Wellness

Elevating Fitness & Wellness in Private Clubs

Elevating-Fitness-&-Wellness-in-Private-Clubs

The private club environment is evolving rapidly. Wellness is no longer a peripheral amenity but a core component of how members define value and connection. As digital platforms, boutique studios, and personalized health services continue to expand outside club gates, the ability to deliver exceptional, in-person wellness experiences has become a defining competitive advantage.

To meet this moment, clubs must move beyond simply offering a fitness facility. They need a strategic, well-led operation built around purpose, culture, and member outcomes. Leadership teams are rethinking how fitness and wellness integrate into the club’s broader identity, with staffing models that emphasize credentialed professionals, personalized engagement, and proactive program management.

Success increasingly depends on hiring and developing leaders who can balance operational expertise with creativity, community building, and data-driven decision making. Recruiting fitness and wellness directors who act as true department heads, capable of designing programs, managing budgets, leading teams, and collaborating across departments, is essential.

Forward-thinking clubs are redefining how wellness leadership fits into the broader management structure. They’re elevating wellness directors into true department head roles. Leaders who participate in strategic planning, manage budgets, and collaborate across departments, ensuring wellness programs are integrated with dining, racquets, aquatics, and social offerings. This alignment allows wellness to support the club’s overall vision while maintaining operational and financial discipline.

At the same time, progressive clubs are investing in the people behind these programs by creating clear career pathways, competitive compensation models, and opportunities for professional growth. Many are pairing full-time leadership with part-time specialists to maintain flexibility and bring in fresh expertise. By combining strong staffing practices with cross-department collaboration, clubs create sustainable, innovative wellness operations that enhance member engagement and long-term value.

The following trends are shaping club wellness:

  1. Holistic Wellness Models
    Members expect more than exercise. Nutrition, recovery, mindfulness, and even sleep tracking are becoming standard.
  2. Personalization & Specialization
    Technology-driven assessments and tailored training programs are in demand. Clubs that leverage member data responsibly will differentiate themselves.
  3. Generational Expectations
    Younger members want boutique-style energy and digital integration, while older members seek medically integrated, recovery-focused programs.
  4. Performance Integration with Sport
    Golfers, tennis players, and pickleball enthusiasts want sport-specific training from staff versed in biomechanics and performance science.
  5. Blended Staffing Structures
    The future blends full-time wellness directors with contracted trainers, nutritionists, and therapists. Management’s challenge is alignment, accountability, and cultural integration across these evolving employment models.
  6. Career Pathways for Retention
    Turnover is costly. Clubs that invest in professional development, continuing education, and internal progression retain talent longer.
  7. Wellness as Social Glue
    Programs like group challenges, wellness retreats, and family fitness events tie directly to what clubs do best: building community.

Private clubs must emphasize their unique value over home gyms and boutique studios by focusing on:

  • Community over Convenience: Building accountability and camaraderie that can’t be replicated at home.
  • Integration into Lifestyle: Linking fitness with dining (healthy menus), aquatics, golf, tennis, spa, and youth programs.
  • High-Quality Staff: Professionals who are coaches, motivators, and relationship-builders, not just instructors.
  • Strategic Alignment: Positioning wellness as a board-level priority that drives retention, not an auxiliary cost.

For boards and senior staff, managing wellness as a strategic initiative is essential. Wallace and Simard recommend the following:

  • Hire Leaders, Not Just Trainers: A Wellness Director must be able to manage
    teams, budgets, and strategy.
  • Balance Flexibility with Quality: Employ a mix of full-time staff and contractors,
    with consistent oversight.
  • Support Retention: Offer education, certifications, and career development
    opportunities to reduce the churn of employees.
  • Control Costs: Use Club Benchmarking ratios to stay within sustainable labor
    expense ranges.
  • Integrate Wellness into the Strategic Plan: Wellness should stand alongside
    golf, dining, and family programming as a core member value pillar.

There is both a challenge and an opportunity for clubs with respect to fitness and wellness. They involve cost structures that demand discipline and member expectations that are rising across generations.

Clubs that invest in the right people, align staffing with financial benchmarks, and deliver integrated, community-driven wellness will not only keep pace but differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market. This leads to higher engagement, stronger retention, and long-term relevance, which is the ultimate goal.

Club Trends – Fall 2025

Thomas B. Wallace III, CCM, CCE, ECM, Partner and Len Simard, USTA, PTR, PPR & RSPA Master Professional, Search & Consulting Executive at KOPPLIN KUEBLER & WALLACE can be reached at tom@kkandw.com and len@kkandw.com.

Elevating Fitness & Wellness in Private Clubs2026-01-05T23:38:49+00:00

Best Practices For Forming A Fitness & Wellness Search Committee

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Hiring the best Director of Fitness and Wellness at any club or resort who is the best “fit” for the role, is obviously imperative in determining the success of the fitness and wellness program and overall organization. However, the exercise of forming a search committee is arguably the most important in the process of hiring a top notch, Director of Fitness and Wellness. Consider these six tips that will help set you and your organization up for success!

Confidentiality
First and foremost, confidentiality is the most important component when determining who should be selected to the search committee. The only people who should serve on the search committee are those that will not, under any circumstances, reveal any information about candidates. Organization reputations are at stake, as well as the candidates’ current jobs. Even the slightest inquiry with a friend or colleague who knows a candidate could cause a major issue and could lead to job loss! For this reason, only trusted members who can provide complete confidentiality should be invited to serve on the search committee.

Number of Committee Members
A recommendation of five (5) people for the search committee – seven (7) is the maximum. Odd numbers are better in case of a tie, and the fewer the better because of the confidentiality required and mentioned previously. Too many “cooks in the kitchen” and opinions will also work against you in the process!

Diversity of Committee
The composition of the committee should include some representation from the various demographics and club constituencies including active members who represent all aspects of your fitness program (personal training, group exercise etc). Typically, frequent users of the club and a cross section of tenured, senior members; and younger, newer members is recommended. Members who are currently serving on a club committee or board are especially valuable since they already have a good understanding of how the management/governance works and they are truly committed to the club.

Time & Commitment Needed
Serving on the search committee requires a great deal of time, effort, and commitment. Committee members will receive a lot of information and documentation about top candidates prior to interviewing them at the club. Typically, the committee members will be responsible for reviewing résumés, questionnaire responses, professional portfolios, and behavioral assessment results. Additionally, the search committee will be required to participate in a full day(s) of interviews. A commitment to participating in interviews is important because each search committee member will have some time to ask the candidates questions. Also, this will give the candidates time to ask questions they have about the club, the club culture, and the membership.

Role of Search Committee
Another decision to make is determining the role of the search committee. Best practice is for the search committee to make a recommendation to the GM/COO. From there the GM/COO will be part of making the final decision, notifying the club’s board members, and extending the employment offer with the input and support of the search committee.

Candidate Relations
Finally, at the end of the day, look for committee members who enjoy the club and will represent the membership in a very positive manner. While their purpose is to interview the candidates to see who the most capable leader for the club’s program is, keep in mind that the candidates will also be closely observing the search committee members to determine if the culture of the club is compatible with their career goals. The more “chamber of commerce” type members of the committee, the better!

About the author…

Len Simard, PTR, USPTA Master Professional is a search executive and consultant specializing in Racquet Sports and Fitness & Wellness placements, compensation, programming assessments and committee retreats for KOPPLIN KUEBLER & WALLACE. Len can be contacted via email at len@kkandw.com or by phone at 407-463-8923.

Best Practices For Forming A Fitness & Wellness Search Committee2022-12-06T17:40:10+00:00

Hiring & Staffing For Success

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How would you want to be hired by your club? This webinar covers engagement and leadership best practices for attracting and retaining a talented team – your most important asset!

As a leader within your organization, it’s important that you know who you are and what you contribute to the organization. Your goals become your team’s goals, so it’s essential that you can employ your own expertise and hire for supporting elements to ensure the success of your program.

Positioning your organization as an “employer of choice” is also key when competition for talent is high.  Having a clear plan for recruitment and retention can set you apart. Professional development and growth opportunities within your department can create tremendous value.  Consider how well you have progressed the careers of your past and present team members. How many of them have gone on to become directors of fitness and wellness?

For more on this topic, click play to review the webinar below….

About the presenter…

Len Simard, PTR, USPTA Master Professional Racquet Sports, Fitness & Wellness, GM/COO search and consulting executive, Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace. Under Len’s guidance, KK&W has partnered with The Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) to provide PTR members, clubs and employers the opportunity to be the most educated and connected in the business. Len can be contacted via email at len@kkandw.com or by phone at 407-463-8923.

Hiring & Staffing For Success2021-07-08T19:27:33+00:00
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