Gym again leaves members locked out
- Source: Global Times
- [08:50 April 06 2011]
- Comments
A security guard from Sunshine 100's property management company sits in front of the closed fitness club Tuesday. When the gym will resume service was still unclear as of late Tuesday. Photo: Guo Yingguang/GT
By Yang Jie
The sudden closure of yet another CBD fitness club has been met with indignation from its members, who are turning to the police for help.
Members of the Sunshine 100 branch of Bally Total Fitness, in Chaoyang district, were surprised to find the doors locked starting April 1.
"I was planning to swim there on April 3, but learned the day before that the club was shut down," said Xue Yanping, who intended to go for the first of 75 pre-paid visits, for which he paid 2,000 yuan ($305.62) last September.
The gym was still closed late Tuesday, with several security guards sitting at the gate.
A manager surnamed He said Tuesday by phone that the gate was forcibly closed by the property management company on March 31 because the gym owes the company over 80,000 yuan in water fees.
Yet a security guard gave a different story, saying the gym secretly locked the gate from the inside, and that the property management company dispatched the guards "for fear that the gym would remove all its equipment and escape."
"We will resume operations after the holiday and will inform all the members promptly," said He. "We are still negotiating with the property management company." He did not give an exact date for the reopening.
The gym may be silent, but its members are not. According to Xue, he and hundreds of other members have reported the matter to the police.
Beijing fitness enthusiasts have been plagued by recent gym closures. Fitness giant Nirvana suddenly closed its five Beijing branches on January 12, leaving thousands with useless memberships. Bally also closed its Jianwai SOHO branch last September, sending its members to the now closed Sunshine 100 branch.
"I plan to refund my membership fees if it reopens and will be more cautious in joining other clubs," said Xue. "Gym operators are becoming swindlers."
Insiders attributed the trend to soaring operational costs and stiffer competition.
Fitness clubs all depend on advance membership fees to survive, but operational costs - especially property costs - keep soaring, said Sun Yunhai, a former Nirvana trainer and now a manager in a high-end community fitness club.
"Most Beijing gyms are doing a losing business," said Sun.
According to Sun, the Beijing fitness industry saw a boom starting in 2003 after the SARS panic, when citizens began to value their physical health more. But it began to droop just after four or five years, as numerous gyms of different calibers mushroomed.
"Gyms are bringing down their membership fees to attract more customers, which is a continuous harm to operators," said Sun.
