One of the biggest recurring issues gym owners tell us about is access control and gates.
More time and anxiety, money and maintenance are expended on access control than many of the other gym operations put together.
The reasons these take up so much head space for owners isn’t hard to see. Gate systems whether they are magnetic locks or turnstiles can be surprisingly expensive items with recurring costs and ongoing charges.
But it certainly is an important topic. Many gyms are located in areas where crime can and does happen, and whether it’s your clients looking for security or just your own sense of safety, it’s hard to enjoy a gym unless it feels secure.
Access control also falls outside the remit of many gym software systems, so it becomes an integration headache. Will my system of software talk to my gate system? And if so on what basis?
And access isn’t just a question of letting people in with the right membership card.
There are a host of other people who might need access on their own schedules, like cleaners, engineers, trainers and so on.
Access control can be internal too
Then there is the matter of internal gates. Studios 1, 2 and 3 don’t have locks on them and that’s fine because a member of staff can always kick out anyone who has strayed in and shouldn’t be there.
But if someone has booked a facility and paid a premium for the privilege, do you really want them to have to kick out interlopers, before they start their workout or Pilates solo session?
And so access control can be helpful here too.
The new generation of gym software is just starting to make access control an integrated part of the operation.
It is also internet wifi based and this alone strips out lots of cost. Wifi based access control systems are easier and cheaper to install because you don’t need to run wiring from the back of the computer all the way around to the door or turnstiles.
Fundamentally, like many things technological, just a few years transform both cost and functionality. How many of us would want to be stuck with our smartphones from five years ago? The same is true of gym software systems.
Channelle Ramsey of The Factory North London was surprised at the costs she could strip out when she installed her new software to replace Mindbody.
Access control is the new integrated feature
“We were looking at three, maybe four thousand pounds per year as a subscription, for a way of making sure our gym software talked to the magnetic door control. Luckily, Wellyx came with this as a standard so it was included in the £180 ($240) per month.
I’m also looking to put access control on my individual studios. I figure if someone is paying us a premium to do Tai Chi in peace they shouldn’t have to be interrupted by people who are just chancing it for a room of their own.”
In the end, access control is about giving your clients the best possible safest experience. If you and your clients value that, it’s only a matter of time before you’ll want to put the latest systems in.
