PILATES
Reformer pilates classes at Gymbox in Covent Garden – run by Tempo Pilates – are set to music for a more dynamic class
REVENUE DRIVER T
here’s a move away from including pilates classes as part of gym membership, with canny operators increasingly
recognising it as a potential secondary spend opportunity. If the experience ticks all the boxes,
most members will happily pay a supplementary fee for pilates. Pilates can also bring a different audience into the club, attracting people who wouldn’t necessarily be tempted by a gym membership: new mums wanting to rebuild their core but with limited time available, or perhaps the rehab market who don’t feel ready for the mainstream gym. Other people like to use pilates to complement their out-of-club sports pursuits, conditioning their body for activities such as golf, horse riding and team sports. It can therefore make
HOW TO CHARGE
• There are a number of factors to consider when deciding on pricing: the location and the demographic of your club, for example, as well as the prices that other local pilates facilities are charging. Offering a discount to members is a popular choice.
• Central YMCA in London often runs two-for-one introductory offers, while TenPilates offers the first session at half price. David Lloyd Leisure in Chigwell – which offers small group GRAVITY Pilates classes on its Total Gym equipment – offers free taster sessions.
• Make it easy for people to attend: give them the option of online booking from a mobile, as well as by phone or in person, or even consider launching an app.
• In terms of marketing, although the normal channels should be used – in-club leaflets and posters, websites and social media, and so on – most operators agree that the most persuasive way of getting people to embark on paid-for pilates classes is if their staff and instructors are able to engage with members and explain the benefits of the discipline.
70 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
How well is your pilates studio performing? Could you sweat the asset more? Kath Hudson looks at how to turn pilates into a successful secondary revenue stream
commercial sense to open up paid-for pilates classes to non-members. We take a look at a number of ways in
which health clubs can drive secondary revenue from their pilates offering.
BRING IN A THIRD PARTY A hassle-free way of delivering a pilates offering is to lease the space to a specialist third party to run the sessions. This gives a guaranteed monthly income with no risk involved, no further investment required by the health club, and no pressure for them to keep fully
abreast of the latest developments in the pilates arena. Tempo Pilates runs the classes
at Gymbox’s Covent Garden club in London, UK, offering reformer pilates to music – all packaged into an experience that suits the Gymbox membership base. “We cater for a more
‘uptempo’ clientele, who want to sweat while practising pilates,” says Tempo Pilates founder and director Daniel Le Roux. “The young, upbeat clientele attending Gymbox is perfect for us. In return, we provide the club with an additional service.” Gymbox allows non-members to
attend the classes, but members receive a discount. “We provide a specialist, high standard service, and we source and in-house train each individual instructor to a high level,” says Le Roux.
“Gymbox uses us to complement its facilities in the same way that cruise liners rent out space to dedicated spa operators like Steiner. “Rather than focusing on delivering
everything to an OK standard, clubs can outsource to the right people to create a remarkable standard.”
SMALL GROUP SESSIONS If you prefer to keep your pilates operation in-house, it could be tricky to introduce a charge for something that
February 2014 © Cybertrek 2014
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