Making It Work

The finishing touches to a top-notch fitness operation come down to quality staffing and thoughtful programming.

by Diana Mirel (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
September 2007
 

With nearly 63 percent of its overall memberships being fitness memberships, Kinsale Golf & Fitness Club in Powell, Ohio (north of Columbus), recognizes that a strong and seamless fitness operation is the wave of the future.

“My philosophy is that the financial success of our club is, and always will be, directly related to the fitness area,” says Regan Koivisto, General Manager.

Kinsale’s 3,000-sq.-ft. fitness facility’s dedicated personal training and group fitness staff, and innovative programs, have taken fitness to the next level at the club. The group fitness classes have grown increasingly popular, jumping from about 20 classes per week to 60 in just three years. The demand for personal training has also been rising steadily, from two trainers to six in three years.

“While most traditional country clubs are experiencing tougher times than they ever remember,” Koivisto says, “Kinsale is healthy and successful, because we approach fitness as more than just an amenity for our membership.”

The demand for personal training continues to rise.

Now It’s Personal
As one of the biggest revenue sources in any club or resort’s fitness operation, a strong personal training program is key. Personal trainers should have national certifications from the American Council on Exercise (ACE), American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) or the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).

Many of the trainers at the Gallery Golf Club in Marana, Ariz., also specialize in things like golf conditioning, weight loss and rehabilitation. “If we have a member asking for training and they fall into [any of the specialties], it is easy for me to delegate a specific trainer who can best work with them,” says Lori DeLuca, Fitness Director for the club, which is located 20 miles northeast of Tucson.

Hiring personal trainers with personalities that will gel with the membership as a whole is also a top priority. Westside Tennis & Fitness in Houston looks for trainers who are passionate, positive, team-oriented and honest. “We have different personalities on board, and that is good, because that helps to make a diverse team,” says Justin Thomas Sanchez, Director of Fitness.

Degrees of Involvement
Kinsale’s fitness staff is made up entirely of subcontractors. By not paying for benefits, the club saves money, while the contractors enjoy flexibility. “They have an opportunity to make more money, and they can come and go as they please,” says Koivisto. “But my goal is to have them busy enough here so they get everything they are looking for as fitness trainers. It is important to take care of these people, because if they stay, my members stay.”

On the other hand, the Gallery Golf Club’s almost 20-person fitness staff is comprised entirely of club employees. “It is more structured this way,” explains DeLuca. “We can set the pricing. When you have independent contractors, you’ll tend to have people who charge different amounts.”

Other clubs, like the Old Palm Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., have a combination of both. “The benefit [of contractors] is that the club does not have to pay their health insurance and all the other benefits that go along with having an employee,” says Shayne Kohn, Spa & Fitness Director.

“But there are very strict labor laws,” adds Kohn, who is also Vice President and founding member of the Club Spa & Fitness Association (see sidebar, pg. 58). “You can’t require them to work a certain number of hours, and you can’t require them to wear a uniform.”

It’s a Group Thing
While looking for the right personality is equally important in hiring group fitness instructors, this side of the business requires some additional skills, as reflected by Westside’s rigorous interview process for instructors for its group fitness classes.

“[Each applicant] must send a video [that shows him or her] teaching a class from beginning to end,” says Sanchez. “Then we review it before we even have them come for an interview. Even on a two-dimensional screen, you can tell if the instructor wants to make you get up and get moving and has the [needed] ‘wow’ factor.”

The club and resort industry is typically not the place for new personal trainers or group fitness instructors to get their feet wet; they need plenty of experience first. “It helps with pilates and yoga instructors if they have not only worked in a gym setting, but also in a studio setting,” says DeLuca. “We like to have studio-level quality for our pilates and yoga instructors.”

With all the excitement of a rock concert, Westside Tennis & Fitness hosted the Houston Fitness Fest in May, to introduce its group fitness programs.

Storehouses of Knowledge
No matter how much charisma your staff has, the fitness facility will fall behind if the staff is not properly trained. At the very least, employees must understand the equipment. “If anyone comes up to attendants or staff members and asks how to use a machine, they can give them the basics; that is paramount,” says Kelly Michael, Director of Fitness at the Red Mountain Ranch Country Club in Mesa, Ariz. “For the sake of your club, make sure that is being done.”
Certified fitness employees also need to pursue continuing education to maintain their certifications, with many clubs covering the costs. “If they go to a conference and they learn a new class format or the latest craze in fitness, it helps us add something to our programs,” says DeLuca.

Westside supports its staff in obtaining certification and training for their group fitness programs; it pays for the quarterly Les Mills workshops; and it hosts specialty training workshops year round. “There are opportunities throughout the year for them to increase their knowledge base and become better at their jobs,” says Sanchez. “At the end of the day, that benefits our members, because of the trickle-down effect.”

Getting With the Program
Innovative fitness programs can boost a club or resort’s fitness profile. While classes like kickboxing and spinning are now staples in many group fitness settings, in the past two to three years clubs have also seen an increased trend toward both mat and reformer Pilates classes, followed by core and sport-specific conditioning.

Westside’s group fitness classes have seen significant growth, from just two to three students per class to nearly 50. But this dramatic boost did not happen overnight; the club promoted the programs via banners, T-shirts, Internet promotions and, of course, word of mouth.

“The community around here is very tight; they all talk,” says Sanchez. “We even have instructors from other gyms turning up for classes, just to see what all the fuss is about.”

At the Gallery Golf Club, incorporating new equipment into classic classes helps to increase member interest. “Even if you’re working on the same things like balance and flexibility, people like any new kind of equipment that comes out and is trendy, like Bosu balls,” says DeLuca.

Here They Come
While it would be ideal if a fitness center was packed at all hours of the day, that’s usually a rarity. Thus, programming should be scheduled around members’ needs and timeframes.

To reach out to the growing number of families joining its club, Kinsale opened a Kids Club, where members can drop off their kids for two hours of free supervision. “The Kids Club opens at 9 a.m., so that is usually when a lot of the classes start, too,” says Koivisto. “You’ll see a great influx of people coming in the doors and the kids being dropped off then.”

While Kinsale’s fitness center is busiest in the mornings and evenings, the club’s afternoons are pretty quiet. To cater to its working members and attract people to the fitness center mid-day, the club added abbreviated classes, such as 30-minute spinning, during the lunch hour.

Thanks to golf-fitness programs, more men have started coming into Old Palm Golf Club’s fitness center more often, says Shayne Kohn, Spa & Fitness Director.

Meanwhile, at Westside, the club holds about 50 classes per week, with the majority scheduled during the club’s peak hours (9 to 11 a.m. and 5:30 to 10 p.m). But as more families begin to join the club, Sanchez plans to add some noontime classes to meet demand.

“We’ll trial something and track it, to see how it goes for a month,” says Sanchez. “We’ll let members take a bit of accountability, too. We’ll let them know we’re trying it because they asked for it. But we’ll also [stress that] if the numbers aren’t there, it won’t make financial sense to keep it. So the members kind of take ownership and start telling their friends, ‘Hey guys, we need to make it to this class.’”

Well-Rounded Approaches
Integrating fitness into other aspects of club and resort life is relatively easy. Working with a leading golf equipment supplier, Kinsale has a certified Golf Fitness Instructor, who has spearheaded a new golf-fitness program. “The entire program is based on improving your game—but it is all fitness, rather than teaching someone how to swing a club on the course,” says Koivisto. “That program has been increasing the synergy we’re looking for between golf and fitness.”

Similarly, on men’s golf day, a personal trainer at Old Palm Golf Club guides golfers through some stretches on the course. “Now, the men have started coming into the fitness center more often because they recognize the trainer, and they have gotten to know him and become comfortable with him—so they then feel comfortable coming into the fitness center,” says Kohn.

Meanwhile, Gallery Golf Club’s fitness team works with its F&B staff to host health-, fitness- and nutrition-based luncheons, with guest speakers who put fitness top-of-mind for members and ultimately draw them into the fitness facility.