Monday Sep. 14, 2009 @ 4:40 pm By
127469_7041

The most often asked question I get, from all over the world…

In a nutshell, I think it comes down to 3 main reasons as to why there are very few actual airport gyms in terminals:

Rent: Rent must be very pricey, given limited space, in an actual airport terminal. Thus, it will take a large chain – with resources – to pull it off correctly.

Space Size: A true gym requires a lot of space. Ever notice just how small even the largest shops in the terminals are? I think that there are few spots with room as most airports are old, did not take into consideration larger size store fronts in design given legacy designs/floor plans and simple history of the trend in the industry. Imagine the cost to combine 3-4 store fronts to make the needed room. Construction wise it is easy, cost wise, likely rather prohibitive to retrofit.

Lack of progressive thinking: This is true on the part of big gym chains and airports. Only now, in recent history, are people really considering the value of their health AND the tie into travel given the post 911 world and current travel hassles in our burdened system. It is amazingly small minded thinking on the parts of large gym chains to not look into this as a viable option, and to a some extent, airports to not look to try to attract said companies. These 2 would be a natural mix with measurable benefits in my personal estimation, but it is so unheard of, I just personally think it is outside both of their boxes of thinking.

This concept is a no brainer and should be implemented more often and frankly, is surprising it is not. But, I believe these are the 3 big limitations. Heck, just consider the word of mouth and foot traffic daily a gym in an airport would get. I do not, in any way, think the business model would/could not be supported. I believe there are plenty of travelers, active travelers, that would spend the nominal cost and obviously available free time using a “true” Airport Gym – one inside an actual active terminal – versus sitting in said terminal wasting time.

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