Gym Owners: The Number ONE Thing You Need to Prepare for the Spring Break Crowd

Are you ready for your gym to get a rush for Spring Break? March is a time when gyms tend to get a boost in activity, so your gym should be prepared to make the most of this time. March can actually be the busiest time of year for many gyms. Spring is a busy gym season for many reasons, as some people stick around after joining in January, others join to get their bodies ready for wearing less clothing in spring and summer, and many need an indoor space to work out when the weather is still chilly outside.

During this busy season, you’ll want to put in the effort to get as many new memberships as possible and to get your current members to stay if not upgrade. These are great areas to focus on, yet to reach your goals we think you should put the bulk of your attention on ONE thing in preparation for the Spring Break crowd: creating a plan your gym can follow to maximize this time and not waste its opportunities.

Why Is a Plan So Important?

This busy time of year could easily get away from your control, with more members than you can handle, potential members falling through the cracks and neglected current members who decide to look elsewhere. You don’t want this to happen, especially when spring can be the most successful time of year for your gym.

Sure, it will be your goal to focus on the Spring Break crowd. But you also need to continue to offer your current members a satisfying experience instead of only focusing on the new ones. You need to not neglect other aspects of your gym by only going after new memberships. And you need to distinguish the people who might stick around after Spring Break and try to keep them coming.

Create a plan to ensure that every aspect of your gym runs smoothly during this busy time.

What Should Your Plan Focus On?

Your Spring Break plan will guide your gym and its staff. Include a focus on:

• A process for recruiting and onboarding new members for before and during Spring Break.
• A process to convert those who try the gym as short-term visitors into members who stick around.
• Decision-making on whether to bring in increased staff during this time or to increase staff hours, and how best to use the decided number of staff.
• A consistent look at the gym schedule and decision-making on issues such as whether gaps should be filled, whether classes should be added if current ones are consistently filled and whether additional physical trainer slots are needed.
• A priority to check and maintain the gym and equipment.
• A plan to ensure the continued satisfaction of current members and perhaps a program to reward them.

The rest is up to you as gym owners. But the idea is to have a plan that keeps your gym running like a well-oiled machine and takes full advantage of this busy time of year. Otherwise, you could be missing opportunities and creating dissatisfaction for visitors and members. Gym management software can help you run your gym smoothly, as it makes it easy to track and change your schedule, your staff, your memberships and other important aspects of your gym. How do you plan to get ready for that Spring Break crowd?