Lessons
From My Bel Air Athletic Club Experience
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here for the Microsoft Word document.
Seven years after we sold
the 120,000 sq. ft Bel Air Athletic Club to the Wellbridge
Company in July 2000 I had a call from Rick Beusman. Rick
is currently on the Board of our industry Association,
the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association,
(IHRSA) and I had known his father. People remember Curt
as an industry pioneer, a member of the IHRSA Board in
the early days, and the owner of the Sawmill Club in West
Chester, NY. They also remember Curt as the fellow who
urged fellow club owners to “Raise prices every year-
don’t undervalue your product”. Its nice
that Rick is following in his dad’s footsteps though
I don’t know if he follows his pricing advise.
Rick was calling with an employee
compensation question and before we hung up he said, “Roger,
do you know that I still have pasted on my bulletin board
a list of “lessons”
from the Bel Air Athletic Club which you gave me years
ago?” I had forgotten that, didn’t have it,
and asked Rick to fax me a copy which he did. Thanks
to Rick I am able below to share these “lessons”.
1. Health Clubs that endeavor
to "BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE" will attract
the largest units of membership and be the most profitable.
2. There is a direct correlation
between usage and retention. Usage is a function of convenience,
facilities, and service.
3. A family and female orientation
significantly enhances opportunities for success.
4. Each major capital improvement
can significantly increase revenues.
5. An extensive aquatics component
is integral to the success of a "family health club".
6. All managers and supervisors
must be trained to be profit and cost center CEOs.
7. Conscious community involvement
is a tangible plus for staff, members, and financial performance.
_______________________________________________________________________
Postscript: While I still
fully believe in the lessons above, today's capital and
land costs are such that the margins for error are far
less for "green field" large scale health club
projects than they were a decade or two ago. I would encourage
entrepreneurs entering the family health club market — and
I hope there are many because of the good they can do for
their communities
— need to determine if it will be more cost effective
to renovate existing structures.
Roger Ralph
November 2007
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