With staycation popularity continuing for UK holidaymakers, particularly with the Brexit uncertainty, and tourist appeal for the UK expected to continue with the depreciation of the pound, the holiday sector remains buoyant.
So, are you making the best of your holiday park or hotel, to attract these visitors?
There is a change in consumer preferences towards experience and activity holidays, whether home or abroad. Also, with the age of the Millennials and Generation Z – these groups are typically more health-conscious and more discerning in their choices. They are more inclined to do their research and select a resort or hotel that ‘ticks as many boxes’ as possible. People want experiences, choice and they want to be active. Many want to keep up their daily exercise and fitness regimes, whatever the season and whatever the weather.
Expectations of resorts and hotels are increasing, so to keep up with the demand for more year-round services and amenities, can you afford not to offer a fitness provision?
With rising costs and shrinking margins, it may be wise to invest in those areas that will help you compete and differentiate your offering, at the same time as enabling you to charge higher rates for these enhanced amenities. A fitness provision can help you achieve that.
Planning to update or add a fitness provision?
If you are planning to update an existing gym or fitness area you should establish if your current offering is working for you. How can you make it a real asset to your business and generate additional revenue? How do you make it an attractive and valuable amenity to your guests?
If you are planning to add a gym to your leisure offering, are you fully aware of all the considerations? For many holiday resort and hotel operators, a fitness facility is not an area of expertise. It is an investment that should be considered fully to ensure it provides a return for your business, but where do you start?
We’ve put together a quick guide of some of the key things you’ll need to consider to ensure you have a facility that works for the space available, delivers for your business and provides the right solution to your guests:
What considerations are needed when planning a gym?
How do you plan to use your gym? What are your goals and objectives?
Do all guests have free use of the facility? Do you intend to use it to generate revenue? Will you open it for use by the general public or other user groups? Will it be a manned gym? How will you control access and gain consent and disclaimer forms to use the facility? Will you offer other paid-for services such as personal training or small group exercise classes? Who are your users – who will book your resort/hotel and who will use the gym? How will you brand and promote your facility?
What budget do you have for the whole project and what is the breakdown for areas such as the build, services and equipment? How will you pay for the project or equipment? Do you need a financing solution?
- Who are the stakeholders and what are your timescales?
Who in your business will need to be involved in the project and who are the decision-makers? Who has the authority to sign off the project plan and the budget? Do you need the support of a gym facility expert to help advise you? What is the timeframe for the project?
How much space do you have and what sort of equipment or amenities do you want to provide? How is it accessed? How do you maximise your space to ensure it works for all your possible users? How will the space look? What design and decoration aspects do you want to include?
- What equipment do you need?
Who are your users? What type of products do you need for your users? How many products are appropriate for the space? How should the equipment and amenities be laid out to ensure an appropriate ‘flow’, considering all safety aspects? What services do you need for the equipment, such as power, IT and AV?
- What other building aspects do you need to think about?
Will you provide air conditioning, additional lighting and or access control? Do you need mirrors, gym flooring, lockers, vending or water fountains? Will you provide changing, toilet and shower facilities and how are these accessed?
- How important is equipment service & maintenance to you?
Do the products come with a competitive warranty? What is the total cost of ownership over the contract period? Do you wish to work with just a single equipment supplier to provide all your equipment and servicing?
For an operator whose expertise may not be creating a gym or fitness operations, all these considerations may be challenging. You will want a partner who can guide you throughout the whole project.
Andy Loughray, Sales Director for the fitness equipment supplier Dyaco has much experience in this area. Loughray commented: “Holiday parks, resorts and hotels have so many different areas of their business to consider. Adding a fitness provision can be daunting, as it isn’t their primary concern. By working with an experienced partner in designing and equipping fitness facilities across a wide spectrum of markets, you can rely on them to raise all considerations and work with you to address all necessary aspects. This brings peace of mind that nothing will be forgotten and that you deliver a fitness facility that works for both your business and the guests and people that utilise it.”
For more information or an informal discussion about your project ideas, the Dyaco team is on hand to help.
View the Hotels, Hospitality & Holiday Resorts page here.
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