Whenever I ask property managers why they place fitness centers in their complexes, the most common response is "to support the leasing effort." These operators, in other words, use their fitness centers to persuade prospective tenants to sign leases and to encourage existing occupants to renew.

In OMNIfitness' experience serving the multi-family residential marketplace, we find that fitness centers factor prominently into a package of amenities aimed to attract upscale, professional tenants. The fitness center, while contributing significantly in the mission of leasing units, actually serves to complete the image of a full-service residential community. Therefore, many property managers OMNI serves consider it is just as important to put a strong effort into the development and upkeep of the fitness center as it is to invest in the front entrance, social lounge, patio/pool area and other highly-visible, highly-valued amenities.

To successfully utilize an apartment fitness center as part of a club house amenity package that supports the leasing effort, property managers should adhere to a few basic guidelines:

1. Select Leading Name Brands of Equipment;
2. Purchase Commercial Equipment Only;
3. Work Only with Reputable Fitness Equipment Distributors;
4. Keep Equipment Up-to-Date; Periodically Replace Items or Add Pieces; and
5. Maintain Equipment in Top Working Order.

Following is the rationale behind each of these very important guidelines.

• Select Leading Name Brands of Equipment: A fitness center that contains the best brands WILL support the image of an apartment complex that strives to provide the best for its tenants. Even if tight budgetary constraints exist, select the leading brands. All the top manufacturers produce models at a variety of price points.

  Look to the major health clubs to determine which brands and specific models lead the industry. Those that dominate in health clubs will be likely to create a positive impression on prospective tenants. Chances are that the upscale rental tenant either belongs to a major health club or did at one time. The brands they know and/or recall from their club experiences can factor into their apartment complex decision.

  Another reason for selecting the leading brands is reliability. Broken equipment can be costly for a health club in terms of customer satisfaction and repair costs. Accordingly, large clubs tend to purchase equipment with very high reliability rates. The same issues apply even more critically to the resident services departments at apartment complexes.

  Three objective sources of information can provide information about leading brands of treadmills, exercise bicycles, stair climbers and elliptical cross trainers - the products most commonly placed in apartment complexes. Only multi-station gyms, which also commonly appear in apartment complexes, do not have a strong presence in health clubs. With this less prominent category of equipment, the buyer should rely on the advice of a qualified fitness equipment distributor (see item 3 below).

  The three sources of information are:

  • The Clubs Themselves. Conduct a visual inspection or phone survey of a few clubs. Find out why clubs chose particular brands. Ask about reliability and maintenance requirements.
  • The International Health and Racquet Sports Association (IHRSA). Call IHRSA, the most prominent health club trade association, for statistical information at (800) 228-4772.
  • Manufacturers' Sales Literature. While some may consider this source of information less objective, most leading manufacturers publish sales material that includes in-depth information on product features, programs, benefits and specifications. This is a good way to compare and contrast products.

  In the end, the image conveyed by a multi-family residential property that equips a fitness center with leading brands of equipment will support the property's leasing efforts.

• Purchase Commercial Equipment Only: The two classes of exercise equipment are commercial and residential. There are three main reasons to purchase commercial equipment:

  • Ongoing operational reliability and maintenance costs: Commercial equipment is designed to withstand extended daily use by many users while residential equipment is designed for use in a dwelling unit. Residential equipment is likely to break prematurely and frequently in apartment fitness centers. The impact nonfunctioning equipment exerts on lease renewal efforts, and the pressure broken equipment imposes on maintenance departments, can be quite onerous. Residential equipment does not carry manufacturers' warranties in apartment fitness center settings, so costs of repairs will most likely be borne entirely by the property manager, even when equipment is new.
  • Legal liability: Residential equipment that does not carry a commercial warranty exposes a property manager to the risk of adverse legal action if a user is injured while using the piece.
  • Image: The image conveyed by a well-conceived, well-designed fitness center equipped with high-quality commercial fitness equipment stands in stark contrast to a fitness room dotted with residential equipment. Residential equipment is typically much smaller than commercial equipment and offers fewer features and programs.

  All too often property managers succumb to cost pressures and representations by fitness equipment distributors that products designed for residential use are adequate for apartment complex fitness centers. Do not make this mistake. The savings of a few hundred dollars from purchasing residential equipment instead of commercial equipment pales in comparison to the expense associated with a successful legal action against the property manager, or the ongoing expense of maintaining, and ultimately replacing, residential equipment that was placed inappropriately into your fitness center.

• Work Only with Reputable Fitness Equipment Distributors: Given the investment associated with completing an apartment complex fitness center, property managers want to ensure that they work with fitness equipment distributors (also referred to as "dealers") that possess extensive experience serving the multi-family residential housing market. These dealers, few in number, possess the requisite qualifications needed to satisfy the specific needs of this unique market.

  Seek a distributor that also possess the integrity to select the proper equipment package of equipment for your unique community. Considerations include the size of the community, the demographic mix of the tenant population, the market positioning of the community and/or property manager, the configuration of the room, available funds and any special needs. Representatives from reputable fitness equipment distributors spend much time and energy creating equipment packages that meet the above listed considerations, and designing room layouts that provide a strong positive marketing statement for your community. Look for a distributor that:

  • Has an established presence in your area. How big is the distributor relative to competitors? How long has the distributor been in business? Larger distributors typically offer experience and stability as well as bargaining power over suppliers.
  • Has experience serving the multi-family residential market. Ask for references. Call your peers at other firms to confirm statements by references and representations made by the distributor.
  • Is an authorized distributor of recommended products. Purchasing from authorized distributors ensures that warranty coverage will be automatic and raises the likelihood that service needs will be promptly addressed. When discussing product options with a distributor, ask if the dealer is authorized by the manufacturers of all the proposed products to distribute all said items.
  • Is knowledgeable at laying out fitness rooms. As simple as this may seem, it is not. Ask to see layouts from other facilities. Insist that the representative place your facility layout on a to-scale CAD program with to-scale equipment icons. CADs help enormously in planning out the ultimate configuration of your fitness center and all requisite support systems (e.g. electrical).
  • Can offer preventive maintenance programs and remedial service. Dig deep into the operational history of service providers. The responsiveness, reliability and quality of work performed are a direct result of the efforts of the distributor.

  A strong, ongoing relationship with a fitness equipment distributor will serve your best interests handsomely in many ways.

• Keep Equipment Up-to-Date; Periodically Replace Items or Add Pieces: The image of the community, and the influence that image will exert on the ongoing leasing and lease renewal efforts, requires property managers to periodically replace and/or add to the equipment in their facilities. New product developments occur regularly, and entirely new product categories (e.g. the elliptical cross-trainer) are occasionally introduced. Upscale tenants will appreciate the efforts put forth by property managers to keep the facility up-to-date.

  Equipment renewal/replacement efforts need not be expensive. The effort should, however, be deliberate, logical and methodical. Many of the more prominent property managers that OMNI serves perform periodic reviews, either annually or biannually, of the equipment at each of their sites and replace pieces when appropriate. Single new pieces are commonly installed at existing properties after the third year of operation. Pieces are generally replaced one at a time every other year or so from then on. When popular new products, such as the cross-trainer, are introduced, property managers can often fit the placement of the new product into the ongoing equipment replacement cycle.

• Maintain Equipment in Top Working Order: Property managers should maintain their exercise equipment to protect their investment and to convey the best image/impression to their residents. Distributors can offer guidance as to how to best maintain your fitness equipment investment. After all, a fully equipped apartment fitness facility can cost anywhere from $20,000 to over $40,000. Protecting that investment should rank high on any property manager's priority list. For a very small cost, equipment can be protected and remain in peak working order for many years.

  There are two types of maintenance/service: preventive and remedial. Preventive maintenance consists of a program of regularly scheduled service visits, typically once every three or six months. At each visit, a service technician examines each piece of equipment to ensure that all components are clean, lubricated and in proper working order.

  Even though so much of today's exercise equipment is nearly maintenance free, a preventive maintenance program can make much sense for an apartment complex. For as little as a few hundred dollars per year (very approximate range of costs for a semiannual visit program), a full exercise facility can be covered with a preventive maintenance program.

  Remedial service occurs when equipment, or one or more components of a piece of equipment, fails. Service technicians are called to remedy the failure. Depending on warranty coverage, the service/repair may or may not cost anything to perform.

  Today's astute property managers, large and small, are effectively utilizing amenities packages that include fitness facilities to maximize the value of their leasing efforts, and hence their returns on investment and assets deployed. OMNIfitness'savvier, more aggressive property management clients successfully apply the tactics discussed above, and as a result, enjoy extremely high lease occupancy and unit rental rates. They provide a good example for others to emulate.