It has been such a surprise to us at GAINZ how little data is being utilized by multifamily and commercial office operators in making decisions about their fitness centers. It has, on occasion, baffled us to see that critical decisions about this amenity are still being made off of gut instincts and precedent. Not just any amenity, mind you, but an important amenity that has tangible impact on the tenant experience. A data driven approach is badly needed here to make sure we are delivering the right stuff!
I still vividly remember opening the The Economist years ago and reading a fascinating article discussing how Data was quickly becoming the new Oil. The article argued that data was the new commodity that would transform industries and crown the next generation of winners around the world.
This thesis seems omnipresent years later. Companies, across the economic spectrum, are leveraging data to make the most critical of decisions to serve their customers.
However, when we probed real estate operators on overall gym and equipment usage data, we never received straight answers. Most recounted observational data or insights given to them by their fitness consultants. While these markers are not irrelevant, they don’t provide an accurate and evidence based view on the matter, which can impact decisions that are associated with hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.
Most real estate operators can’t accurately answer how often a piece of equipment at their property gets used. Same goes for how usage compares across properties and geographies. This reality is not born from a lack of desire to know, but rather from a process that has historically not been streamlined or cost effective.
This realization got us excited about the potential opportunity at hand and inspired the creation of our data analytics platform. By tracking and providing equipment usage and overall gym demand to operators, we can help them not only increase ROI at properties, but also enhance the tenant experience.
A key reason why fitness centers inside apartment and office buildings have historically had a low usage rate is because they don’t have the right STUFF! The equipment inside these gyms doesn’t meet the demand of underlying tenants. Consequently, tenants are unsatisfied by their experience and end up not using an amenity that usually serves as an attractive selling point during leasing.
We believe that operators can reverse this dynamic by leaning into using data analytics to understand underlying demand at their fitness centers.This information can help operators develop a better gym offering at new properties by understanding what’s working at their current ones. Additionally, decisions on replacing/purchasing equipment at current properties can be influenced by historical usage data across properties.
This concept is not dissimilar to any other service provider using relevant data to optimize their offering to customers. It’s no surprise that pumpkin spice lattes keep making a comeback. Or that the Dallas Cowboys are always scheduled to play on primetime. Starbucks, the NFL, and other market leaders have a very clear picture of what their customers like and don’t like.
These entities are not making important decisions based on what sounds right or what traditionally has been happening. They rely on underlying data to understand demand and make sure they are offering the right STUFF!
Real estate operators shouldn’t have to rely on observational data or fitness consultants to understand end user demand. Through proper data analytics solutions, like the one GAINZ offers, operators can access this information and leverage it to offer an enhanced tenant experience and generate higher ROI on capital spend.