Where’s the Fitness Bailout?

Ballys is bankrupt. Fitness centers are closing at an alarming rate. Layoffs are rampant. But if you’re holding out for a free pass on your debt from the government, you’ll be waiting a long time.

The only people who have the power to offer a fitness bailout is you — to your members, to the displaced members of facilities that have gone under and to the masses of stressed-out people convinced that gym memberships are “discretionary spending.”

It’s time to step up.

We recently posted about a fitness center that temporarily discounted or suspended membership fees to help defray the cost of fitness for those in economic agony. Most commentors to this blog said they thought it wasn’t a good idea, and that it devalued the service fitness facilities offer. Many suggested finding ways to add value to memberships in order to increase their attractiveness.

Unless “adding value” includes magically giving them back their jobs or buying their homes at their 2007 value, I’m not sure many people will see the light.

So, how else can you make a fitness membership necessary, not discretionary? As usual, I’m full of ideas.

• Buddy up with a local diner so members get 10 percent off each meal they eat there.
• Hire a job counselor to meet with members in the lobby area or a spare office.
• Put up a large bulletin board and dub it the Job Center. Encourage local businesses to post their openings, and be sure to broadcast success stories.
• Offer free coffee and toast in the mornings. It’s not much, but you’d be surprised how much a free breakfast — no matter how Spartan — is worth to people.

Unlike the other bailouts in the news these days, a fitness bailout you offer will most definitely be repaid. When the economy rights itself, when people aren’t struggling and worrying, they will remember your fitness center. They will remember how important it was during this dark period in their lives.

And, someday, they just might bail you out, too.