The Challenges of Hotel Gym Design

What is wrong with hotel gym design today?

a Biofit hotel gym design concept - what impact might this have on the guest experience?

Hotel Gym DESIGN Anonymity

Frequent travellers at branded hotel chains around the world will no doubt have felt that same familiar sinking sensation when walking into their onsite fitness room.

All too often they are met with a modestly sized space of 25-50m2 with limited or no access to natural daylight, a neutral grey or brown flooring chosen for durability rather than comfort when exercising, mirrored walls, a hung ceiling and harsh overhead lighting both better suited to an office environment.

In hotel gym interior design terms this is the lowest common denominator and yet, almost inexplicably, also the established norm that far too few hospitality brands take the time or effort to deviate from.

A row of gym cardio machines likely includes runners, recline bikes and ellipticals, either loaded with entertainment screens or positioned beneath a TV screen tuned in to a global news channel. Let’s be clear, these cardio machines are designed for those with limited mobility, minimal fitness levels and/or those looking for an easy way out. The physically more demanding manual treadmills, rowing machines, AirDynes, Ski Ergs and flywheel spin bikes rarely get a look in, let alone anything with a performance output such as a Wattbike.

Remaining floor space is given over to a rack of 5kg - 25kg dumbbells (sorry, no heavy lifting here!) on an off-the-shelf rack provided by the same hotel gym equipment supplier (see point on Technogym below).

In addition to a Smith machine - basically a squat rack for the safety conscious - isolation weight machines upsold by the hotel gym equipment supplier might include a leg press and a leg curl, a lat pull down, peck press and a cable machine; in other words the very same set of equipment that gyms have been relying on for the past 40 years.

For our view on gym equipment see here.

Technogym and hotel gym design

First up, let’s be clear, Technogym produce seriously well made hotel gym equipment that is both stylist and functional. Just as the all-black Mercedes E-class became the de facto luxury hotel guest transfer option though, so too has the presence of Technogym equipment become so ubiquitous that hotel managers almost need not think about hotel gym design at all.

Just ask Technogym for an equipment layout, fit the space out with flooring, mirrors and lights (see point above), and the job is done! There is minimal creative thinking required, my guess is that nobody has ever lost their job for following this strategy and the luxury hotel guest at least feels on home turf when working out; no surprises here.

Technogym also have an extensive network of after-sales service providers, meaning the hotelier can at least in theory be assured of a technical problem being fixed, as and when they arise.

The challenge clearly, is in promoting greater diversity and personality in hotel gym design, both in terms of the equipment offer and the overall aesthetic. To achieve that, a shift away from over-reliance on Technogym is needed, giving space to smaller, niche market equipment brands that, for example, use more eco materials or offer more specialised training in line with CrossFit workouts.

WHY ARE HOTEL GYM DESIGNS SO SMALL?

Like so many things in life, it all comes down to numbers. Floor space in every hotel is at a premium, with non-bedroom areas given over to revenue generating event spaces as a first option, whether with or without access to daylight.

Typically at this point we start to consider unwanted spaces, perhaps located on lower-ground levels or at the back of the building overlooking the service entrance. Sound familiar?

Whereas a spa treatment room can be small and windowless, it at least has revenue generating potential. A gym on the other hand, is a necessary feature that upscale hotels have to have but not one that adds directly to the achieved room rates or average daily spend.

This commercial pressure means that gyms floor plates are mercilessly squeezed unless the hotel owner or the hotel brand has a particular link to health and wellness, or should there be scope to open the facility up to local (membership paying) residents thanks to easy street-level access and a spa receptionist on hand to check them in, for example.

a biofit hotel fitness studio concept for bodyweight training and stretching

Hotel gyms vs resort gyms - guest expectations

It may well be that most guests have low expectations of their hotel gym, so thinking outside of the box would be unnecessarily costly, unless there is scope to turn it into a Unique Selling Point that enhances the appeal of a property and/or provides guests with an additional reason to extend their stay.

At that point though the hotelier might well begin to question whether they are best placed to deliver that kind of experience without the help of a specialist hotel gym designer (like us!), or indeed of an established gym or fitness studio brand name.

This context changes again in a resort gym where there is likely more floor space available to use and the guest stay may be closer to 7 nights rather than 2 nights, meaning an inadequate gym would have a direct impact on anyone used to training at least 3-4 times per week.

A once-off visit to a cramped hotel gym before setting out for a day of meetings is one thing but a week long holiday requires a very different level of experience.

Rising standards of city gyms vs hotel gyms

The elephant in the room when it comes to hotel and resort gym design is surely the increasingly dynamic and innovative boutique gym scene in major hubs such as London, Paris, New York, Sydney and so on.

Whether it be dedicated stretching, High Intensity Interval Training (HIT), barre, yoga, boxing or spinning studios, the fitness business has been truly upended by the boom in such boutique fitness studios that have sliced and diced a market that was previously based on an upscale urbanite having one gym membership that offered a little bit of everything.

Nowadays, a gym membership is likely combined with visits to a yoga studio, or a pack of classes at a spin studio because the level of immersive experience and sense of community on offer is so strong in the boutique studios.

An anodyne hotel gym that was previously deemed ‘acceptable’ is now being viewed through a very different lens by guests used to a Barry’s Bootcamp, SoulCycle or Equinox level workout experience.

If a change is to come, it will surely be the resorts that respond first to this shift in dynamics as they generally have to hold a guests’ attention for longer and there are fewer restrictions on available floor space. The next chapter in hotel gym design is still to be written though so watch this space..!

To enquire about our hotel gym design services contact matt via email here.