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Two years ago, the fitness center at PGA National Resort and Spa looked like any other club that’s past its prime. Although functional, its equipment was outdated and its interior design was in need of attention. “It was like most hotel gyms you see,” says Fitness Director Randy Myers. “We had some first-generation equipment in here that should’ve been in a museum some place.”

To keep its business from giving way to mediocrity, PGA decided to renovate its existing fitness center, and in the process, devise a way to better serve its mostly 50-plus membership. The result is a new 4,000-square-foot personal training center that provides one-on-one exercise instruction to hundreds of clients per month — a service that is welcomed by many of the club’s clients who seek sport-specific training for activities like golf and tennis. “We’ve really had a phenomenal response,” says Myers. “The first year [the existing fitness center] offered personal training we brought in $30,000 in gross revenue, but now, with the personal training center, we’re bringing in $18,000 to $27,000 per month.”

The new center, which opened in March 1994, has also helped double daily usage of the existing fitness center, with an average of 320 people using the facility each day. Likewise, Myers says the center has gone from performing 40 personal training sessions per month to upwards of 750.

When planning the development of the center, PGA banked on three reasons why a personal training facility would work in a resort atmosphere: It was dealing with a population that was uneducated about fitness, its clients had discretionary time and, not least important, PGA members generally have sizeable incomes. Additionally, Myers says scheduled workouts are ideal for the club’s average client. “People like the commitment that’s involved,” he says. “They want to have a standing appointment to stay motivated.” To meet this need, the center sells clients 10 to 12 sessions in advance, thus creating a commitment for the client, and providing revenue upfront for the center. Judging by the facility’s two-week waiting list for one-on-one sessions, the method appears to be working. Since opening the facility, PGA has been able to hire an additional 16 full- and part-time trainers, with increased wages being off-set by a profit margin of about 58 percent per fitness service.

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