challenge actually presented a great opportunity.
The club had an open lounge and kitchen area
which we converted into a supplement shop and
small retail clothing area. Naturally, we wanted
to keep costs down so, after being outraged
by some of the quotes we received, we tracked
down some second-hand glass and built the
frames and door ourselves. The result was a
large supplement shop area which has increased
secondary income and functions as an incentive
program for our trainers. We still also use the area
for coffee and breakfast. This section is alarmed
and locked at night.
Next up was the reception area, which
also needed to be glassed in. Again, we did
the majority of the work ourselves by installing
sliding glass windows and doors and fitting
locks and an alarm system. Fridges had to
have locks installed, procedures had to be
implemented regarding opening and closing
the club and staff trained in how to follow
these procedures. The facility is around
1,600square metres, so it’s a large club to run
24/7. It is currently manned from 5am to 8pm
weekdays and in the morning at weekends.
Getting word out
We decided to go 24/7 in April and
announced we would open in June – and
that’s what we did.
In May we started marketing ‘24/7 VIP
Memberships’, with members invited to put
a non-refundable deposit down on their
fobs and to pay the balance on collection.
Surprisingly, some members selected to pay
for them in full. Our objective was to have 500
members on 24/7 within six months: vRv