I know this is hard to talk about, ad maybe gym owners can provide insight as to why I feel like every year I hear the same thing (at 2/3 gyms we are at/have been at - old gym (WAG/MAG/TNT), new TNT gym, not new WAG gym)
SO you are at the annual team meeting with the gym or studio owner and HC... and every year x the last 10 I hear some variation on "I loose so much money on team" or "I am so generous and out of the kindness of my own heart and money out of my own pocket" I don't charge "full rate" for all of the hours your kid is in the gym. It has always just sit wrong with me.
We hear the "you have specialized equipment that is largely used by the team. At old gym the parents booster club pays for much of the new equipment which isn't even really allowed. But they use much of it for rec kids, they use their "competitive professional equipment" quotes in their newspaper/internet communications to recruit new families, they use team kids at their "olympic day" to "show what their kids can do here at this great gym"....
Now I understand they charge 15$ an hour for the 1 hour preschool classes. And yes, we don't pay 15$ an hour for all 5 or 6 or 12 or 16 hours our kids are there. SO yes, you don't make "full price" on those hours, but we are there for many hours so you still make money from our tuition and we tend to be consistent, not taking sessions off. Also, the team taking up space in the facility plays a roll in limiting the number of rec kids in the gym at the same time, but honestly none of these 3 gyms is turning away rec kids. And IMO time is barrier to making huge jumps in rec kids numbers as it all has to fit after school and on the weekend. (except some preschool classes for families that have a stay at home parent or nanny).
And team kids wear the t-shirt, have the car decals, post on social media which all advertises for the gym by contacting passively people who may be thinking about an activity for their kiddo.
I'm a numbers person so, hypotehetically speaking, let's use some numbers - 50 team kids,1 5 hours a week. becomes 750 kid hours at 15$ an hour is $11250/week. = $45000/month . The team fee for those hours is 360$/mo x 50 kids = 18000 a month. So they do lose 27000 / month by having team kids at reduced rates instead of rec kids at "full rate" So 27000/15 dollars an hour, so that is 1800 hours of rec kids a month. 450 hours of rec kids a week. DO gyms really have 450 rec kids waiting to get into a class a week? At least here, I say no. There are no kids on a waiting list waiting to get in here. (Now i appreciate there may be ability to offer more class options and recruit kids who looked but didn't sign up b/c of scheduling, but I doubt 450 kids a week)
So why do the owners say this to parents who are investing in their kids at their studio/gym? It is hard to hear and makes me feel uncomfortable.
I thought to myself when I heard it again Sunday - yes you are generous by having a team for our kids, but the reduced cost per hour as the hours increase is really the industry standard. Without it, I don't think any of us could have kids on team. And owner threw in "your coach deserves a raise, but that's not going to happen" (That broke my heart, the coach is wonderful and actually the owners daughter, but again, probably not appropriate for the team parents meeting)
Old gym is old gym for other reasons, and we love our new gyms, but I will say that I appreciate DDs' new gym that doesn't add the "I lose money on you" to the team parents meeting.
Am I missing something? Is there a reason to make us feel bad about "hurting the gym financially?" Or a reason to have us "aware" of this?
SO you are at the annual team meeting with the gym or studio owner and HC... and every year x the last 10 I hear some variation on "I loose so much money on team" or "I am so generous and out of the kindness of my own heart and money out of my own pocket" I don't charge "full rate" for all of the hours your kid is in the gym. It has always just sit wrong with me.
We hear the "you have specialized equipment that is largely used by the team. At old gym the parents booster club pays for much of the new equipment which isn't even really allowed. But they use much of it for rec kids, they use their "competitive professional equipment" quotes in their newspaper/internet communications to recruit new families, they use team kids at their "olympic day" to "show what their kids can do here at this great gym"....
Now I understand they charge 15$ an hour for the 1 hour preschool classes. And yes, we don't pay 15$ an hour for all 5 or 6 or 12 or 16 hours our kids are there. SO yes, you don't make "full price" on those hours, but we are there for many hours so you still make money from our tuition and we tend to be consistent, not taking sessions off. Also, the team taking up space in the facility plays a roll in limiting the number of rec kids in the gym at the same time, but honestly none of these 3 gyms is turning away rec kids. And IMO time is barrier to making huge jumps in rec kids numbers as it all has to fit after school and on the weekend. (except some preschool classes for families that have a stay at home parent or nanny).
And team kids wear the t-shirt, have the car decals, post on social media which all advertises for the gym by contacting passively people who may be thinking about an activity for their kiddo.
I'm a numbers person so, hypotehetically speaking, let's use some numbers - 50 team kids,1 5 hours a week. becomes 750 kid hours at 15$ an hour is $11250/week. = $45000/month . The team fee for those hours is 360$/mo x 50 kids = 18000 a month. So they do lose 27000 / month by having team kids at reduced rates instead of rec kids at "full rate" So 27000/15 dollars an hour, so that is 1800 hours of rec kids a month. 450 hours of rec kids a week. DO gyms really have 450 rec kids waiting to get into a class a week? At least here, I say no. There are no kids on a waiting list waiting to get in here. (Now i appreciate there may be ability to offer more class options and recruit kids who looked but didn't sign up b/c of scheduling, but I doubt 450 kids a week)
So why do the owners say this to parents who are investing in their kids at their studio/gym? It is hard to hear and makes me feel uncomfortable.
I thought to myself when I heard it again Sunday - yes you are generous by having a team for our kids, but the reduced cost per hour as the hours increase is really the industry standard. Without it, I don't think any of us could have kids on team. And owner threw in "your coach deserves a raise, but that's not going to happen" (That broke my heart, the coach is wonderful and actually the owners daughter, but again, probably not appropriate for the team parents meeting)
Old gym is old gym for other reasons, and we love our new gyms, but I will say that I appreciate DDs' new gym that doesn't add the "I lose money on you" to the team parents meeting.
Am I missing something? Is there a reason to make us feel bad about "hurting the gym financially?" Or a reason to have us "aware" of this?