The future of the fitness industry is constantly evolving as technology advances. The ability to adapt to these changes is the key to success.
In the latest Thought Leaders panel discussion sponsored by Woven, industry leaders shared strategies and insights on how data and technology are reshaping operations and transforming the member experience.
Emily Hamill, CEO of Brightside Digital Marketing, highlighted the industry has shifted from one-off campaigns to connected ecosystems that combine ads, CRM systems and member data. “You’ve got this continuous feedback loop,” said Hamill. “The next evolution is that we’re going to proactively personalize all of that communication.” This approach will enable businesses to tailor messages and offers based on the behavior data they receive from their members, leading to greater optimization and automation.
For Midtown Athletic Club’s CIO, Mark Caravello, the biggest transformation starts with data quality. Midtown has heavily invested in centralizing and organizing its data, building “data dictionaries” to ensure the team and tools like AI are all speaking the same language. This initiative allowed the company to create its own predictive churn model to help strengthen member retention.
The model identifies members at risk of leaving which triggers targeted offers for re-engagement such as gift cards, free classes or guest passes. The goal is to automate these offers, delivering them instantly via text or in-app messages at scale.
Matt Goebel, the CEO of Woven, focused on operational changes, noting the surge of private equity investment and industry consolidation as driving forces behind new expectations for efficiency and consistency.
Goebel also echoed ideas behind having a strong and clean data foundation. “Whatever evolves with AI in the future, its fuel, its base consumption is going to be your data,” said Goebel. “Having a clean single source of that is going to be absolutely necessary.”
While all panelists recognized the power of automation, they agreed technology should enhance, not replace, the human connection that defines the club experience.
Hamill views AI as a means of alleviating pressure from the front desk and help reduce human error. AI can help automate communication like booking tours, sending confirmations and follow-ups or scheduling classes to help create consistency and allow the employees working to focus on other things like leading those tours and creating relationships with members.
Caravello agreed, noting that his team uses AI chatbots and digital assistants to handle frequently asked questions so that employees have more ability to engage with members face-to-face.
Goebel, from an operational standpoint, explained how AI can remove redundancy to increase employee satisfaction. By automating mind-numbing work, it allows employees to be present in the moment and allow for that human interaction that is crucial to clubs.
One thing was clear throughout this panel discussion — technology’s role in fitness is growing but strong data foundation, clear goals and human connection remain central to future-proofing success.
