We launched our first multifamily engagement in 2021. It was at a Class A property in Houston, TX that had opened its doors to residents just a few months prior. We were not only excited to have underlying residents use our app, but also to see how those residents would use the fitness center at this property. Through our data analytics offering, we were able to capture first hand equipment usage and overall gym demand at the property’s fitness center. Below are some of the insights we took away from the data.
Keep it Open 🔗
Residents used the fitness center at this property all throughout the day. While the late afternoons and early mornings saw the highest level of usage, the fitness center was relatively occupied most of the time. We even saw usage late into the night. There were many instances of residents using the fitness center well past midnight!
This data point further illustrated to us the importance of a good fitness center to the resident experience. Unlike the pool or other amenities, the fitness center can be used by residents at all hours and during all seasons. The usage data really validated the point that operators should keep their gym open 24/7, if possible.
Open Space is Huge 🔗
One of the most popular styles of workout we saw from residents was non-equipment related ones. This included bodyweight squats, core workouts, leg/glute routines, etc. These floor based workouts accounted for a large sum of the logged workouts we saw in our mobile app. This data point pushed the narrative that fitness centers should have open areas dedicated to non-equipment workouts.
Most apartment fitness centers are generally small in nature. When all the equipment is added, that small space tends to get even tighter. Operators should focus on giving the fitness center some breathability. Taking away repetitive equipment and opening that space up for floor workouts can be a huge plus for the overall experience of residents.
No Bang For Your Buck 🔗
The data also revealed which equipment at the property’s fitness center was not being used. There were 2-3 such resistance equipment that residents were just not interested in. We shared this data with our underlying operator and helped them understand demand from residents.
Without this information, our partnering operator would not know which of their equipment, that cost thousands of dollars each, was actually returning value. This concept points back to an ethos at GAINZ that a quality gym experience is not merely dependent on how much you spend, but rather what you spend the money on. Through our data, we were able to identify equipment with low demand. This information will help our partnering operator better manage replacement and purchasing needs moving forward at this property and new developments.
Free Weights are a Must 🔗
Residents like working out with free weights, whether it’s dumbbells, barbells or kettlebells. We have seen significant demand and usage of free weights at this property’s fitness center. Residents have used it for one off workouts or full daily routines. Outside of cardio equipment, free weights should be a top priority item at any fitness center, especially multifamily ones that have limited capacity for equipment.
We believe the availability of our on-demand instructional videos via the GAINZ mobile app has been a catalyst for free weight workouts at this property. The underlying usage data shows many user flows where residents scanned one of our QR codes in the gym related to free weights and then explored various workout options. The QR codes and associated mobile app features allows residents to learn and perform over 75 workouts related to free weight equipment in this gym.