11 Jun 2020
24 Hour Fitness begins US-wide club reopening process
BY Tom Walker
Health club chain 24 Hour Fitness expects nearly 50 per cent of its clubs to be reopened by the end of June – with the remaining clubs to be reopened by late July or early August 2020.
The company – which has more than 430 locations – is currently preparing to set out on a large-scale reopening schedule, following relaunching its first sites in Dallas and Houston, Texas in May.
The next set of reopenings are set to take place over the coming weeks in Hawaii, Miami and Austin, Texas, alongside other markets in parts of the East Coast and California.
To support the reopenings, the operator has put in place a comprehensive programme to ensure safe club environments for team and club members.
Measures include touch-free check-ins through the 24GO personalised fitness app, strict social distancing throughout clubs, temporary closures of some amenities and the decommissioning of select cardio and strength equipment to ensure spacing.
Clubs will operate on limited hours – from 5am until 9pm – and will initially be open for 60-minute sessions throughout the day.
Reservations will have to be made one day in advance through the 24GO app and each workout session is followed by a 30-minute closure to allow the club to be cleaned between sessions.
Personal training and studio classes will be made available, but may only be held in carefully chosen club areas where members can safely maintain social distancing.
The reopenings come as state and local governments and public health agencies are gradually lifting stay-at-home orders across the US.
• Last month, a number of US-based media reported that 24 Hour Fitness was considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to allow it time to reorganise its affairs.
The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and USA Today were among those to say the company was seeking a loan to allow it to restructure the business following the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement to the media at the time, 24 Hour Fitness said: "We are considering a broad range of options to ensure the long-term sustainability and success of 24 Hour Fitness and we are not going to comment publicly on our strategic plans."
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