I’ve received even more comments about our November 2007 story, “Time’s Up,” about express clubs that are closing and lawsuits that are being filed against franchisors. Here’s a link to a blog site that includes information about some of the companies we featured and other franchised club companies: http://www.franbest.com/fitness/?page_id=32. I wish we had known about this site before we wrote the article. However, I know we’ll be following up on this story, so stay tuned! –Pam

Well, the November issue has been out for more than a week, and so far, I’ve only received two communications from people within the industry about the cover story, “Time’s Up,” in which Stuart writes about the growing number of franchised companies that are closing or facing lawsuits from their franchisees.

One gentleman told me that he was just waiting for the press to wake up to the fact that these franchised facilities are closing. He predicts that within the next two years similar closings will occur in the franchised key-card club market. In his opinion, express and key-card clubs only work if they are in smaller markets with little competition. Once big players and/or low-priced players move in, the franchised facilities lose members and must close. With as little customer service and personal attention as members get at some express and key-card clubs, they often decide the $30 per month isn’t worth it, especially when they can get the same amount of service for $12 per month or more customer service for that $30 per month.

The other communication was with a man who owns a women-only express club. He is having such trouble with the facility that he is trying to sell it. He said that he’s not alone. He knows of many other franchisees experiencing similar financial issues. He says that his franchisor over-promised to the franchisees, didn’t help with site locations and didn’t support the franchisees once they began operating.

It’s a sad story. And not just for the franchisees who are losing their life savings but also for our industry. If this explosion of franchised facilities turns into a huge bust, just think of the millions of former members we’ve turned off who may never again think joining a club is worth the effort. That’s too bad considering the obesity epidemic we’re facing and the fact that so many good clubs exist.

So what can we do about this as an industry? Send me your thoughts! –Pam

I was looking forward to going to the Athletic Business show this week in Orlando, but now my excitement has been tempered a bit.

I just found out on the Athletic Business Conference Web site today that Sports Illustrated‘s Rick Reilly will not be the keynote speaker. Reilly announced several weeks ago that he is leaving SI to work for ESPN and its many outlets, such as ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. He was supposed to speak Friday, but that‘s his last day at SI. (My guess is they‘re throwing this big going away soiree somewhere, and he can‘t get out of it.)

Reilly‘s replacement is Joe Theismann, former quarterback of the Washington Redskins and a former NFL analyst on ESPN. This makes it two years in a row that the AB show has featured a former QB. (Terry Bradshaw spoke at last year‘s show in Las Vegas. From what I hear, Terry talked a lot about putting his hands under his center‘s butt for all those years with the Pittsburgh Steelers.)

Being a writer and as a former/current sportswriter, I would have enjoyed hearing Reilly speak. Now I‘ll be stuck hearing Joe Theismann speak about Joe Theismann and subjects relating to Joe Theismann. He does own a restaurant in Washington, DC, and his speech, entitled “Game Plan for Success,” has some promise of equating athletics and business.

Be sure to check out my review of Theismann‘s speech here in the next few days. Maybe I‘ll ask him what he thinks about his former Monday Night Football partner, Tony Kornheiser, with whom he didn‘t necessarily have the most cheery relationship. I predict the answer will come back to one person: Joe Theismann. -Stuart

Let‘s be honest: Not everything we write about is the most thrilling, the most exciting subject matter known to mankind. However, there are some topics I‘ve touched upon this week that have actually made me perk up, even about topics such as billings and collections.

I talked to an industry “insider” today for my story on billings and collections that will appear in our December issue. He said that more gym-goers are paying for their memberships by credit cards these days than through their checking/savings accounts. Five years ago, 65 percent of memberships were paid through checking accounts, and 35 percent were paid by credit card, he said. Today, the numbers are reversed, with 65 percent paid by credit card and 35 percent paid through checking accounts.

Why? My source offered two reasons. One, our not-so-wonderful economy has made people make more purchases by credit card. Two, credit card companies are offering more points to their customers for using their cards.

How does this affect club owners? Tremendously. Club owners, my source said, really need to start encouraging members to pay through their checking account. For a $50 per month membership, for example, the transaction cost through an ACH (Automated Clearing House) is only 25 cents to the club owner. For the same membership, the transaction cost would be roughly $1.50 to the club owner at a 2 to 3 percent rate for using a credit card.

Keep in mind that a debit card is essentially the same to the club owner as a credit card. A debit card, at a 2 percent rate, would cost the club owner $1 for that membership per month. That‘s why my source encourages clubs to obtain a voided check from members to get access directly to their checking accounts, thus costing the club owner less money per membership per month. Usually, I don‘t divulge too much information before writing a story, but this was too good to keep under wraps.

Something else to look forward to in December: Check out the Step by Step column by Brian Grasso, CEO of the International Youth Conditioning Association. I edited the column the other day, and Brian offers some really well thought-out views on children‘s fitness. He has a good column for November, but really, you‘ve got to see his December offering. A good read, indeed.

A couple of housekeeping notes: The corporate fitness story I had been working on for November has been postponed until a future issue. No word on when that will run.

Also, hopefully by Thursday, I‘ll have a story up on the Web site about World Gym‘s new key-card club model that is scheduled to launch as early as next month. (I talked to Ben Midgley, World Gym president, on Tuesday.) The name of the model is World Gym 1440 All Axcess. (That‘s not a misspelling.) Why 1440? That‘s how many minutes there are in a day. Let‘s see…60 minutes in an hour times 24 hours in a day … yep, his story checks out! -Stuart

If you haven’t seen the video of Augie Nieto’s appearance on the “Today Show” on Wednesday of this week, I urge you to watch it. Nieto was on the show with his wife, Lynne, as the couple talked about his battle with ALS and the release of his book “Augie’s Quest: One Man’s Journey from Success to Significance.”

You can view the video and get information about the book, which will be released on Nov. 13, on Nieto’s Web site.

It was an emotional interview conducted by Natalie Morales of the “Today Show.” She had interviewed Nieto a year ago when he was still able to walk. On Wednesday, Nieto was in a wheelchair, unable to move and speaking with extreme difficulty. Lynne was by his side and did most of the talking for Nieto. Morales will emcee the Beach Bash for Augie’s Quest on March 7, 2008, as part of the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) conference in San Diego.

It was a hard interview to watch, not just because both Morales and Nieto became emotional during the segment. It was also hard to watch because Nieto is someone that many people in the industry have gotten to know over his career as a vital, good-looking, hard-working business owner and person. To see the effect this disease is having on him makes the disease even more personal and the desire to find a cure even more urgent, I would think, for most people in this industry.

However, despite the difficulty in watching the interview, I also found it uplifting. The interview wasn’t intended to be a cryfest. It wasn’t there to make us pity this once vital man. Instead, the purpose was to show how through adversity, Nieto had found added significance to his life. Lynne Nieto was able to hold it together during the interview to make this point.

The Nietos’ lives are now focused on the mission of finding a cure for ALS. I encourage those of you who plan to attend the IHRSA conference to join them in this mission. You can do so by signing up for the Beach Bash, which will be a fundraising event for ALS. You can also support the couple in their mission by purchasing Nieto’s book. The proceeds will help fund research to find a cure for ALS. -Pam

One of my favorite parts of this job is meeting wonderful people who are not only kind and knowledgeable but who also want to share that knowledge with others. I’ve gushed about Rick Caro before, but I’m going to do a bit more gushing now since the president/owner of Management Vision (and our 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award winner) was in town yesterday, and I had the pleasure of having dinner with him.

He doesn’t make it to Kansas City very often, but he has a client here that he’s doing some consulting work with (wish I could say who, but that would be a betrayal of a confidence, so you’ll have to wait a bit on that one). So, I was thrilled to have the chance to meet up and enjoy a nice dinner at the City Tavern. After teasing him about coming to the middle of the country and ordering salmon (the waitress said it was flown in fresh that day–which led Rick and me to envision the co-pilot of a small plane dropping fresh salmon out the window into the waiting arms of the chef below), we settled down to a nice meal and a great conversation.

I think too many people spend too much time talking and not listening and learning. I didn’t have to try too hard to just sit back and listen last night. Rick had so much valuable information to share, not just about what’s going on in the industry today, but also about what’s gone on in the industry in the past. I felt like I had just sat through one of those invigorating sessions with a great professor who you’ll always be grateful to for their insatiable curiosity, wisdom and desire to share.

I hope you have several Rick Caros in your life–and not just in your business life but also in your personal life. I have a few, and it’s one of the things that I treasure the most about my life. –Pam

Howdy, folks. After a crazy couple of weeks (I got hitched! And then spent a full week in Sonoma, CA, eating and drinking merrily), I’m back in the office feeling refreshed and ready to go — although, I do miss sleeping in until 9 am and feasting on gourmet cheeses and crackers.

First up on the agenda for me is getting the next batch of Step by Steps ready to be posted on the Web site. I’m amazed by the quality of information our columnists put out each month, and November is no exception. This Saturday, look for articles about how to tune-up your Web site, make your personal training business more lucrative, increase your sales by asking the right questions, create a successful kids’ camp and design for the optimal cardio experience. These articles are sure to help you better your business.

I’m also working on an article about software that tracks what your clients and members eat, and provides feedback and meal plans. I’ve only done a few interviews for the piece but it seems to be becoming more popular as club owners see the need for their members to better their diets.

After a week of California high-end cuisine and zin, I can see the need for that. –Jennipher

Alex Alimanestianu began his first official day as CEO of Town Sports International by hosting a conference call with investors and analysts on the third quarter 2007 earnings for the company. Although he initially seemed a little hesitant on the call, he picked it up quickly and handled a few somewhat “pointed” questions well.

The company announced increased revenues overall, but a bit of sluggishness in new memberships at some of the company’s mature clubs. Alimanestianu said they couldn’t pinpoint exactly why the sluggishness occurred, but he said that October numbers had already begun to pick up.

One analyst asked whether the company wasn’t cannibalizing its members at older clubs by opening new clubs too close to them. Alimanestianu assured the analyst that the company researches this possibility thoroughly and only opens clubs when they can be assured that cannibalization won’t occur. He then said that their research actually shows an increase in membership at old clubs when a new TSI facility opens nearby.

Another analyst asked about a selling rush on TSI stock in the late afternoon today before the company’s earnings were released, speculating that someone had leaked information. Alimanestianu said that he and Richard Pyle, CFO, had noticed the selling, too. They were uncertain of the reason but are investigating it.

Other analysts were concerned about the New York market, where TSI is invested heavily with the New York Sports Club brand. Alimanestianu responded by saying that the company had weathered the dot.com bust and the 9-11 disaster, and he didn’t see New York’s current economic concerns nearing those two occurrences in seriousness.

Overall, a nice performance by the new CEO. Although I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised since he’s worked with Bob Giardina, the former CEO, so closely for the past 17 years. - Pam