Our priority is and always has been to provide the best member experience we can. Overcrowding and availability of facilities can have a large impact on our customers. Lack of availability can cause frustration and push customers to seek memberships elsewhere or even worse stop exercising. Therefore, it is important to understand our customer’s needs, and we can adapt quickly to changes in demands. In addition, we also need to consider our diverse centre portfolio which also provides different requirements.

For us, we focus on utilising well-planned timetables, digital solutions and space designs to get the most out of our sites. We consistently review the popularity and usage across our sites and amend our programming to suit. We’ve also recently introduced a change to our class cancellation policy which we hope will help reduce no-shows and allow more opportunities for those on waitlists to attend classes.

We review the popularity and usage across our sites and amend our programming to suit

Well-planned timetables are essential for a good member experience / JAY CAIN PHOTO / Places Leisure

Member satisfaction is fundamental to our strategy and we continuously invest in improving the experience across our clubs.

Encouraging regular usage is also a key priority, as engagement is closely linked to retention. When our clubs become an established part of a member’s lifestyle, they’re significantly more likely to maintain their membership over time.

At the same time, we’re very mindful of maintaining a comfortable and enjoyable environment. We carefully manage capacity at each location, setting membership caps where appropriate and introducing waiting lists once those thresholds are reached. Currently, ten of our clubs are operating at full capacity.

We monitor usage patterns closely and take a data-led approach to ensure we strike the right balance between sustainable growth and consistently high member experience.

Currently, ten of our clubs are operating at full capacity

We always put the member experience first – the proportion of members rating us five out of five in satisfaction surveys continues to increase year on year. For the last year this has been above 60 per cent.

One of the most-used functions on our app is the busyness tracker, which has always been a helpful tool for members to see how busy their gym is in real-time – optimising our space utilisation.

We also launched our lowest cost, off-peak membership product in 2024, to appeal to members who prefer to exercise during quieter hours.

One of the most-used functions on our app is the busyness tracker

Attractive off-peak memberships can help spread usage times / Shutterstock / Nikola Spasenoski

As a service club, member experience is non-negotiable for us. Long-term profitability depends on retention, not just volume.

That means actively managing capacity through data, scheduling, programming mix and space design, rather than overselling.

The balance comes from understanding peak usage, guiding behaviour, marketing accordingly and continuously evolving the offer. A gym that feels overcrowded stops feeling welcoming — and that’s a cost no operator can afford.

We actively manage capacity through data, scheduling, programming mix and space design, rather than overselling

An overcrowded gym can be an unwelcoming place and impact retention / Shutterstock / Zamrznuti tonovi

Member experience is everything. I’ve been a member myself for decades, so I understand how important it is to walk into a space that feels motivating rather than overwhelming.

We actively manage capacity through pricing, operating hours, programming, and smart scheduling. Long-term success is built on retention and trust, not simply maximising short-term volume.

We actively manage capacity through pricing, operating hours, programming, and smart scheduling

Member experience is critical to long-term retention and building brand trust.

Our approach is to use data and capacity planning to ensure clubs remain comfortable and enjoyable for members, even during peak periods. This includes carefully managing club size, equipment mix, group fitness timetables and peak usage patterns.

The goal isn’t simply to maximise revenue — it’s to ensure members continue to see value in their experience

Technology and analytics help us better understand utilisation across our network and guide where we invest in facilities and services. Ultimately, the goal isn’t simply to maximise membership numbers — it’s to ensure members continue to see value in their experience.

A sustainable model balances membership growth with ongoing investment in facilities and operations.

Peak periods should still feel comfortable and fun for members / FLG

Delivering an excellent member experience is critical. However, we work hard to ensure access is enabled, not restricted. One of our top priorities is to ensure members can train where and when it suits them.

Instead of restricting access, we invest heavily in the equipment mix and flow, as well as utilising our group training facilities, to ensure members get as friction-free a workout as possible. When needed, and possible, we add more space at clubs which are crowded.

We also see that at our busiest clubs, members tend to spread visits more across the day or to nearby clubs in the cluster. Most places we operate, we operate multiple clubs in clusters. Here we nudge members to use the cluster to ensure less crowded gyms.

After exhausting operational measures to increase access, we consider pricing mechanisms, rather than access restrictions

It is also worth noting that our experience is that members enjoy the atmosphere at a busy club, and get inspired by it, whether they work out alone or in a group.

After exhausting operational measures to increase access, we would consider pricing mechanisms, rather than access restrictions.

SATS often utilises its clusters of clubs to spread the member load / SATS