4 Reasons Why your Gym Should Offer On-Premise Laundry

Laundry equipment is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you hear about running a successful gym, athletic center, or health and wellness club. Facility directors, managers, and trainers are always searching for ways to differentiate their facility, and commercial laundry equipment may be the answer! When it comes to increasing productivity, customer loyalty, and profitability at the business, it can be a tremendous advantage. 

Currently, over 57 million people have a gym membership, and that figure is growing.  As more people visit sports centers, sporting clubs, yoga studios, and wellness and exercise services, the need for laundry equipment grows. Towels pile up quickly, and depending on the gym’s facilities, bed linens, robes, and uniforms will also need to be washed. Here are a couple of ways that commercial laundry equipment can help your health and fitness business.

Keep Your Gym Clean

At any gym or athletic center, cleanliness is essential.  Fitness centers are ideal breeding grounds for germs, microbes, and pathogens ranging from staph infections to athlete's foot. These are quickly transmitted by soiled towels, rags, and uniforms. Of course, no gym owner wants to see their staff or clients becoming ill, let alone face the financial and legal consequences.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, cleanliness has been top of mind, and having clean and sanitized laundry is now more important than ever. 

Commercial washers and dryers are engineered to have a better clean – every time – with high-powered cycles and adjustable and customizable settings. That means fitness center owners can rest easy ensuring that their towels, uniforms, and other linens are as clean as they can be. Not only can your fitness center look, feel, and smell better, but you'll also help to prevent the transmission of unhealthy germs and bacteria at your fitness facility, lowering possible health hazards for you, your staff, and your customers.  Many gyms also choose to install an ozone system in addition to their commercial laundry machines. Ozone is a clean solution since it emits no off-gas byproducts and uses up to 95% less hot water and gas than traditional OPL systems. Ozone disinfects and kills bacteria, and will eliminate odors that a gym is going to have.  That "gym smell" is due to not all the bacteria being killed during a regular cleaning or not using the correct chemical mix.  Ozone eliminates that nasty gym smell from happening.  

Save Time & Money

Many fitness centers offer towels, washcloths, and robes for guests, use rags to scrub and sanitize gym equipment and have instructors wear uniforms when holding exercise classes. Using on-premise commercial laundry equipment saves you time, trouble, and money of using a laundromat or an off-site laundry service. It’s normal for a fitness center to spend around $1,000 a month on a laundry service to clean towels, but that cost can be significantly reduced after a facility purchases a commercial-grade washer and dryer.  

Although there may be certain initial costs for supplies, not paying for a laundry service may result in lower long-term costs. Are you out of towels for the day? Not an issue. With on-site washers and dryers, you can quickly wash a load without having to go anywhere or communicate with another company, saving you time. With less waiting and hassle, you and your staff will do laundry on your own terms, resulting in greater productivity, comfort, and productivity.

Offer Additional Services For Your Customers

Do you want your gym to stand out from the competition?  If you answered yes, your gym will need the additional amenities, services, and classes your clients want.  Specialized services and amenities, such as a pool, sauna, spa,  juice bar, salon, tanning, or yoga and zumba lessons, all require the use of extra linens – from uniforms to yoga mats to towels – which must be kept clean. High-quality commercial laundry equipment will support you in meeting the increasing laundry demands of these added benefits.  High G-Force (fast spin speeds), advanced controls, and short dry times can enable you to easily and effectively handle all types of materials, enabling you to have a greater health and fitness experience for your customers.  Not only will adding extra benefits help you gain and retain more members, but it can also mean a boost in membership dues, employee tips, and overall revenue.

Another way to go beyond and beyond for consumers is to have a laundry facility on-site. It's something that more and more luxurious fitness centers and clubs are providing to their clients, and it's a perfect perk for sports teams and recreational organizations that use the gym. Gym bags full of stinky clothes are inconvenient to carry around, take up space in offices, cubicles, and locker rooms, and can be unpleasant if people smell the stinky gym clothing. If the fitness facility has a pool or hot tub for guests, the problem is exacerbated by wet suits and towels.

Charge a Higher Rate for Membership

Customers are likely to pay more for a premium service that makes their lives easier.  according to studies, 23% of customers will pay more to save time. As a result, many clients are now used to paying more for amenities such as tanning beds, massages, and personal workout sessions at fitness centers. Since you'll have quick access to the laundry equipment used to clean the extra sheets, uniforms, and other linens if you have a washer and dryer on hand, you can conveniently sell additional luxuries like laundry service, sauna, or special sporting activities. Being able to provide extra luxuries allows you to raise your gym membership fees or charge premium fees directly.

Get Started Today! 

These are just a couple of the ways commercial laundry machines can help you elevate your fitness club or fitness center. Ask the on-premise laundry experts at AAdvantage Laundry Systems if you'd like to hear more about laundry equipment for your fitness center.