GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio — A loyal customer base allowed Go Fitness Center in Grandview to keep its doors open following state-issued closure mandates in March 2020.
“We gave them the option to continue paying when we were closed, and we would extend their membership,” said Nick Osborne, owner of Go Fitness Center. “And surprisingly, about 90% of our members did that. They really supported us. We tried to give back to the community and they gave back to us.”
At Planet Fitness, a spokesperson says customers have found "an increased appreciation for the importance of health and wellness in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic."
Currently, membership levels at Planet Fitness have reached 97% of the gym's pre-pandemic all-time peak, according to the spokesperson.
LifeTime Fitness is seeing similar results. According to a spokesperson, the company's fitness centers have enough square footage to allow members to socially distance themselves.
The spokesperson also says their resorts in Columbus have seen an increased number of visits.
Many other fitness centers across the country were not as lucky.
The latest figures from the IHRSA, a global fitness trade association, show 22% of gyms and studios in the U.S closed permanently. The same report says 47% or 1.5 million workers lost their jobs due to pandemic-related issues.
Osborne says fellow gym owners are experiencing similar trends.
“We're all dealing with the almost exact same across the board, whether it's coming from how do I get more employees, better employees? How do I maintain my current clients? And how do I grow? We're all down anywhere from I've seen as high as 40% down (in membership). But I think the average is about 20% from where we were two years ago. So, it's affecting every gym that I know of,” said Osborne.
Go Fitness Center has been operating for 22 years. Osborne expects a slight uptick in memberships in January but thinks the rush will be delayed until February when the recent COVID-19 spike could settle down.