What If the Fitness Industry Stopped Competing on Price and Started Competing on Value?

 

What If the Fitness Industry Stopped Competing on Price and Started Competing on Value?

Let’s be honest about something first.

Offers and price-led promotions are always going to exist. Clubs have bills to pay, teams to support and targets to hit. In the short term, dropping price works. It brings enquiries through the door and fills quieter periods.

The problem is not that price is used.
The problem is that price has become the default.

Over time, the fitness industry has trained the public to believe that gyms are cheap, interchangeable and disposable. Free months. Zero joining fees. Flash sales. Permanent discounts. Price has become the headline, not the experience, not the service, not the outcome.

And once price becomes the anchor, everything else loses its perceived value.

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What If Clubs Worked Together Instead of Against Each Other?

Imagine a different approach.

Not price fixing. Not identical pricing. Not pretending every club is the same.

But a shared understanding across the sector that while price points may differ, the messaging does not need to be competitive or destructive.

Instead of “we’re cheaper than them”, the message becomes more collective and positive. This is what fitness gives you. This is why movement matters. This is how gyms improve lives. This is how to choose the right environment for you.

Clubs would still compete, but not on who can discount the hardest. They would compete on service standards, community, coaching quality and delivery.

That is a far healthier battleground.

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Different Clubs Will Always Perform Differently and That’s Fine

Some clubs will outperform others. That’s reality.

They may be better located, better suited to a particular demographic, more premium, more community-driven or more specialised. That isn’t a failure of the market. That is choice.

The aim should not be to eliminate competition.
The aim should be to grow the total market.

Right now, only around 16.9 percent of the population engages with fitness clubs. That means more than 80 percent do not.

Imagine if that figure was 25 percent. Or 30 percent.

The opportunity for every operator would be enormous, without anyone needing to steal members from each other.

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Competing on Value Changes the Conversation Completely

If the industry stopped shouting about price and started talking consistently about value, the conversation would shift almost immediately.

Customers would no longer choose purely on cost. They would compare clubs based on environment and culture, coaching and support, community and belonging, values and ethos, and how well a club fits their lifestyle.

Instead of asking “which is the cheapest?”, people would ask “which is right for me?”.

That single shift improves retention, results and long-term satisfaction.

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The Impact on Businesses, Staff and Standards

When price stops being the primary lever, businesses gain breathing room.

Healthier margins allow clubs to reinvest in staff, improve facilities, add services, increase education and development, and deliver stronger member experiences.

Staff benefit too. Competing on price often squeezes wages, increases pressure and lowers expectations. Competing on value allows coaching, service and leadership to be treated as professions rather than commodities.

Standards rise across the board.

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How This Changes External Perception of the Industry

A fragmented industry arguing over price is easy to ignore.

A united industry speaking positively about health, wellbeing, prevention and long-term outcomes is not.

If the sector presented a more consistent message, it would be far easier to defend gyms against rising costs and business rates, position fitness as part of the health solution rather than a luxury, gain credibility with local authorities, healthcare and government, and be taken seriously as a contributor to public wellbeing.

Messaging matters. And right now, ours is confused.

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The Real Challenge

Price competition feels safe. It is immediate, measurable and familiar.

Positive, collective messaging requires confidence. It requires patience. It requires clubs to genuinely deliver on the promises they make.

It also requires a shift in mindset from short-term wins to long-term impact.

That is uncomfortable. But it is necessary.

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A Better Future Is Possible

If the fitness industry stopped competing on price and started working together on positive messaging, the change would be far greater than most people expect.

We would grow participation.
We would improve standards.
We would retain members longer.
We would build stronger businesses.
We would elevate the profession.

The question is not whether it would work.

The question is whether we are willing to move beyond short-term tactics and build something better together.

Is The Fitness Industry Really Delivering the Health Outcomes We Claim?

Are We Really Delivering the Health Outcomes We Claim?

I had an interesting conversation recently with someone who works closely with our industry but sits just outside it. They’re not a gym owner. Not a trainer. Not a consultant. But they work alongside many fitness businesses and see how they operate day to day.

What struck me was how quickly the conversation landed on the same conclusions I’ve been talking about for years.

As an industry, we talk a great game about health.
But we don’t consistently deliver the outcomes we claim.

And when someone from outside the bubble says it out loud, it lands differently.

Let’s start with the uncomfortable facts.

Less than 17 percent of the population are members of a gym.
That means over 83 percent are choosing not to engage with what we offer.

Even more concerning, there are now more ex-members than current members in the fitness industry. Millions of people have tried our services and decided they weren’t for them.

That alone should force us to pause.

Yet we still measure success largely by member numbers. We celebrate openings, growth and headline figures, while ignoring what those numbers actually represent. Short stays. Early drop-outs. Cycles of joining and leaving.

If we were genuinely delivering on the health promises we make, those numbers would look very different.

Dig a little deeper and the cracks become clearer.

Many clubs do not track client journeys in any meaningful way. They don’t measure improvement, confidence, adherence or long-term behaviour change. They don’t even consistently monitor attendance beyond basic usage.

Most clubs still don’t have a structured onboarding process. No clear first 90 days. No defined checkpoints. No planned education or reassurance. Yet we confidently claim we “support” members.

How can we support people if we don’t guide them?

On top of that, many clubs don’t properly monitor their own business performance. Attrition, engagement, conversion, secondary spend, length of stay. Either not tracked at all, or looked at too infrequently to drive real decisions.

And yet, as an industry, we’re quick to position ourselves as the “first line of defence for the NHS”.

In reality, most of what we offer is access to facilities.

That doesn’t mean facilities aren’t valuable. They absolutely are. But facilities alone don’t change behaviour. They don’t build confidence. They don’t remove fear. And they don’t keep people engaged long enough to see real health outcomes.

To be clear, this isn’t an attack on every gym.

There are some outstanding operators out there. Clubs that genuinely care about service delivery. Businesses that prioritise onboarding, education, retention and long-term relationships. Operators who understand that fitness is about people, not programming.

They deserve huge credit.

But they are not yet the norm.

Too often we congratulate ourselves as an industry. We attend conferences, share success stories and talk about innovation, while avoiding the harder conversation about why the majority of the population still doesn’t feel that gyms are for them.

We’ve leaned heavily into hype and trends. HIIT. Six-week transformations. Challenges. Before-and-after photos. All of these have their place, but they are not the foundation of long-term engagement.

Exercise should not feel intimidating.
It should not feel competitive.
And it certainly shouldn’t feel like failure if someone doesn’t “stick to the plan”.

If we want to move the needle on engagement, we have to rethink how we deliver our services.

That means taking service delivery seriously. Designing real client journeys. Building onboarding that educates and reassures. Measuring success by retention, confidence and consistency, not just sign-ups.

It means recognising that health outcomes are built slowly, through trust, guidance and support, not through hype or intensity.

And it means being honest with ourselves.

If we want to be taken seriously as part of the health solution, we have to act like it. Not just talk about it.

This isn’t about blaming. It’s about responsibility.

If we genuinely believe fitness can change lives, then we need to do the work to make that true for more than just the already confident, already active minority.

Because if we keep doing what we’ve always done, we’ll keep getting the same results.

And the numbers already tell us that isn’t good enough.

Hotel Leisure Clubs: One of the Biggest Missed Opportunities in Fitness

 

Hotel Leisure Clubs: One of the Biggest Missed Opportunities in Fitness

Hotel leisure clubs sit in a unique position in the fitness industry.

They have strong locations.
High service standards.
Built-in footfall.
Premium facilities.
And access to audiences most gyms would love to attract.

Yet despite all of that, many hotel leisure clubs consistently underperform compared to their potential.

Not because the opportunity isn’t there.
But because of how leisure is positioned, prioritised and managed within the wider hotel business.

Why hotel leisure clubs should be winning

On paper, hotel leisure clubs have advantages most independent gyms can only dream of.

They are designed to high standards.
They operate within hospitality environments where service is already embedded.
They attract a non-intimidating mix of users: guests, members, spa users, corporate clients and local residents.
They are often seen as calm, welcoming and premium rather than aggressive or intimidating.

In many cases, hotel leisure clubs are not just gyms. They are mini health clubs. Pools, spas, studios, thermal areas, treatment rooms and social spaces all under one roof.

That should put them in an incredibly strong position.

So why do so many fail to truly capitalise on it?

Leisure is still viewed as a service, not a commercial asset

One of the biggest challenges is not operational. It’s cultural.

In many hotels, leisure is still treated as a guest amenity rather than a commercial driver. Something that supports room sales, rather than something that deserves its own performance focus.

Rooms, food and beverage, events and conferences are rightly measured relentlessly.
Leisure often isn’t.

When leisure is positioned as a service rather than a profit centre, a few things usually follow:

• Limited commercial accountability

• Conservative pricing decisions

• Underdeveloped membership strategies

• Little focus on conversion, yield or retention

• Minimal investment in systems and sales capability

The result is a department that is busy, well-intentioned and liked by guests, but underperforming financially.

And the irony is, when leisure performs well, it lifts everything else around it.

Service-led environments can struggle with performance focus

Hospitality breeds excellent service standards. That is a huge strength.

But it can also create a reluctance to sell.

Many leisure teams are fantastic at welcoming, supporting and helping guests. They are less confident when it comes to conversations about membership, upgrades, PT, spa packages or long-term commitment.

Sales is often seen as something that might compromise service.

In reality, done properly, it enhances it.

Helping a guest or local member commit to a programme, routine or membership is not selling for the sake of revenue. It’s supporting outcomes, consistency and experience.

Without structure, leisure teams default to passive service. Friendly, helpful, but reactive.

And passive service rarely drives commercial performance.

Decision-making is often slow by design

Hotels are complex businesses. Layers of approval, brand standards, ownership structures and reporting lines all exist for good reason.

But they can slow innovation.

Pricing changes take time.
New programmes take time.
Marketing initiatives take time.
Local partnerships take time.

While independent gyms can test, adjust and move quickly, hotel leisure clubs often operate cautiously. That caution protects the brand, but it also means opportunities are missed.

Especially in local markets where agility matters.

Leisure often lacks its own clear strategy

Another common issue is the absence of a clear leisure-specific strategy.

Not a hotel strategy that includes leisure.
A leisure strategy in its own right.

That means clarity on:

• Who the club is for locally

• What success looks like commercially

• How members, guests and spa users flow through the business

• What the core revenue drivers actually are

• How teams are measured and developed

Without this, leisure drifts. It reacts to demand instead of shaping it.

The opportunity hotels are sitting on

When leisure is positioned correctly, it becomes far more than a gym.

It becomes:

• A driver of repeat stays

• A differentiator for corporate contracts

• A gateway to spa and wellness spend

• A local community hub

• A stable, recurring revenue stream

• A brand amplifier rather than a cost centre

The best hotel leisure clubs prove this is possible. They combine hospitality-level service with fitness-industry performance thinking.

They don’t choose between service and sales. They align them.

What needs to change

Hotel leisure clubs don’t need radical reinvention. They need focus.

They need:

• Clear commercial ownership of leisure performance

• Confidence that selling well is part of great service

• Simple, consistent systems for enquiries, onboarding and retention

• Teams trained to support outcomes, not just access

• Leadership that sees leisure as a strategic asset, not a support function

When that shift happens, the results can be transformational.

Not just for leisure.
For the entire hotel business.

Final thought

Hotel leisure clubs are not underperforming because they lack facilities, people or opportunity.

They underperform because they are often treated as something they are not.

They are not just a guest service.
They are not just an amenity.

They are one of the most underutilised commercial assets in hospitality.

And the hotels that recognise that will be the ones that lead the next phase of fitness and wellness growth.