A lasting partnership Speedflex is working with Bannatyne to create the ultimate customer experience Bannatyne is the first national club chain to offer Speedflex’s unique high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions, by installing dedicated Speedflex studios in its clubs.
Utilising the scientifically advanced Speedflex machines, sessions provide all the benefits of HIIT training, without the associated risk of injury. Machines provide isokinetic resistance, making them suitable for all abilities and ages.
In true Bannatyne fashion, the move to Speedflex provides an inclusive experience for members.
The Concept Speedflex was founded in 2011 by entrepreneur Graham Wylie CBE, CEO and former Newcastle United physio and player Paul Ferris and former Newcastle United and England captain Alan Shearer.
Speedflex offers HIIT training with a twist, allowing up to 16 people to train together, regardless of their fitness level.
A typical Speedflex studio houses a combination of eight Speedflex machines and eight auxiliary stations. This sequence provides an ever-changing dynamic exercise experience.
During the session, participants can receive feedback through state-of-the-art heart rate monitoring by MyZone.
This enables members to optimise their training by ensuring they’re working in the ideal heart rate zone and allows trainers to track progress and offer motivation through instant feedback, improving the effectiveness of coaching.
The Partnership Initially, Speedflex entered the partnership with Bannatyne to launch its training concept at its Darlington site.
“Understanding the needs of our members is fundamental to everything we do here at Bannatyne,” says Anthony Elliott, operations director. “Our members have told us they want a rounded lifestyle, so we try to take a 360° approach to our offering. We do this through a variety of options, ensuring there truly is something on offer for everyone, no matter what their ability.
“We’re constantly looking at ways we can improve our offering with exciting experiences,” he continues. “The addition of Speedflex is the perfect solution, providing members with a unique, challenging and adaptable workout.
“Speedflex sessions provide a high-intensity, low-impact workout, so every individual can train at their optimum level.
“The sessions have proven to be hugely successful, with members hooked from the first one and waiting lists building up quickly,” he explains. “The Speedflex team also provides fantastic support.”
Future plans Since launching in January 2017, Bannatyne has rolled out the concept to Coulby Newham, Edinburgh, Dunfermline, Durham, Norwich, Manchester and Mansfield, with Belfast opening later this year.
Bannatyne CEO Justin Musgrove (left) with Paul Ferris and Alan Shearer at Speedflex Mansfield
Transforming payments
Fitness Space revolutionises its Direct Debit solution with help from GoCardless
Ross Pert, GoCardless
One of Europe’s fastest growing fitness and health club franchises, Fitness Space, has recently taken on GoCardless as its new Direct Debit solution, with the payments provider now handling up to 70 per cent of all membership payments.
Fitness Space has 23 sites in the UK, with another 16 in the works. Much of its success to date is down to offering a highly personalised and bespoke service.
“With other gym and fitness operators members are paying for access to the facilities and equipment. With us, they’re paying for a service that’s bigger than the four walls of our studios,” explains Fitness Space operations director John Pye.
With such a high proportion of monthly membership payments coming from Direct Debit, Fitness Space required a solution that could handle an ever-growing number of payments.
The franchise was also moving to a new CRM system, called ClubRight, meaning the existing integration between GoCardless and ClubRight was key.
Rather than targeting the volume of members, Fitness Space instead focuses on higher yields-per-head. This means its service needs to reflect this, and additional products and services, like hot yoga, nutritional programmes and DNA testing are available to accommodate even the most demanding of members.
Instant payment visibility This progressive approach carried over to its way of thinking across all areas of the business, including payments. “We saw GoCardless as the most forward-thinking option and a good fit for us,” says Pye. “We like the fact that it integrates with ClubRight and gives us an instant view of the status of member payments and mandates.”
The GoCardless reporting functionality means Fitness Space is much better equipped to communicate with members regarding payments and subscriptions.
With the new Direct Debit solution in place, the franchise was able to improve its effectiveness. Previously, it was limited to doing one Direct Debit run a month – to the frustration of employees and members alike – however, with GoCardless, Fitness Space now has the flexibility to take payments at any time, removing a significant barrier in the joining process.
It’s not just during the initial sale and sign-up process where payments became a key consideration for the franchise, but also for the benefit of existing members.
It can now tailor its payment to suit the needs of individual members, including splitting off pro-rata payments.
An unexpected, but very welcome side effect for Fitness Space is the option to take one-off payments via Direct Debit, rather than by card. This transition has helped the fitness franchise save costs, as transaction fees on Direct Debit are lower.
Ross Pert, payments specialist at GoCardless, says: “As Fitness Space continues to focus on offering a top-quality experience to members, GoCardless will be there to take care of payment processing, compliance and regulations on their behalf.”
“Fitness Space is focused on member experience. At GoCardless, we strive to provide a payment solution that adds to this experience” - Ross Pert, GoCardless
With GoCardless, operators can take Direct Debit payments for add-ons like classes and nutrition plans at any time
With an increasing number of luxury hotels and resorts offering day and resort passes to
drive staycation business, Book4Time, a leader in innovative spa and wellness solutions, is
thrilled to announce the launch of Day & Resort Passes on its award-winning platform. [more...]
A lasting partnership Speedflex is working with Bannatyne to create the ultimate customer experience Bannatyne is the first national club chain to offer Speedflex’s unique high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions, by installing dedicated Speedflex studios in its clubs.
Utilising the scientifically advanced Speedflex machines, sessions provide all the benefits of HIIT training, without the associated risk of injury. Machines provide isokinetic resistance, making them suitable for all abilities and ages.
In true Bannatyne fashion, the move to Speedflex provides an inclusive experience for members.
The Concept Speedflex was founded in 2011 by entrepreneur Graham Wylie CBE, CEO and former Newcastle United physio and player Paul Ferris and former Newcastle United and England captain Alan Shearer.
Speedflex offers HIIT training with a twist, allowing up to 16 people to train together, regardless of their fitness level.
A typical Speedflex studio houses a combination of eight Speedflex machines and eight auxiliary stations. This sequence provides an ever-changing dynamic exercise experience.
During the session, participants can receive feedback through state-of-the-art heart rate monitoring by MyZone.
This enables members to optimise their training by ensuring they’re working in the ideal heart rate zone and allows trainers to track progress and offer motivation through instant feedback, improving the effectiveness of coaching.
The Partnership Initially, Speedflex entered the partnership with Bannatyne to launch its training concept at its Darlington site.
“Understanding the needs of our members is fundamental to everything we do here at Bannatyne,” says Anthony Elliott, operations director. “Our members have told us they want a rounded lifestyle, so we try to take a 360° approach to our offering. We do this through a variety of options, ensuring there truly is something on offer for everyone, no matter what their ability.
“We’re constantly looking at ways we can improve our offering with exciting experiences,” he continues. “The addition of Speedflex is the perfect solution, providing members with a unique, challenging and adaptable workout.
“Speedflex sessions provide a high-intensity, low-impact workout, so every individual can train at their optimum level.
“The sessions have proven to be hugely successful, with members hooked from the first one and waiting lists building up quickly,” he explains. “The Speedflex team also provides fantastic support.”
Future plans Since launching in January 2017, Bannatyne has rolled out the concept to Coulby Newham, Edinburgh, Dunfermline, Durham, Norwich, Manchester and Mansfield, with Belfast opening later this year.
Bannatyne CEO Justin Musgrove (left) with Paul Ferris and Alan Shearer at Speedflex Mansfield
Transforming payments
Fitness Space revolutionises its Direct Debit solution with help from GoCardless
Ross Pert, GoCardless
One of Europe’s fastest growing fitness and health club franchises, Fitness Space, has recently taken on GoCardless as its new Direct Debit solution, with the payments provider now handling up to 70 per cent of all membership payments.
Fitness Space has 23 sites in the UK, with another 16 in the works. Much of its success to date is down to offering a highly personalised and bespoke service.
“With other gym and fitness operators members are paying for access to the facilities and equipment. With us, they’re paying for a service that’s bigger than the four walls of our studios,” explains Fitness Space operations director John Pye.
With such a high proportion of monthly membership payments coming from Direct Debit, Fitness Space required a solution that could handle an ever-growing number of payments.
The franchise was also moving to a new CRM system, called ClubRight, meaning the existing integration between GoCardless and ClubRight was key.
Rather than targeting the volume of members, Fitness Space instead focuses on higher yields-per-head. This means its service needs to reflect this, and additional products and services, like hot yoga, nutritional programmes and DNA testing are available to accommodate even the most demanding of members.
Instant payment visibility This progressive approach carried over to its way of thinking across all areas of the business, including payments. “We saw GoCardless as the most forward-thinking option and a good fit for us,” says Pye. “We like the fact that it integrates with ClubRight and gives us an instant view of the status of member payments and mandates.”
The GoCardless reporting functionality means Fitness Space is much better equipped to communicate with members regarding payments and subscriptions.
With the new Direct Debit solution in place, the franchise was able to improve its effectiveness. Previously, it was limited to doing one Direct Debit run a month – to the frustration of employees and members alike – however, with GoCardless, Fitness Space now has the flexibility to take payments at any time, removing a significant barrier in the joining process.
It’s not just during the initial sale and sign-up process where payments became a key consideration for the franchise, but also for the benefit of existing members.
It can now tailor its payment to suit the needs of individual members, including splitting off pro-rata payments.
An unexpected, but very welcome side effect for Fitness Space is the option to take one-off payments via Direct Debit, rather than by card. This transition has helped the fitness franchise save costs, as transaction fees on Direct Debit are lower.
Ross Pert, payments specialist at GoCardless, says: “As Fitness Space continues to focus on offering a top-quality experience to members, GoCardless will be there to take care of payment processing, compliance and regulations on their behalf.”
“Fitness Space is focused on member experience. At GoCardless, we strive to provide a payment solution that adds to this experience” - Ross Pert, GoCardless
With GoCardless, operators can take Direct Debit payments for add-ons like classes and nutrition plans at any time
The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has released promising new research on the wellness real
estate market at its third-annual Wellness Real Estate & Communities Symposium in
Manhattan.
Paul Hawco, a seasoned figure in the international wellness industry, has assumed the role of
executive director – integrated wellbeing at independent, hospitality group Banyan Group.
The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee in the southeastern US state of Georgia is celebrating a
new milestone after unveiling its newly renovated 27,000sq ft destination spa.
Art’otel, Radisson’s contemporary art-inspired lifestyle hotel brand, has strengthened its
presence in London with a new hotel in Hoxton fusing art, design and hospitality.
Luxury hotel brand Aman, widely known for its strong spa focus, has just launched its much-
talked-about sister brand Janu in Tokyo – complete with a 4,000sq m urban wellness retreat.
Equinox, has teamed up with health platform, Function Health, to offer 100 comprehensive
laboratory tests, giving members vital insights into their internal health.
Spanish wellness brand SHA Wellness Clinic is busy preparing to bolster its wellness portfolio in
2026 with a hyper-exclusive island wellness enclave in AlJurf, UAE.
The historic Breakers Hotel in Long Beach, California, is set to reopen in mid-2024 as a
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts property after a significant restoration and redevelopment project.
Marriott International has signed a new deal with Neom to open a Ritz-Carlton Reserve property
as part of Trojena, a brand new year-round mountain adventure destination in Saudi Arabia.
The Bannatyne Group says it has officially bounced back from the pandemic, with both turnover
and profits restored to pre-2020 levels in 2023, according to its year-end results.
With an increasing number of luxury hotels and resorts offering day and resort passes to
drive staycation business, Book4Time, a leader in innovative spa and wellness solutions, is
thrilled to announce the launch of Day & Resort Passes on its award-winning platform. [more...]
