Safely Reopening Community Association Fitness Centers and Multifamily fitness amenities
Community associations, like other businesses and organizations, are slowly starting to reopen facilities and amenities as regional coronavirus stay-at-home orders begin to lift. Kim Hamilton, our Business Development Manager in Pennsylvania, was recently invited by the Community Associations Institute’s Pennsylvania and Delaware Valley Chapter to discuss how to reopen community gyms and fitness centers, and operate them safely, while coronavirus continues to be a threat. The full interview is below, and you can visit www.cai-padelval.org to listen to the conversation and other episodes of their podcast, “Community Matters.”
Kim Hamilton | ASF Business Development Manager
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Tony Campisi, CAI: So Kim, how might community fitness centers need to adapt to meet new safety standards in light of Covid-19?
Kim Hamilton: Throughout this podcast we’ll highlight some things in more detail, but social distancing is going to be key just to start, ensuring that you’re allowing 6+ feet as a temporary safety precaution in between exercisers. Use signage to direct your traffic flow, and consider what your maximum occupancy limits are going to be. There are different ways to do manage it, but you’re obviously not going to be able to go at full capacity right now.
TC: What about floor plans? What are some practical ways the gyms and fitness centers can adjust their floor plan to account for social distancing?
KH: People are getting very creative so we’ve seen lots of different properties take on different approaches. Increasing space between your equipment is probably number one. Then, create more room by consolidating accessories in storage — so you may not be able to have all of your equipment “on the floor” and available for use. We’ve seen some properties identify different spaces to convert into fitness areas for the time being, so they’re able to take some of their equipment and put it into another room so that more people can utilize the space. You may also need to limit some stations available for use temporarily; if you’re not able to move treadmills into another room and keep some here you just might have to shut down every other one.
TC: Have you seen any fitness centers that have moved some of their equipment outdoors given that we’re in warm weather? Obviously, this is a short-term solution, but is that something you’ve seen at all?
KH: Not permanently. More so if they were going to offer classes, if they do have someone that comes to visit the property to offer classes. Obviously not all equipment is meant to be outdoors, so yes and no. It just depends on what your property has available for that kind of space. If there is an outdoor overhang, where you’re not going to have your equipment out in the rain, you might be able to do that.
TC: How are you seeing other communities and multifamily properties control occupancy in the fitness center?
KH: Again, probably starting with just creating a reservation system, and this can come in many forms, right? It could be something as general as just a sign up sheet that’s on the outside of your door, or if you’re controlling the fobs of when people can go in and out. That goes into adjusting the hours of operation — for some facilities they may have been 24/7 and they’re not doing that as much now. They’re controlling maybe like a 9 to 5 scenario, ensuring that they can have people come in and clean in between. Again, they’re also adapting those fitness spaces and creating single-station workout zones depending on the space they might have.
TC: What are some different ways that properties are creating these single-station workout zones?
KH: Technology is always key, so if you do have something like a virtual studio bike or if you have a virtual activity screen that you could put in a separate room with some of the equipment, you can do that to create a single station. You could then have a signup on that side of the door. Or, if you have two benches, maybe put one bench into to another area with some of the pieces of your dumbbell sets, creating a mini exercise room so you can have multiple people at different stations without ever being near each other.
TC: So cleaning is top of everyone’s mind these days. What are some hygiene and cleaning solutions that you are seeing fitness centers implement as they go through this reopening process?
KH: Many people are investing into electrostatic sprayers. Each brand sells their own solutions and tablets that go with that specific sprayer. Many people are hiring out third-parties to clean in between, unless you have a rotating kind of scenario that you could have someone come in the morning or someone coming in the afternoon.
TC: Are you seeing temp checks as people come in, anything like that? We’re assuming people who are not healthy are not going to attend the fitness center, at least hopefully. Is that something that you would recommend, temperature checks?
KH: That is something that we do provide and have many people requesting, those temperature check systems. Anything that can provide your community with an extra level of comfort that you’re taking that extra step, we’ve seen that just add peace of mind that you’re doing that. We have a product that actually will recognize the face and will take just a surface temperature. Nothing touches, you just basically go in and put your face on up to the screen. It can be a kiosk right on the outside of the door. It will say “temperature normal” and then that person will be able to go inside. We have been seeing that quite a bit.
TC: Communication is critical at any time, but particularly in the midst of a crisis like we’re all living through right now. How can a community association clearly communicate new policies that they may have adopted or standards that they’ve implemented to their residents, so their residents have a comfort level with what’s going on with their fitness center or their gym?
KH: For everyone and for every property it’s different. I always start with there’s no one size fits all here as far as your communication. You’re always going to know your community better than we do, if you have a Facebook page, or if you’re emailing more... but signage is definitely going to be key. I think that the main topic right now is that even if you’re barely communicating anything at all, and just saying “we’re working on something,” I think that puts a community at ease that you’re taking the extra steps. So communicating frequently in the midst of uncertain situations is really key. The goal is always to minimize fear and anxiety by preemptively answering any questions your residents may have. Also, clearly outlining what your hygiene expectations are going to be, those kinds of communications. When someone comes in maybe they will have to wipe down the equipment before working out as well as wipe it down afterwards. I don’t think there’s too much communication that could happen now, I think it’s better to be communicating pretty frequently.
TC: Community centers or community clubhouses with all of their amenities including the fitness centers and the pools, et cetera, they are the center of many communities where homeowners gather. They meet each other, they work out together, they go to the pool together, and that’s clearly lost in this situation. You can only do so much engagement via Zoom. I think people are “zoomed out” a bit. What are some ways to increase resident engagement in the fitness center during and beyond Covid?
KH: I think yes, we are “zoomed out,” but you can pick up one app and create some sort of universal challenge for everyone, like doing a sign-in challenge where you can actually track back of house who’s signing in. That might be a way to start engaging. The Escape Fitness app has workouts so you could take dumbbells outside your facility and set them up in that outdoor situation that we were talking about, socially distance people, and be able to workout together. Outdoor workout meet-ups are definitely something to maximize right now, even if it’s setting up a community walk at 7am in the morning while being able to wear masks or socially distance. Also, now is a time when you could bring in someone from outside your community that’s running classes outdoors and bring that to your community, just utilizing some of the equipment that you already have.
TC: Let’s talk about the future for second. I read an article a couple weeks ago on how the Spanish flu 100 years ago lead to changes in the design of homes, and bathrooms, and sanitation facilities. We may see the same thing again now with coronavirus, so how important is adaptability in planning fitness space designs and equipment additions, whether we’re in the midst of a global pandemic or once we’re past this pandemic?
KH: I think some of those single-station options are going to be key. Instead of offering a full 5-50lb set of dumbbells and one bench, maybe you have a mid-range of dumbbells and two benches creating those single stations. I think we’re going to see that overall in the industry and in more community clubhouses as well as in some larger multifamily properties. Functional fitness in general is not going anywhere in our industry, but I think the adaptability in that is having a frame that doesn’t bolt to the ground and you could move it, potentially into these adjacent spaces that we’re talking about. Self-motorized cardio machines as well — think a self-motorized treadmill, an airbike, or a rower — things that are also more traditional pieces that have found their way again, but there’s no plug-ins, so you can really put them into any room that you would ever want. Consider flooring as well, even portable flooring. I know that sometimes in clubhouses when they were pre-designed there’s a lot of carpeting, but there is a way have a more hygienic scenario with either flooring that can be removed so you can clean up the entire space, or by putting in a rubber-style flooring that’s not going to catch a lot of hair and dust. Those are some steps that you can start to think about as you’re designing for the future of your clubhouse.
TC: This is all great information, thank you, Kim. Do you have any final quick Covid tips for our listeners?
KH: Check out your layout, that’s probably number one — change your layout, it probably needs to right now. Definitely create that spacing and think about opening up a community room that you might not be using right now so that you can put some pieces in there. Get one of your local influencers to hold an outdoor class! I think that’s an immediate way to start to engage your community, and you could even just start with those walk sign-ups to get yourself going. Coordinating an equipment sign-out process is something you could contemplate. It’s happened a lot even at major clubs and major gyms, where they’ve actually developed a rent-out or sign-out that you can do for equipment so people can take it into their homes. Last, just work on your reopening plan, make sure that you’re clearly communicating all the time. That’s going to put your residents at ease if you are making sure that you’re thinking of them first.
TC: This has been great information, Kim, thank you for joining me today for this episode of our podcast. We hope this information will be helpful to our community association managers and homeowners as you make critical decisions about reopening and maintaining your gyms and fitness centers during the coronavirus era.
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Thank you to Tony and CAI for giving us the chance to have Kim share some insights on reopening gyms and fitness facilities! To listen to this episode and others from the Pennsylvania and Delaware Valley Chapter of the Community Associations Institute, please visit them online at www.cai-padelval.org.
Interview conducted by:
Tony Campisi, Executive Director of the CAI Pennsylvania and Delaware Valley Chapter.