CWA Blog Archive-Billing Challenges In The Fitness Industry

Billing Challenges In The Fitness Industry

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Written by Garnet Moore in April 2020, this article addresses gym billing decisions as closures entered their fifth week and some customers faced choosing whether to stay committed for a second month. It urges operators to ensure their options align with local laws and community expectations, and argues the indoor climbing industry can learn from challenges faced by health clubs to avoid unnecessary regulation. The article notes that some states, such as Maryland, have laws limiting fitness center options based on the length of closure, while cautioning about subtleties: laws pertaining to health clubs often don't apply to climbing gyms. However, it stresses that news articles, social media, and public sentiment may affect members' thinking, so messaging should be clear, consistent, and constant. The featured cautionary example is New York Sports Clubs, whose lack of messaging frustrated members so severely that a class action lawsuit was filed against their parent company, alongside massive social media backlash and a petition protesting their response. This illustrates the concrete reputational and legal risks of poor billing communication during closures. The throughline is that how gyms handle billing during pandemic closures, and especially how clearly they communicate about it, carries real legal and reputational stakes, and operators must align their billing options with local laws and community expectations while messaging clearly, consistently, and constantly. Because closures forced difficult billing decisions, whether to keep charging, freeze, or offer options, and because members' perceptions were shaped by news, social media, and public sentiment, poor handling could trigger serious consequences. The New York Sports Clubs debacle, a class action lawsuit, social media backlash, and a protest petition, all stemming from inadequate messaging, exemplifies the danger. While climbing gyms may not be bound by the same laws as health clubs (like Maryland's closure-length-based restrictions), they can learn from the fitness industry's mistakes to avoid unnecessary regulation and member alienation. For operators, the article argues that thoughtful, legally-compliant billing paired with clear, consistent, constant communication is essential to maintaining member trust and avoiding the legal and reputational disasters that befell gyms which mishandled the situation, positioning transparent billing communication as a critical element of navigating closures responsibly.

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Written by Garnet Moore in April 2020, this piece addresses pandemic billing decisions as closures reached five weeks. It urges aligning options with local laws and community expectations and messaging clearly, consistently, and constantly, citing New York Sports Clubs, whose poor messaging drew a class action lawsuit, backlash, and a protest petition, as a cautionary example.