Lyle, almost every club owner I have ever met thinks he has particular needs that no software company is offering in its standard package. Problem is, no owner wants to spend the additional money necessary to customize software. All that said, I think Conexion does a great job of customizing - I have seen several of their custom packages, really good - and if I am in your shoes I would contact them first.

Saunas have no distinct advantage for a fitness business, especially a limited-member business. There is extremely low percentage of member use for saunas and there has been no way to charge for sauna use. I advise against it.

There is no "cast in cement"" answer to that question. Depends on whether the business is profitable or not, what kind of condition the physical plant is in, the condition/age of equipment, amenities, etc. Also what the net asset value of the company is, what EBITDA it develops, and what the competition looks like in the particular demographic area. I believe there will soon emerge a "buyer's market" for thousands of health clubs, due to the economy nationally and regionally, and the fact that our U.S. health club industry is overbuilt at this point and now in the beginnings of a severe consolidation. That said, there WILL be great opportunities soon...IF you've got the cash, the guts and the vision.

Jeff, you are asking for CRM software (customer relationship management). ActiveTrax is the closest thing I've seen to what is really needed, and in my opinion falls somewhat short of what REAL CRM software should do. You might want to look at a non-industry package such as SalesForce. Or Google "customer relationship management software." Regards - MICHAEL

No, we have not seen an increase in racquetball participation over the last 3 years. Racquetball is and has been a very minimal source of revenue for at least two decades if not longer. There are certain "pocket markets" for racquetball in the U.S. but they are diminishing as their core racquetball-player-audience ages. The problem with racquetball is that each court is 800 ft2 (20'w x 40'l) and more than that, thousands of cubic feet - that can accommodate at best 4 players (doubles) but usually only 2 players per hour. Since for the most part racquetball is only played about 5 hours of every club daily schedule, you are looking at unused square footage for 2/3 of each day and minimum-usage square footage by those few who do play. Just not a good business equation, especially in these economic times.