Hungry for more

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Guests taking part in exercise classes at The Aviation Club almost always call into The Coffee Bean for a drink or something to eat.

With leisure facilities increasingly required to offer more value for money, Louise Birchall investigates how food and beverage options can be part of the package guaranteed to bring both guests and money to the table.

As budgets are tightened across the world, it's the businesses that are willing to diversify and entice guests with value-added services that will prosper.

While not traditionally seen as a major component of the classic gym, a simple but well-managed food and beverage (F&B) operation can help you to win new customers, keep existing guests happy and boost revenue.

One example of how this can work is at The Aviation Club, Dubai, which has a small café, The Coffee Bean, attached to the gym.

"When members join they're shown The Coffee Bean because that's a facility and it has become part of the package," says the club's F&B manager Dave Cattanach.

Cattanach has worked with The Aviation Club's fitness and spa management staff to ensure that the facility is well tailored to suit the specific needs of guests. "The result is that on a daily basis everybody who comes to the gym or to the exercise classes at some point will use café, even if it's only for a bottle of water," he says.

In fact, despite being primarily placed to cater to gym users, the facility also attracts a lot of passing non-members and the lunchtime brigade coming in from nearby offices.

At a time when leisure facilities need to be thinking of ways to bring new customers through the door more than ever, this is certainly one way to do it.

"If the product and price is right, no matter what business you're in you'll always have people coming back to you - the price point is quite important," says Cattanach.

Furthermore, operators who offer F&B can also expect guests to stay longer.

"I know a lot of members plan their workout and include having a salad or soup afterwards, they plan their routine with The Coffee Bean in mind," he says.

Healthy choice

Health club manager at Abu Dhabi Ladies Club Fanny Cataldo has also been working to develop more choice and diversity in the club's gastronomic offerings.

She says that as well as the Orchid Coffee Shop, the club offers all-day dining options including a restaurant open for lunch and dinner, a lobby lounge and a terrace café.

As a result, in addition to the sports and fitness classes and spa facilities offered at the club, it has also begun to attract guests coming for a family or business lunch or for a sociable fitness class and coffee.

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