CHANGING ROOMS
CHANGING PLACES
The days of sterile, tatty changing cubicles are disappearing as leisure centres battle it out with private health clubs. And with members reportedly spending up to 40 per cent of their time at a facility in the changing rooms, it’s no surprise that one operator is even using top-class changing rooms as a marketing tool to upsell premium memberships. Abigail Harris reports
PREMIUM CHANGING SPACE
Putney Leisure Centre in south-west London to provide exclusive members- only changing rooms. To keep up with customer expectations and the threat of increased competition, the centre – which previously only offered village changing for both swimmers and gym members – decided to create facilities on a par with private health clubs, but for use only by members paying all-inclusive rates. Dave Jolliffe, area manager for DC Leisure – which manages the centre –
L
eisure build and design expert Createability recently completed an eight-week redevelopment project at
says: “The competition has increased signifi cantly over the last few years, with the standard of changing facilities increasing all the time. Our NPS survey results, mystery shoppers and customer comments all showed that dated facilities can be a barrier to joining and a reason for leaving.” “While the gym and customer service
has always been excellent, DC Leisure realised the changing facilities at Putney Leisure Centre required improvement,” adds Ian Cotgrave, managing director at Createability. “Our aim was to create luxury changing rooms to provide all-inclusive members with the sense of comfort in their surroundings that
people might not normally expect of a local leisure centre.” The response has been extremely
positive, with new members already appearing to favour all-inclusive membership when they join. “Although it’s too early to say what long-term impact it will have on all-inclusive memberships, the signs look very positive. We’re certainly getting more new joiners taking this option, and have seen higher than normal membership upgrades in the fi rst month too,” says Jolliffe, who will recommend the approach to other Wandsworth borough sites if the membership increases and associated payback continues to meet expectations.
The changing rooms before (above) and after (right). The members- only facilities have been a big hit
January 2013 © Cybertrek 2013 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 69
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84