With a new round of gym re-openings going into effect this week, Orangetheory Fitness is ready to welcome back clients eager to restart their workout routines.
The chain expects to have 1,000 studios open by the end of this week and is hoping to get all 1,400 global locations back to business in the next few months, said Dave Long, the brand's CEO and co-founder.
While the boutique fitness brand has offered free at-home workouts to help members exercise throughout the pandemic, the company is now making a number of changes to promote a safe return to the class-based studio. "Everyone is pre-booking a set schedule. We know who's coming in and we've reduced the capacity by at least 50 percent," said Long. "Between each class we're doing a very deep clean in the studios."
Besides cleaning, the CEO said the fitness studio is also promoting mask-wearing. "We encourage masks wherever the local regulations require it -- we do have all the members wearing masks in those spots. And then globally our staff is always wearing a mask from top to bottom."
Even with the safety restrictions, the CEO says clients are eager to get back to working out and have not resisted these policy changes.
Despite the new safety restrictions, Long said his team is finding pent up demand from clients who want to be part of a community like Orangetheory. "This ha[d] become the new happy hour in a lot of areas pre-COVID... and we believe that will come back even stronger."
So far, the studios that have opened are doing well, said Long, but the pandemic has clearly thrown a wrench in the company's normal schedule.
"We're certainly not set up as a business to be running at half capacity for months or years, but our franchisees and our members have really flexed to figure out how to make this work in the short-term. We've also stood up classes outside of the studio, Orangetheory Outdoors," said Long, noting those classes are held by almost 300 studios globally.
The brand has also found success with its at-home offerings. "We didn't realize how much that would take off so we've done over 16 million workouts with that product."
The at-home option rounded out the company's fitness offerings so members can go to a studio, workout online, or even head outdoors. While the company has always wanted to promote online workouts, the pandemic has helped to speed up this process and Long believes the new digital offerings will stay popular post-pandemic.
Long emphasized the importance of keeping up with fitness regimens even when people are stuck at home. "We stood up Orangetheory At Home so that we could keep members in a routine," he said. "We know that with wellness and with mindset the routine is maybe one of the most important things."
Orangetheory Fitness is redefining the future of workouts with smarter tech, strength-based programming, and community-driven studios built for what’s next.
Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
