AusLeisure

Premium group fitness program provider Fitness On Demand™ has partnered with LG Advanced Video Technology to reinvent the hotel fitness centre experience.

Introduced at the Marriott City Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, Fitness On Demand™ and LG Electronics set out to turn a hotel fitness club into an inviting, flexible modern space that allows guests to engage in fitness classes and programs that fit individual needs and schedules, while maximizing cost-effectiveness, as well as using updated facilities as a selling point to attract guests.

Marriott Hotels turned to long-time technology partner LG to provide digital signage displays to excite and engage their fitness-oriented guests.

Paired with Fitness On Demand’s massive catalog of virtual fitness classes, the LG displays were ‘daisy-chained’ together to create a fully immersive workout experience.

Guests are able to enjoy an interactive, high-energy workout, whether in a group setting or during a ‘solo’ fitness session.

The result has seen the Marriott City Center in Charlotte now offering an immersive and engaging fitness space experience with LG video wall displays that are creatively placed that incorporate third-party content from Fitness On Demand to gym-going guests with highly customizable workout solutions, utilising LG’s display of cutting-edge technology.

A statement from Fitness On Demand explains “as technology evolves, people’s demands on hotel experiences change.

“Marriott Hotels was challenged to enhance its fitness offerings to meet the new needs of travelers who were looking for more flexible solutions to their workouts on the road.

“Existing fitness centres, due to limited and aging equipment and the spaces themselves were often aesthetically uninspiring. Guests were often forced to bring their own connected devices, such as iPads and laptops, to studio spaces to stream content.”

Kenneth Ryan, Vice President of Global Spa Operations at Marriott International added “by pairing Fitness On Demand’s expansive catalogue of popular workouts and LG’s cutting edge display and audio technology, Marriott is taking the lead to provide gym-going guests with an elevated health club experience.

“In a traditional hotel environment, the guest experience is often hindered by dated equipment in uninspiring gyms.

“Fitness On Demand, paired with advanced display technology like LG’s video walls, brings a variety of challenging, interactive workout experiences to the fitness centre by offering 1600 classes (including on-trend workouts such as Zumba, Beachbody, Jillian Michaels and others), all with LG’s amazing slim-bezeled video displays, providing ‘a truly immersive experience for guests’.”

For Marriott guests there is no cost for any of the on demand services, providing extra incentive to use the facilities.

The addition of ‘solo spaces’ within the fitness centre allows for short one to 15 minute workouts, rather than participating in a 30, 45 or 60-minute class.

To ensure that design aesthetic remains consistent throughout participating Marriott hotels, a ‘design guide’ is being distributed to provide hotel staff with a standardised yet customizable approach for the appearance of finished fitness spaces, which also will help cut design costs.

Feedback has been extremely positive with guests at the Charlotte property who have compared the new fitness center experience to an “elevated health club” workout.

Marriott Hotels employees at participating locations go through a half-day of training in order to best teach guests how to operate the fitness experience by themselves to ensure an enjoyable gym-going experience.

Fitness On Demand Vice President Garrett Marshall comments “LG’s immersive TV displays and high-end audio components bring Fitness On Demand’s content to life in a really exciting way.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Marriott and LG to revolutionize the fitness experience for hotel guests, and make them feel like they’re right in the room with their fitness instructor, whether in a group or solo setting.

The Charlotte Marriott City Center’s revamped fitness center, part of Marriott Hotels’ Innovation Lab, opened to guests in early 2016, and already experienced a flood of positive results in guest foot traffic and overall feedback.

As Ryan concludes “we can’t wait to install more LG video walls across more Marriott Hotels locations in the United States and enrich the health and wellness of more travellers.

“Fitness On Demand and LG are helping Marriott to set the new standard for hotel fitness facilities and reshape the gym experience in hotels and beyond.”

Click here to contact Fitness On Demand™ via their entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory.

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