Trends in Health, Fitness & Sports Clubs

A Look at Trends in Health, Fitness & Sports Clubs

In these pages, we'll take a closer look at trends reported by health club respondents, which includes health clubs, sports clubs, fitness clubs and medical fitness facilities. These respondents made up 2.6% of the survey population in 2021.

Respondents from health clubs were not concentrated in any specific region. More than half were from either the Midwest (27%) or the West (27%), and another 24.3% were from the Northeast. Smaller numbers were from the South Atlantic (16.2%) and South Central (5.4%) regions.

Respondents from health clubs were most likely to be located in suburban communities. Nearly half (48.6%) said they were located in the suburbs. Another 27% were located in rural communities, while 24.3% said they made their home in an urban community.

On average, health club respondents said they reach a population of 54,070 people, up from 42,970 in 2020. More than seven out of 10 (70.3%) health club respondents said they reach a population of 20,000 or fewer, compared with 47.1% of non-health-club respondents. And, while 21% of non-health-club respondents said they reach a population of 100,000 or more, just 16.2% of health club respondents reach an audience that size.

More than half (56.8%) of health club respondents said they were with private, for-profit organizations. Another 37.8% were with private nonprofit organizations, and just 5.4% said they were with public or governmental organizations.

Health club respondents in 2021 manage an average of 2.9 facilities, up from 2 in 2020. They were far more likely than non-health-club respondents to report that they manage just a single facility. Some 78.4% of health club respondents said they manage just one facility, compared with 33.5% of non-health-club respondents. Conversely, while just 5.4% of health club respondents said they manage 10 or more facilities, some 15.9% of non-health-club respondents said they have at least 10 facilities to manage.

Health club respondents were much less likely than others to report that they form partnerships with other organizations, though a majority of them do. Some 78.4% of health club respondents said they partner with outside organizations (up from 70.3% in 2020). This compares with 88.2% of non-health-club respondents. The most common partner for health club respondents was health care and medical facilities. In fact, they were nearly twice as likely as non-health-club respondents to partner with this type of organization. Some 45.9% of health club respondents said they partner with health care and medical facilities, compared with 23.1% of non-health-club respondents. Other common partners for health club respondents include: local government (37.8%); local schools (32.8%); corporate and local businesses (29.7%); and nonprofit organizations (24.3%).

Respondents from health clubs were far more likely than others to report that their primary audience is made up of adults or seniors. Some 62.2% of health club respondents said adults were their primary audience, compared with just 14.8% of non-health-club respondents. And while 8.1% said they primarily reach seniors, just 3.3% of non-health-club respondents named seniors as their primary audience. Another 27% of health club respondents said their primary audience is made up of all ages, and 2.7% said they reach children ages 4 to 12.

Revenues & Expenditures

Health club respondents tend to report more volatility when it comes to revenues than other types of respondents to the Industry Report survey. In most years, health clubs are more likely to report decreases to revenues than others, but they also tend to be far more optimistic about future revenues. In 2020, nearly three-quarters (73%) of health club respondents said their revenues had decreased, while 18.9% reported no change and 8.1% said their revenues had increased. (See Figure 57.)

Health club respondents were slightly more optimistic about 2021, with 41.7% expecting revenues to increase this year. Only camp respondents were more likely to be expecting revenue increases in 2021. Another 27.8% of health club respondents said they expect their revenues to remain unchanged in 2021, while 30.6% expect a decrease.

Looking forward, health clubs are, as usual, far more optimistic. More than two-thirds (69.7%) said they expect their revenues to increase in 2022. Another 21.2% expect no change in 2022, while just 9.1% are expecting revenues to decline next year.

Among those reporting a decrease in their operating expenses from 2019 to 2020, health club respondents reported the smallest change. The average operating expense for health clubs in 2020 was $1,320,000, just 0.8% lower than the average for 2019 of $1,330,000. Looking forward, health club respondents are expecting their operating expenses to rise by 12.9% between 2020 and 2022, to an average of $1,490,000.

On average, health club respondents in 2021 reported that they recover 76.4% of their operating costs via revenues, up from 71.3% in 2020. Health club respondents were far more likely to report that they recover at least 91% of their operating costs via revenues. While just 17.9% of non-health-club respondents said they recover 91% or more of their costs, nearly half (48.6%) of health club respondents do so. Just 5.4% of health club respondents said they earned back 30% or less of their cost via revenues (compared with 28.9% of non-health-club respondents). Another 10.8% said they earn back between 31% and 50% of their revenues, while 13.5% said they earn back 51% to 70%. Some 54.1% of health club respondents said they earn back at least 71% of their operating costs via revenues, up from 51.4% in 2020.

In a change from the norm, health club respondents were slightly more likely than their counterparts to report that they had taken action to reduce their operating expenditures. Some 91.9% of health club respondents said they had taken such measures, up from 81.1% in 2020. This compares with 90.1% of non-health-club respondents in 2021 who reported that they acted to reduce their operating costs.

Health club respondents were much more likely than non-health-club respondents to report that they had cut staff. Some 70.3% of health club respondents had done so, compared with 56.1% of non-health-club respondents. Other common measures employed by health club respondents to reduce their costs include: cutting programs or services (56.8%); reducing hours of operation (51.4%); temporary closure (43.2%); and improving energy efficiency (35.5%).

Health Club Facilities

There's no doubt that health club and fitness facilities were among the hardest hit by pandemic-related closures. Three-quarters (75%) of health club respondents said the number of people using their facilities fell in 2020, while 19.4% reported no change and just 5.6% reported an increase. (See Figure 58.)

Looking forward, however, health club respondents are relatively optimistic. While just over a quarter (27.8%) said that they expect usage of their facilities to decrease in 2021, the majority expect their numbers to either remain the same (27.8%) or increase (44.4%). And in 2022, they are even more optimistic, with nearly seven out of 10 (68.9%) reporting that they expect attendance to increase.

Health club respondents are always among the least likely to be planning construction, and 2021 is no exception. More than half (51.4%) of health club respondents said they are planning construction over the next few years, compared with 65.3% of non-health-club respondents. As with most other respondents, this represents a drop from 2020, when 59.5% of health club respondents were planning construction. Some 40.5% of health club respondents said they were planning to renovate their existing facilities, while 21.6% were planning additions to their existing facilities. Just 8.1% were planning new construction. (See Figure 59.)

In 2021, health club respondents were planning to spend an average of $3,200,000 on their construction plans—a 188.3% increase from 2020, when they were planning to spend $1,110,000. That said, it is still 7.8% below the average reported for 2019, $3,470,000, and it is important to note that the smaller sample size of health club respondents does tend to make such averages more volatile from year to year.

The features most commonly included among health club respondents' facilities in 2021 include: fitness centers; exercise studio rooms; locker rooms; Wi-Fi services; indoor aquatic facilities; indoor courts for sports like basketball and volleyball; classrooms and meeting rooms; childcare centers; indoor tracks; and concession areas.

As is usually the case, health club respondents were far less likely to report that they had plans to add features at their facilities, though in a reverse from the norm for 2021, they were more likely to have such plans this year than last. Some 21.6% of health club respondents (vs. 37.5% of non-health-club respondents) in 2021 said they had plans to add features at their facilities, up from just 13.5% in 2020. It is also a slight increase from 2019, when 20.8% of health club respondents had plans to add features to their facilities.

The features health club respondents were most commonly planning to add include fitness trails and outdoor fitness equipment, playgrounds, and indoor aquatic facilities.

Programming

Innovations in programming are crucial to the success of a health club business, driving new memberships and keeping existing members engaged with offerings that get them excited to work out and keep them coming back for more.

The top 10 programs offered in 2021 at health club respondents' facilities include: fitness programs (provided by 94.6% of health club respondents); group exercise programs (91.9%); mind-body/balance programs like yoga and tai chi (89.2%); personal training programs (89.2%); functional fitness programs (73%); programs for active older adults (64.9%); nutrition and diet counseling (59.5%); aquatic exercise programs (56.8%); therapeutic programs (48.6%); and holidays and other special events (48.6%).

Programming types that saw growth from 2020 to 2021 include: fitness (up from 91.9%); group exercise (up from 89.2%); personal training (up from 78.4%); mind-body/balance (up from 73%); programs for active older adults (up from 54.1%); aquatic exercise (up from 35.1%); therapeutic programs (up from 29.7%); and holidays and special events (up from 37.8%).

The number of health club respondents in 2021 who said they were planning to add programs at their facilities over the next several years was up slightly. Some 32.4% of health club respondents said they had such plans, up from 29.7% in 2020. This compares with 36.2% of non-health-club respondents in 2021 who were planning to add programs at their facilities.

The programs health club respondents were most commonly planning to add include:

• Educational programs (was not among the top planned programs for health club respondents in 2020)
• Nutrition and diet counseling (up from No. 8)
• Functional fitness programs (down from No. 2)
• Holidays and other special events (did not appear in 2020)
• Programs for active older adults (up from No. 6)
• Sports tournaments and races (did not appear in 2020)
• Therapeutic programs (did not appear in 2020)
• Group exercise programs (down from No. 4)
• Fitness programs (down from No. 3)
• Mind-body/balance programs like yoga (down from No. 5)

New to the list in 2021 are: educational programs; holidays and special events; sports tournaments and races; and therapeutic programs. These programs replaced: special needs programs; swimming programs; aquatic exercise programs; and personal training.

Top Issues

When it comes to the top issues cited as challenges by health club respondents, they were the most likely to name general fitness and wellness as a problem. In fact, 58.3% of health club respondents said general fitness and wellness are a top issue, compared with just 28.1% of non-health-club respondents. Health club respondents were also more likely than their peers to cite fitness and wellness for older adults as an issue (47.2% vs. 19.8%), as well as marketing and increasing participation (41.7% vs. 37.9%). (See Figure 60.) RM