Essential Steps to Adding an Open Gym Model to Your Business

Implementing Open Gym Hours at Your Business

Adding Open Gym Hours to your business can be a profitable way to give clients access to your space during quieter hours of the day. In an earlier blog post, we met Joel Tellier from Stay Gold Fitness in Toronto, who successfully incorporates Open Gym Hours into his diverse and vibrant fitness center. If you’re thinking of incorporating Open Gym Hours as an additional revenue stream, here are some essential things to consider, including a few pro tips from Joel.

Phase 1 – Plan

Assess and Document Client Demand

Gauge your clients’ interest and willingness to pay for open gym offerings. Talk to customers informally or conduct a survey to gather insights. Analyze your existing space utilization to ensure there is adequate demand. Weigh the potential for these offerings to cannibalize your other services and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Research Regulations and Ensure Compliance

Investigate local regulations and requirements for running an open gym, including safety and insurance considerations. Ensure compliance with all health and safety guidelines.

Stay Gold Pro Tip: Create a robust waiver and consult with a lawyer to cover all your legal bases.

Assess and Document Available Business Assets and Resources

Inventory your current equipment and facilities to determine which ones you want to make available for open gym hours. Identify any additional resources or equipment needed.

Stay Gold Pro Tips: Anticipate the maximum number and type of concurrent users to ensure you have the appropriate equipment. Be mindful of space usage and provide general guidance to prevent overcrowding. Stay Gold Fitness has 10 zones but only offers 8 bookable spots to avoid maxing out the space.

Determine Pricing Model for Open Gym Hours

Develop a competitive and sustainable pricing model. Consider various membership tiers, pay-as-you-go options, or bundled packages.

Stay Gold Pro Tip:

Research hourly rental fees for personal trainer space and set a price point about 50-65% less than competitors. As demand grows, you can increase your rates. Consider open gym hours for personal trainers who want to bring their clients in. Charge different rates but ensure they adhere to the same rules.

Set Sales Goals for Open Gym Hours

Establish clear, measurable sales goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) for open gym hours. Evaluate expenses and determine how many memberships you need to sell to make it worthwhile. Streamline or eliminate staffing needs during open gym hours to minimize additional costs. Implement an automated process, such as a door access system linked to your scheduling software.

Create Rules and Accountability for Open Gym Hours

Develop comprehensive rules and guidelines for open gym usage, including safety protocols, equipment usage, and member behavior. Ensure these rules are clear and easily accessible to members.

Stay Gold Pro Tips:

• Place lines on the floor delineating the zones members have signed up to use. When clients register, send them a follow-up email recapping the waiver agreement and providing relevant information such as their personal door code.
• Create accountability for clients to tidy the space when they are finished and/or allow a buffer time between open access and classes so that staff can tidy before their class starts.
• Implement video surveillance if staff are not present during open gym hours. This provides an extra measure of security and accountability, and discourages abuse of the system.

Phase 2 – Implement and Administrate

Plot Availability into Schedule

Integrate open gym hours into the existing class and training schedules, ensuring there is no overlap or conflict with other activities.

Set Up Booking and Point of Sale for Open Gym Hours

Implement a booking system that allows members to reserve open gym time slots. Ensure the point of sale (POS) system can handle open gym transactions seamlessly.

Enable Recurring Bookings and Payments

Set up options for recurring bookings and automated payments to simplify the process for regular users.

Stay Gold Pro Tip:

For business and security reasons, Stay Gold Fitness only sells monthly memberships for Open Gym hours on their website. They allow drop-ins on a case-by-case basis, but these must be arranged by contacting the gym.

Inform Clients About Availability

Announce the launch of open gym hours through various channels, including email, social media, and in-studio signage. Provide clear instructions on how to book and pay for open gym time. Encourage word-of-mouth referrals by implementing a rewards program.

Grant Facility Access Privileges to Paying Clients

Issue access cards or codes to clients who have paid for open gym hours. Ensure access control systems are updated and functional. Consider implementing an automated system that grants and revokes access based on a client’s payment status.

Phase 3 – Evaluate and Iterate

Evaluate Actual Sales Against Sales Goals

Regularly review sales data and compare it against the initial goals set. Identify trends and patterns in open gym usage to understand what’s working and what needs adjustment.

Find Ways to Streamline Processes and Costs

Continuously look for opportunities to improve your margins by implementing additional automation and optimizing staff schedules.

Solicit Customer Feedback

Gather feedback from members through surveys, suggestion boxes, or direct communication. Use this feedback to identify areas for improvement and ensure member needs are being met.

Revoke Facility Access as Needed

Monitor member accounts for unpaid balances and promptly revoke access for those with outstanding payments. Ensure this process is communicated clearly to members to avoid confusion and maintain transparency.

Adjust Strategy as Needed

Based on sales data and customer feedback, make necessary adjustments to the open gym hours, pricing, or rules. Stay flexible and responsive to member needs and preferences.

Stay Gold Pro Tips:

• Curate your culture to ensure it reflects what you want and attracts your target customers.
• Continuously look for opportunities to improve your margins by streamlining and automating your business model.