I have posted the full length article on my Gym Business blog at - but here is one section of it...
Gym Maintenance and Gym Owners
Gym owners are affected two-fold, legal liability issues and financial costs.
To prepare for the worst, legally speaking, it is always best to document EVERYTHING, including all preventative maintenance done to equipment and the steps taken after equipment is no longer in working order. Have all this recorded in one place (like a log book) and include receipts of equipment parts and pictures. Make the notice signs conspicuous and if necessary remove any potentially dangerous equipment from the gym floor! I know I might be sounding extreme, but a little of extra time now can save you a lot of time and money in court later. Make this log book a priority and enforce it with your employees!
Financially speaking, this can definitely be a source of controversy. I understand and empathize with anyone not liking fees on top of membership dues. So there are only really two ways to budget as a business owner for both the wear and tear of your facility AND also for those times when a total makeover is needed in order to re-energize your existing member base and/or to remain competitve with new and looming competition!
First budget suggestion (and I can thank my IdeaFit community for remaining Insightful suggestions), is to either have an extremely low membership price with a contract that conspicuously lays out a set fee for maintenance and enforce it from the beginning! I know that most major gyms budget yearly and in advance for these high cost business expense by including a maintenance fee within the membership contract and detailing what the fee will be used for to the members. Gym owners can reassure their members that these fees are being used appropriately by posting news to their social media pages or other announcement forums as to how these additional fees are being used.
The second budget option (which also seems to be the most suggested from other professionals in the community) is just to have included both the expected and unexpected maintenance costs in a higher based membership price.
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