This has always been a creative, driven sector, but the pressures of the pandemic have inspired a new outpouring of creativity, leading to the emergence of new models, partnerships and concepts
By Liz Terry | Published in Health Club Management 2021 issue 10
Xponential has signed a deal with Fitness International / PHOTO: XPONENTIAL
They say necessity is the mother of invention and while one of the downsides of the pandemic has been extreme stress, there’s also been an upside in the form of a huge outpouring of creativity.
When everything is on the line, the pure adrenaline of the situation can give clarity of vision, reveal new solutions and opportunities and embolden people to take risks and step outside their comfort zone.
The pandemic has also made many people question the rules by which business has always been done and look for better ways and the industry is now benefitting from this effect in spades, as existing operators, investors and entrepreneurs bring new concepts and partnerships to market at a rate we haven’t seen since the sector first emerged in the 1980s.
Much of this change is being driven by operators who’ve realised that growth can be accelerated through new partnerships and business models and also by ‘repacking’ existing offerings for new audiences.
In this issue, we highlight a number of key examples, including a new deal struck between Xponential Fitness and Fitness International (page 30), which will see Xponential’s nine franchise brands being set up in LA Fitness and City Sports Club locations across the US.
The deal is for 350 locations over five years, with the new club-in-club offerings being proposed as an upsell.
Owner-operated businesses have traditionally seen themselves as being in competition with franchises, but this deal turns that thinking on its head and opens up opportunities for collaboration across the sector.
It also plays to the need for traditional health club operations to find ways of upselling to avoid stagnation in growth, without incurring a huge increase in costs.
Also announcing an innovative collaboration this month is F45, which has partnered with OneSpaWorld – a spa operator on land and at sea which is led by Steiner Leisure and Elemis founder, Leonard Fluxman.
Under the multi-year agreement, F45 will deliver its branded workouts on-board cruise ships owned by Royal Caribbean subsidiary, Celebrity Cruises, with the first to launch being on board Celebrity Apex. F45 says it’s targeting the 30m people who take a cruise every year.
New gym models are also continuing to emerge, with 1Rebel’s James Balfour revealing 1Rebel Labs Studio (page 34) and Until London (page 22) creating a chain of private members clubs for PTs.
Hussle has also been challenging the industry’s received wisdom and partnering with McDonald’s (page 72).
At the heart of all this is a creative way of thinking that targets fresh audiences, seeks new partnerships, and challenges and rewrites the rules about what is possible.
This has always been a creative, driven sector, but the pressures of the pandemic have inspired a new outpouring of creativity, leading to the emergence of new models, partnerships and concepts
By Liz Terry | Published in Health Club Management 2021 issue 10
Xponential has signed a deal with Fitness International / PHOTO: XPONENTIAL
They say necessity is the mother of invention and while one of the downsides of the pandemic has been extreme stress, there’s also been an upside in the form of a huge outpouring of creativity.
When everything is on the line, the pure adrenaline of the situation can give clarity of vision, reveal new solutions and opportunities and embolden people to take risks and step outside their comfort zone.
The pandemic has also made many people question the rules by which business has always been done and look for better ways and the industry is now benefitting from this effect in spades, as existing operators, investors and entrepreneurs bring new concepts and partnerships to market at a rate we haven’t seen since the sector first emerged in the 1980s.
Much of this change is being driven by operators who’ve realised that growth can be accelerated through new partnerships and business models and also by ‘repacking’ existing offerings for new audiences.
In this issue, we highlight a number of key examples, including a new deal struck between Xponential Fitness and Fitness International (page 30), which will see Xponential’s nine franchise brands being set up in LA Fitness and City Sports Club locations across the US.
The deal is for 350 locations over five years, with the new club-in-club offerings being proposed as an upsell.
Owner-operated businesses have traditionally seen themselves as being in competition with franchises, but this deal turns that thinking on its head and opens up opportunities for collaboration across the sector.
It also plays to the need for traditional health club operations to find ways of upselling to avoid stagnation in growth, without incurring a huge increase in costs.
Also announcing an innovative collaboration this month is F45, which has partnered with OneSpaWorld – a spa operator on land and at sea which is led by Steiner Leisure and Elemis founder, Leonard Fluxman.
Under the multi-year agreement, F45 will deliver its branded workouts on-board cruise ships owned by Royal Caribbean subsidiary, Celebrity Cruises, with the first to launch being on board Celebrity Apex. F45 says it’s targeting the 30m people who take a cruise every year.
New gym models are also continuing to emerge, with 1Rebel’s James Balfour revealing 1Rebel Labs Studio (page 34) and Until London (page 22) creating a chain of private members clubs for PTs.
Hussle has also been challenging the industry’s received wisdom and partnering with McDonald’s (page 72).
At the heart of all this is a creative way of thinking that targets fresh audiences, seeks new partnerships, and challenges and rewrites the rules about what is possible.
Private hotel owner and developer HVL Hotels will open a new luxury resort and tourism
destination called Laval Hunter Valley in the second half of 2027 in Pokolbin, Australia.
The annual wellness festival dedicated to wellbeing, culture, longevity and human connection,
called Alma, will be hosted by Rocco Forte hotel, Verdura Resort in Sicily, Italy.
Capella Hotel Group has appointed Feisal Jaffer as chief development officer as the company
ramps up its global expansion of both its Capella and Patina brands.
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
research presented at the ENDO 2026 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
Source, which hosts an open-access online Transformation Series programme.
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
