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Welcome to the latest Club newsletter. As always there is a lot of information to update you all on, especially as the changes in guidance keeps evolving and changing both in a sporting context as well as socially.
Membership Pricing
In the July newsletter, we outlined our proposal for the initial 3 months of re-opening in the months of August – October, not knowing for sure what the situation and circumstances would be, come the time to review the position. We offered a 25% discount on monthly memberships and an extension on Annual memberships.
During the first 12 weeks of being open, all the staff have been hugely grateful for your loyalty to the Club and have really appreciated the lovely positive feedback received. To date, we have had a very low cancellation rate of 6% whilst just 16% of members have chosen to suspend their membership for a variety of reasons. This compares very favourably to other facilities in our sector. That said, the Club has been and continues to operate at a loss since March 2020, and the College has kindly agreed to underwrite these losses for the coming months to help the Club recover.
We have been working hard to ensure that members feel confident and happy to continue to use the Club and similarly for those yet to return. We acknowledge that we have had to make some adjustments to operating times and procedures due to the adaptations that College has been required to make in order to operate safely and effectively. We appreciate the flexibility members have shown and apologise for the inconvenience this might continue to cause some members. We have not allowed any new members from the waiting list to join while facilities for existing members remain constrained.
For the period of November through to the end of January, we will continue to offer a discount, and this will be set at 20% for all monthly paying members. For members who pay annually, upon your renewal we will add one additional month to the term, so you will receive 13 months for the price of 12. We will also continue to provide a suspension facility for members and the fee for this will remain at £10 per month. This can continue to be paid by direct debit. The situation will be reviewed again in mid-January, by which time we hope things may be returning closer to normal.
Gym
As from Monday 2nd November, we will be increasing the occupancy in the gym from 15 to 20. We can do this after monitoring the situation for the first six weeks of the new term and the reintroduction of the Qube as a usable facility. Members that require longer sessions can now book back to back slots.
Group Exercise Classes
Over the past several months, we have steadily increased the range of the programme as attendances have been fantastic, so the October programme has increased by 14 classes to 71 plus 19 Qube classes. It is planned that the November timetable will also be extended.
Online Classes
We will shortly be able to extend the offering with classes via Zoom which we know many members thoroughly enjoyed during the lockdown period. We are now in receipt of the IT equipment required which was held up in a backlog and we are currently trialling it with several classes. As soon as we are ready to go live, we will update you all.
Bookable Gym & Pool Slots
The take-up on bookable slots has been very good, especially for the pool, and we are grateful for the feedback we have had for these two facilities. The guidance for both these activities has not altered since re-opening so they will continue for the foreseeable future.
Sauna & Steam Room
These facilities will remain closed for the immediate future. The recently published guidelines make compliance very difficult operationally. We will review the position as and when any revised guidance is made available.
Fives
We are pleased to announce that the 5s Bar opened on Monday 5th October and are offering an indoor café service as well as a limited evening bar service. Both offerings will be table service only and we are understandably limited on capacity. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
The bar will be a bottle-bar for beers and will be open Monday – Friday from 18:30 – 21:30. We will assess how this is working and review accordingly.
Masks are to be worn upon entering and leaving Fives and there will be tables of a maximum of six, as per the regulations.
Masks
We are now requiring all staff and members to wear masks when moving around the Club to your activities. Masks are not required to be worn whilst participating in activities, and staff are not required to wear them in the offices. Your cooperation is required and appreciated.
QR Code
In line with other businesses, we have displayed several of the posters in and around the Club. It will be greatly appreciated that you check-in upon arrival, if possible. Thank you.
A few ‘help us to help you’ observations
Booking classes
As classes currently have a reduced capacity, they have been filling up exceptionally quickly. We would ask then, if you have booked a class but cannot make it then please either cancel via the app, website, phone or by emailing reception. Early cancellations allow us to fill up vacant spaces from the waiting list. If you are on the waiting list and again wish to come off, please do so via the app etc, or again by letting us know directly.
We have long had a fine system in place for no shows and late cancellations that, when activated, will block your booking rights until cleared. Our new terms and conditions just uploaded on to the Club website now state that we require a minimum of 24 hours’ notice to cancel and this applies to all classes, bookable gym and pool slots, as well as tennis and squash courts.
Arriving Early for Activities
We know many of you are keen to be on time and would like to get in early for your sessions. Unfortunately, early access is not permissible as we need the required cleaning time between sessions and waiting inside the reception foyer is not acceptable either due to space restrictions. With the autumn now upon us, if you have arrived early and the weather is not glorious sunshine then please can you sit tight in your car until the appropriate time.
The one-way system
Just like Dorothy followed the yellow brick road, or in this case the ‘blue signs path’, please ensure you also enter and exit via the correct means. Entry via open exit doors is not permitted. We do have strict COVID protocols in place that need to be followed to keep us all healthy.
We are extremely grateful for and impressed by members’ desire and enthusiasm to reengage with the Club, the activities and staff. So, from all the Wellington team, thank you, keep coming and stay safe.
Ian Davis and the Team at Wellington Health and Fitness Club
20th October 2020
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