It is often difficult to force oneself to fit fitness into a daily routine when that involves leaving the apartment on a rainy Sunday morning to go to the gym. But some health and gym amenity management companies are looking to bring the gym — personal trainers, classes and all — home and eliminate that last barrier.

The following are three amenities that multifamily property managers should consider bringing onboard, as well as their returns on investment.

1. On-site classes

Operating and managing fitness classes in a residential setting is different from running classes in a traditional gym. Experts first arrive on-site and survey the community, then create a custom-tailored fitness calendar for all styles and fitness levels. Every month, educated trainers offer monthly workshops and seminars for the whole community on content such as mobility and proper nutrition.

Fitness amenity management company FXfit offers on-site yoga, HIIT training, weight training classes and more to residents and nonresidents alike, providing the property with a subtle but strong marketing opportunity.

FXfit's secret formula is in the staff of each property, including an event/property coordinator, personal training director and customer service reps who handle resident traffic.

"It's much more than a pay-for-class relationship," FXfit founder and CEO Shawn Martinez said.

2. Personal training

Multifamily fitness centers benefit from their own trained personal trainers. Most of FXfit’s installed personal trainers are senior trainers who have been in the business for years. These on-site staff members become part of the community, and residents get to form positive relationships with their trainers in the comfort of their own apartment building.

FXfit builds and renovates the gyms from the ground up to be more functional for their classes and training services. Thus, these gyms are equally — if not more — attractive to fitness enthusiasts. Out of 641 randomly surveyed FXfit-outfitted multifamily tenants, over 95% said fitness is a part of their lives; 59% stated they signed a lease in part due to gym and fitness amenities.

These relationships are key to tenant retention, and FXfit has incentives in place to ensure each resident receives at least a taste of these perks. Every resident receives a complimentary session with a trainer, which can be utilized as either a gym orientation or a physical assessment prior to embarking on a discounted personal training program.

"Our on-site trainers give up to $500/month in complimentary services," Martinez said. "This includes keeping up with tidiness of the gym, free equipment orientations to residents and fitness seminars. This value significantly contributes to the developer's annual profit when considering cap rate. Our model allows the fitness facility to pay for itself."

3. Social events

FXfit’s trainers are paid and coached to hold sitewide fitness events, including food-and-fitness pairing events like Yoga and Yogurt, Obstacle Course and Pizza, Fitness Talk and Tacos, Zumba and Wine and more. At a Detox / Retox event, for instance, residents undergo a boot camp followed by a social at a local neighborhood bar or pub. The company also hosts Thanksgiving and Christmas potluck celebrations to foster an even greater sense of community.

Each of these events — along with regular classes — can be found on monthly calendars. On-site trainers create schedules in collaboration with property managers and blast to tenants through email, social media, move-in welcome packets, resident portals and, of course, the typical banners, flyers and posters.

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