This is an IHRSA featured article, brought to you by Aktiv Solutions. When developing customer-facing solutions for today’s health club audience, few issues are as challenging as satisfying the demands for the extensive range of workout trends in the marketplace. With boutique studios pushing the envelope on innovative training modalities, clubs need to find cost-effective…
To promote and protect health clubs, we monitor many bills. In the past year, we’ve talked about everything from emerging opioid regulations to new overtime rules to changes in state sales tax on gyms. These are all issues that—at the moment—may only impact clubs in a few states. So, let’s look at the country as a whole and take a moment to…
What happens when health clubs do not make every reasonable effort to avoid accidents in their club? What happens when U.S. law does not incentivize preventing injuries? New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Barry T. Albin said, “Not only do the victims of a health club’s negligence suffer, but society bears the cost.” Ouch. Albin said…
In statehouses across the U.S., legislators are increasingly focusing their attention on data privacy issues. One important data privacy law that has been on the books for over two decades is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). In 1996, lawmakers passed HIPAA to ensure that employees could move between jobs without losing their…
This is an IHRSA featured article, brought to you by TRUE Fitness. When it comes to ROI, few investment decisions are more important than your purchase of cardio units. On average, health clubs pay 45.9% of their total spending allocation on cardio equipment, according to The IHRSA Health Club Equipment Report: Spending, Utilization & Programming Trends….
Virtually every health club membership agreement includes a waiver and release of liability and express assumption of risk. In all but a handful of states, a well-written release will shield the club from liability for its negligence. However, for public policy reasons, the vast majority of states will not permit the release of claims arising…
For the club owner or operator, the symptoms are easy to overlook or ignore. But for the club member, they’re impossible to ignore—insidious, annoying, and cumulative in their impact. The club’s parking lot is full. There aren’t any spots left in the group X class, no benches or dumbbells to be had. And, although there’s…
This is an IHRSA featured article, brought to you by Gleantap. Retention is a highly charged word in the health club space. Member attrition is a serious threat to the viability of long-term financial health. The entire health club model is based on improving people’s lives over a period of time. Having customers return to…
A study says that at least 50% of Americans are too intimidated to visit a gym, 24 Hour Fitness and fitness apps are trying to make working out easier, and business leaders are continuing to build the industry. Study: Half of Americans Suffer from Gym Anxiety About 50% of Americans feel too intimidated to develop…
How best to structure and manage staff compensation is a key issue for club operators. How you structure staff compensation ties directly into your management style and how you incentivize and reward performance. When it comes to group exercise instructor compensation in California, Janine Williams, former vice president of human resources for Leisure Sports Hospitality is…
At first glance, it may be a disorienting sight: someone has just walked into your club with a dog. While your instinct may be to approach the individual and remind him of your club’s no pet policy, there’s a chance that the dog is a service animal and has a legal right to accompany its…
This is an IHRSA featured article, brought to you by ASF Payment Solutions. Today’s behavioral psychologists have identified a central paradox of internet culture: the more we’re connected by social media, the more we feel isolated. Social connectivity is immediate and on-demand, but it’s not galvanizing our communities. We’re a step removed, our dopamine receptors…