recommendations for when to repair and when to replace. We won’t recommend you replace a treadmill that needs a simple repair when it has years of life in it. And we won’t recommend an expensive repair on a unit that is on its last leg. Our sales and service teams work together seamlessly to recommend the best value for your business. Contact our team here.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT
When it comes time to spend your precious dollars on replacing a piece of equipment, how do you choose? It’s easy to want to run out and buy the cheapest, flashiest piece of equipment that you can find. Please don’t. Choose the equipment that is right for your demographic, your usage rates, and the lowest-cost-in-use.
What does lowest-cost-in-use really mean? When you add up the initial purchase price and repair costs over the life of the equipment, you have your cost-in-use.
It doesn’t save you any money to buy a piece of equipment that will need constant repair. We don’t believe in making those kinds of recommendations.
We have options for every scenario. If your facility is low-use, we might recommend a high-quality refurbished piece of equipment. Or if your equipment is really going to take a beating, we will provide you with a piece of equipment that can stand up to the impact.
One of the brands that we recommend most often is Precor. Precor has a reputation for excellent customer service (think warranty claims) and lowest-cost-in-use equipment. We have worked with them for more than 20 years, handling any repairs and warranty claims for our customers. We can say with absolute confidence that their equipment is an exceptional value. Precor has created equipment lines based on expected usage. When you have the right line of equipment, you don’t pay for more than you need and can rest assured that equipment will hold up to years of use in your facility. Precor also puts tremendous effort into designing their equipment to be the best user experience possible. Your customers will thank you for a great workout.
Our customers keep coming back to us year after year. Why? Because we carefully analyze their unique situation and made recommendations to bring the greatest value to their facility. Their equipment stands the test of time and requires minimal repairs. Their customers are happy because they are getting a great workout. And their return on investment adds to the success of their business. Let us add to your success with recommendations for an equipment purchase you can have confidence in.
We believe in being your partner, supporting your bottom dollar and your reputation. Let’s start working together on a fitness amenity that fits your budget today.
How Can I Create Experience and Build Community?
How can you build community in your apartment facility?
How do you change an apartment complex from a facility, into a home? The simple answer: Build community and create experiences for your residents. That feeling of homeyness is something everyone desires in a residence.
“Without social interactions, an apartment is only a place to exist for a portion of the day. But with meaningful experiences and lasting friendship, it becomes a home.”
But what does that have to do with your fitness center?
Building community means bringing residents together and giving them meaningful experiences outside their apartment walls. Your fitness offering can have the power to do these things and beyond - with the right tools.
We partner with brands that bring you industry leading technology, management, and programming so that it engages your residents and strengthens the feeling of community. Pull your residents out of their apartments and into your fitness center to enjoy the offering. The following are some of the tools we love to use to bring in residents to create genuine experiences and build community.
What Is It?
Wellbeats is an on-demand fitness provider that delivers fitness classes, workout plans, and fitness assessments to users anytime, anywhere.
How Does It Work?
You have a choice of anywhere from a 22” to a 70” touch screen. You install the screen in your fitness room in a more open space, with a couple accessories nearby. Then your residents can walk up at any time and benefit from one of the 450+ Classes, 12+ Workout Plans, or even 3 Fitness Tests! Additionally, group training classes are available, which means residents can mingle in a group training session. With regularly refreshed content, there will always be new classes to choose from!
What if you set up and advertised a Wellbeats class every week at 5 PM? This is a great way to motivate and bring your residents together. This makes Wellbeats a highly effective tool for building community.
What Is It?
In an industry where technology is gaining traction, networked fitness is becoming a must, something residents will look for when searching for their new home. More people coming to your fitness center means more people gathering in a common space, meeting their neighbor and their neighbor’s neighbor!
How Does It Work?
All Precor Cardio with P62 and P82 networked consoles gain access to a whole new fitness experience and offering. Powered by the Preva network, operators can monitor their equipment, communicate with exercisers, and personalize exerciser experience with innovative features, like RunTV.
One great feature is in-workout messaging. Have a social event planned in your community center? Advertise it in an in-workout message! It will pop up on your resident’s screen as they’re working out. If they didn’t know about it before, they know about it now!
Technology has transformed engagement. By including networked fitness in your offering, you’re attracting residents to increase usage of the fitness room, maximize your investment, create new and unique experiences, and build a sense of community and connectedness.
What Is It?
Modernized fitness moves now shies away from the crowdedness of too much selectorized strength equipment and favors a more open floor plan. Providing open spaces for stretching and functional training is the way to accomplish this.
Including open spaces encourages gathering. A couple people will be stretching at the same time and strike up a conversation. A few in the building decide to exercise in a HIIT circuit using functional accessories. Create a space that promotes fitness as a social activity.
We are experts at building a space for your unique needs and goals. We know how to create a space ideal for strengthening a sense of community and engaging your members. We’d love the opportunity to hear from you and start a conversation about your goals! Ready to get started? Fill out the form and see our solutions at commfitness.com/multifamily.
FOR LEASING AGENTS: HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR FITNESS ROOM
How can leasing agents make the most of their fitness amenity with potential residents?
FOR LEASING AGENTS: HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR FITNESS ROOM
If you’re a leasing agent, you recognize the value of community amenities. According to the 2017 NMHC/Kingsley Apartment Renter Preferences Report one of the top 5 reasons people move to another property is: community amenities. How can you capture the most interest in your amenities?
Well, just how important is your fitness amenity?
If you have a fitness center designed and outfitted by Commercial Fitness Equipment, then you have a great tool at your disposal to win new residents. We design each fitness center (and subsequent updates) with your goal demographics in mind. That means that once your potential residents are scheduled for a tour, you’ve got a lot to work with. The purpose of this post is to assist you, as leasing agents, to make the most of your fitness center amenity to bring in new residents.
In this article we’re going to focus on 2 keys that take a leasing agent, you, from good to great!
Take Time to Listen
The Personal Touch
How can these keys be applied to your fitness amenity? Let's get started.
TAKE TIME TO LISTEN
The very first step in providing a great tour is getting to know your potential residents.
www.apartment-marketing.com “Ask genuine questions to find out what they are looking for and what they need. The more you understand the prospect, the easier it is to present your community as the answer and solution.”
Here’s an easy one to start with:
How important is a fitness amenity to you?
Stop and take the time to listen. Even after they’ve answered, give it a few seconds, maybe they’ll tell you more. Follow up their answer with a “Why?” or even a “Really?” when it’s appropriate. Listen carefully to their desires and concerns.
Are they young? Perhaps they would be excited by your HIIT(high-intensity-interval-training) zone? Or your functional training items?
Are they older? Is the low step-up height of your Precor treadmill helpful? Or your Prism accessory tower with self-guided workouts?
Do they like watching television while they workout? Listening to music? Working out with a friend?
Showing a genuine interest will allow you to see what aspects of your property to feature to give the tour The Personal Touch.
THE PERSONAL TOUCH
How do you view your potential residents? Are they numbers on your next report or individuals seeking a comfortable place to call home? It’s easy to get caught up in the bottom line, but when you focus on the needs of individuals, you are going to have the most success not only winning new residents but retaining them.
Propertymanagerinsider.com “The greatest leasing consultants in the world are different because they seek to understand the customer’s wants, needs, and goals. They truly believe their product and service will help the customer. Solving the customer’s problem becomes their #1 priority. The entire business feels the positive impact of their unselfish goals.”
What products in your fitness room will help your customers? Use what you’ve learned about them to decide what to feature.
Do you have Precor networked cardio in your fitness center? If so, make sure that you have a Preva account. When you’re giving a tour you can simply use your phone to login. Show them how you’re automatically logged in to your Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, etc. and how you have access to all of your saved workouts and goals. Offer to help them download the Preva app and set-up a free account right on the spot.
How about Wellbeats virtual fitness classes? Show them how to look up their favorite kind of workout. Offer them a free one-year subscription to the classes when they sign up for a lease so they can workout in their own apartment.
Is the Expresso GO bike in your fleet of cardio equipment? Let them see all of the different workouts available such as HIIT games (chasing the dragons is one of our favorites), on-demand indoor cycling and racing your own best time. Plus, they can compete with others and show off their skills on social media.
Do they like working out with a friend? If your fitness center is large enough then we’ve probably set you up with 2’s for this very reason. Do you have 2 spin bikes together? 2 treadmills? Remind them how great it will be to have their buddy with them to motivate and provide support (If their friend isn’t already a resident, perhaps you can mention your referral incentive program).
Don’t forget to give them some quiet time. Let them wander around the fitness center if they want to. Don’t bombard them with words, but be available to answer questions. Allow them to picture the benefits of calling your property home. Help them to feel good about your property.
And finally, don’t forget to continue to remind them how they felt on their tour. Follow-up with specific items that you know they were excited about.
www.multihousingnews.com “Final steps to speak to your new lead include a final push roughly five to seven days after the initial point of contact. This could include a new promotion, personal invitation to an upcoming social event or highlighting upgrades to amenities that differentiate your community from the competition. In bringing the conversation back full circle, you complete the initial follow-up with points of self-interest, demonstrating both strong communication and listening skills that reflect positively upon your community.”
FINAL TIPS
Keep listening to your residents. When you leave the lines of communication open with patience and good customer service your residents will feel at home and happy. This will allow you to find those holes in your offering that you may need to fill to continue earning their business.
Plus, when your residents are happy they will help you to keep bringing in new residents.
Use your Precor networked cardio: Incentivize your residents to review your property on social media. Advertise events so they feel the benefits of being a part of a community. Encourage them to bring a friend to the fitness center with referral incentives.
We’d love to assist you in in getting these messages out to your residents.
We know you’ve got a great team. We’d love to support you in making the most of your fitness room. That might mean an update to ensure your fitness center is adding value to your property. It might be as simple as creating a document for you that gives you ideas on what to highlight during your tours.
We are ready to do what we can to assist your property to succeed. Contact us today!