24 Hour Fitness re-opening more clubs, offering free extensions and buddy passes

24 Hour Fitness, or rather 16 Hour Fitness due to their new operating hours of 5 am to 9 pm, has been slowly re-opening their clubs in Texas.  A number of clubs in the Dallas area re-opened in mid-May, with the rest in Dallas and the Houston area coming June 1.  In addition, select clubs in Florida and all clubs in Hawaii are scheduled for re-opening in mid-June.  The privately-owned fitness chain has been implementing the following social distancing and sanitation measures:

• Mandatory workout reservations over the 24GO app, limited to one per day for up to 1 hour
• 30-minute total gym closure for cleaning between each 1-hour reservation slot
• Touch-free check-in with the app
• Closure of all ball courts
• Classes will meet at modified times and locations to support social distancing
• Some equipment may be powered off or moved to provide ample space to work out safely
• Senior hours between 2-3 pm daily

All clubs will be closed for 30 minutes for cleaning after each 1-hour workout slot reservation

Membership extensions

In an effort to retain their existing members, membership end dates have been extended by 75 days to cover the amount of time paid while the clubs were closed.  As the vast majority of their clubs will likely be closed for over 75 days, I suspect that these extensions will be further expanded.  And through December 31, 2020, all members will be able to visit all clubs regardless of their membership level.  This means that even lowest tier Active members will be able to visit top-tier Ultra Sport clubs, which is a generous offer for those without all-club access memberships.

Lowest tier Active members can now access any club of their choosing, including the Ultra Sport club in Irvine (when it re-opens)

Buddy Pass choice offers

As part of their gratitude to members who have stuck with them throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, 24 Hour Fitness is offering all existing members one of the following choice offers:

1. 90-DAY GIFT OF FITNESS, a 90-day All-Club membership to give to a friend or family member

OR

2. ONE-YEAR BUDDY PASS, which allows you to bring a guest with you each time you work out for one year

These are pretty good offers as the gym industry has suffered mightily during this time, with Gold's Gym filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after over 50 years of operation.  The one-year buddy pass may seem like the more attractive offer for many, but keep in mind that the strict capacity controls and reservation system may make bringing friends difficult.  Normally, new members get a 3-day free trial period, so a 90-day all-club membership is a generous offer.  To select one of the offers, sign into your account and choose one before your local gyms' scheduled reopening dates (if you are a Dallas-Fort Worth or Houston area member, confirm by June 14).

Bottom line

Gyms can definitely be cesspools for pathogens including coronavirus, so it's good to see 24 Hour Fitness re-open their clubs slowly and cautiously with safety measures in place.  The gym will definitely be a different environment from here on out, with no "busy times" between the hours of 4-6 pm due to restricted reservation access.  And you probably also don't want to go to failure on the bench press since your spotter will be too close for comfort....

From all of us at Flying for Fitness, please stay healthy during this trying time.  We hope you enjoyed this post.  Please consider visiting one of our sponsors by clicking on the advertisements.  Our sponsors pay us for customer visits and help us to keep the lights on.  Thanks!