5 fitness trends to watch in 2023 Happy New Year! With the memory of food comas and hangovers still lingering, the start of a new year is when most people kick off their New Year’s resolutions and fitness trends catch a new wind. In past years, we’ve seen the rise of home gyms and workouts, wearable technology and virtual fitness. As the fitness landscape continue to change, what will be the next fitness trends to sweep the nation by storm? 1.      Mobility training With TikTok and Instagram Reel popularity on the rise, users are being →

Fast Five with Nigel Dennis As we launch into 2023, leisure operators are looking ahead with excitement but also a degree of trepidation. Staffing is one of the big challenges of the coming year so keeping teams strong while continuing to meet and exceed customer expectations will be the name of the game. This month we put five questions to Jonas Leisure Business Development Manager Nigel Dennis to gather his thoughts on some of the key challenges and opportunities for leisure operators over the next 12 months. You spent 20 years working in the leisure →

Keep your members from gym-jumping in the new year January is renowned for being “resolution month”. A new year brings the guise of new possibilities, fresh starts, and changed behaviours - and many choose to work on their health and fitness. Studies have shown that improving ones health and fitness is one of the top new year’s resolutions made year after year. At the start of 2022, Finder conducted a survey with 1031 respondents to learn about their resolution habits. The survey results found that 30% pledged to improve their fitness, 30% committed to healthier →

Fast Five with Mandy Caldwell With the festive season approaching many leisure operators are bracing themselves for the summer and school holiday rush and an influx of new members committed to being healthier and more active in the new year. This month we put five questions to Jonas Leisure Development Operations Coordinator Mandy Caldwell, to find out some of her favourite time-saving tools and how leisure operators are dealing with today’s challenges. What are some of the key challenges the industry is grappling with? There’s been a shift in the mindset of leisure centre customers →

Reporting your way to results Knowledge is power when it comes to your business, and the best kind of knowledge you have access to when it comes to your business is your reports. Reporting is the most valuable tool in your tech-kit because it arms you with clear data on metrics that paint a bigger picture of where your leisure business is at. How many members do you currently have and what are they paying? How many cancellations did you have last month? How many new sign-ups did you have in comparison to cancellations? Having →

As fears of Covid-19 fade and people turn their attention to getting in shape for summer, many leisure centre and gym managers are exploring opportunities to make the experience the best it can be for facility visitors. For this month’s Fast Five, we put five questions to Jonas Leisure’s Business Manager Ian Wilcock to get his perspective on the importance of face-to-face communication with customers and how technology can turbocharge the customer experience. What are some of the major opportunities you see for people organising or managing leisure and recreation centres right now? As Covid →

Fast Five with Rob van Endt From near-instant membership sign up to smart questionnaires powered by artificial intelligence, the way customers of tomorrow interact with leisure centres will be very different to the experience we’ve become accustomed to today. This month we put five questions to Jonas Leisure’s Wellington-based IT guru Rob van Endt, to get his insights on the latest trends in IT and how recent advances could make it easier for people to interact with leisure centres in future. What are some of the big IT challenges the leisure industry and others are →

Will they stay or will they go: cost-effective ways to keep your staff engaged Many leisure centre operators are struggling to deal with the one-two punch of a tight labour market and an increased demand for services as Covid-19 restrictions fade away. Staff shortages are a major headache, and a key question in the leisure industry is how to retain staff and create a workplace environment that keeps staff happy and motivated. Money can be an important deciding factor for staff considering whether to stick around or move elsewhere, but it’s not the only available →

Moving with the times: adapting to a remote working culture It’s no secret that the pandemic has changed life for us dramatically, one of the most noticeable being our working arrangements. According to a report published by the Australian Government Productivity Commission, pre-pandemic only about 8% of people regularly worked from home some of the time, making up about 2% of total hours worked. But even after lockdowns eased and returning to the office full-time was a possibility, the number of people working from home remained at just under 40%. For many corporate businesses, the →

The past few years have been a time of change for the leisure industry. From exciting new technology to the challenge of catering to increased demand for leisure as Covid-19 restrictions ease off, there’s been a whole lot of learning taking place. This month we put five questions to Sheena Sadlier, Customer Success Consultant at Jonas Leisure, to get her thoughts on some of the hot topics facility staff are grappling with these days and what makes the industry great. What is your favourite thing about working in the leisure industry? I am a strong →