With a fitness-obsessed population craving more time at their gyms and extended hours, there is a growing need for automated gym access control solutions. Interest in personal health and wellness has been rising for years, and in 2024, McKinsey found that 60% of Americans say their gym is a core part of their fitness routine.
Modern access control solutions can provide member convenience and security to a wide array of gyms, including membership gyms, 24/7 gyms, residential building amenity gyms, corporate office gyms, hotel gyms, and gyms on educational campuses. We’ve compiled this guide for owners or managers of gyms and properties that include gyms. Read on if you want more information about convenient and intelligent systems to manage access to their fitness facilities.
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Table of Contents
- Why You Might Need a Gym Access Control System
- Types of Gym Entry Systems Available Today
- How a Comprehensive Management Dashboard Can Help
- A Checklist of Other Key Considerations When Choosing Gym Access Control
- How Swiftlane Can Help
Why You Might Need a Gym Access Control System
There are good reasons to consider automated access control for both private gyms (e.g., an office gym, a dorm gym, etc.) as well as public gyms (e.g., membership gyms, 24/7 gyms, etc.)
Private Gyms
Some property managers may wonder, what is the benefit of gym access control if the gym is already part of an enclosed, private community, such as a corporate campus, educational institution, or within a multi-family condo or apartment building? Modern access control systems offer a range of benefits, even in enclosed, private spaces.
- Time Restrictions: Many property managers prefer restricting community members’ gym access to specific hours. An access control system can limit access overnight, such as when noise may disturb residents.
- Staff-Free Operations: Many smaller gyms for offices, dorms, and residential buildings are ideally managed with no full-time on-site staff. Automated access control systems replace staff in providing entry.
- Protect Equipment: Fitness equipment is valuable and expensive. Access control provides an extra layer of protection from theft and can include tracking logs that show who accessed the gym by date and time.
Limit Access: Fitness centers are not always for all community members. An access control system can protect unaccompanied minors from getting access or permit only dues-paying community members to use the gym. These systems can also be used to segregate access to different locker rooms.
Public Membership Gyms
Gyms that offer membership to the general public need a convenient way to restrict access to dues-paying members only. With a self-service access control system, members can handle their own check-ins. That leaves gym staff more freedom to perform higher-value functions, such as signing up new members, providing training, and caring for the equipment and facilities.
What’s more, access control helps support the growing number of gyms that operate 24/7 by allowing for minimal staff during overnight hours. They protect your investment, streamline operations, and improve safety. A recent survey revealed that 38% of gym members prefer to work out in the early morning hours between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., highlighting the need for extended gym accessibility. 24/7 Gym Access Systems can provide that accessibility.
Additional Considerations: Risks of Not Investing and ROI
The most basic access control systems, like a simple key fob reader and door control, can cost as little as $500 for the hardware, while more advanced systems with biometrics and automatic turnstiles could cost as much as $10,000. But these costs must be considered in the broader context of the overall return on investment (ROI) and the risks of not investing.
The risks of not investing include:
- Losing members to more modern competitors with more convenient entry systems or extended hours.
- Customer service inefficiencies due to staff focused on providing access.
- Operational inefficiencies and higher staffing costs
- Increased liability due to poor access tracking or security
Meanwhile, consider the broader return on investment (ROI) of installing an automated access control system, including:
- Revenue retention through convenience and low member turnover
- Reduced overhead via automation – no need for dedicated staff to check people in
- Enhanced brand reputation as a modern, member-focused gym
Types of Gym Entry Systems Available Today
Gym owners today have a variety of access control solutions to choose from. Most systems require gym members to carry some type of identification or credential, discussed further below, to verify their identity. Using the credential triggers access in one of the following ways:
- Unlock Doors: Members use their credential, and the gym door unlocks. This is popular with college dorm gyms, corporate gyms, and residential amenity gyms.
- Manned Check-In Desk: Members use their credential and a tone chimes telling gym staff it is an authorized member. This method is popular with membership gyms that have a full-time front desk staff. Some such systems sync with a database that displays the gym member’s profile photo on screen as an additional form of verification – but this requires a staff person to verify the photo so it is not fully automated.
- Gates and Turnstiles: When the member uses their credential, an automatic gate or turnstile unlocks to let the member into the equipment area of the gym. This is increasingly popular with membership gyms, especially 24/7 gyms that don’t staff a reception desk at all times.
Credential Types
Gyms can issue various types of credentials to provide members with access. Public gyms may pair these systems with a computer monitor that shows the member’s face on screen, to verify that credentials aren’t being shared. That visual verification is less common for private gyms. The visual verification is also not necessary if the gym uses a form of biometric access control.
Key Fobs: Members use a small RFID-enabled fob to tap or swipe at a reader. For residential amenity gyms, residents of apartments and dorms can use the same key fob they use to get in the building to enter the gym. The property manager can specify which resident key fobs have gym access.
Related: Key Fob Systems for Gyms
Key Cards: Key cards use the same technology as key fobs, but on a plastic card. Plastic ID cards are popular for corporate campuses and universities, so the cards and be programmed to open the gym for members of those communities.
Barcodes: Gym members can be issued a plastic card, or an image on their smartphone, of an ordinary bar code or a QR code. Scanning the code at a barcode reader grants access.
PIN Code: This method is typically reserved for corporate and residential gyms. Authorized members can enter a PIN on a standard keypad to access the gym door. Because of PIN “leakage,” where PINs are shared or stolen, these are usually not used at public gyms.
Smartphone-based Gym Entry
With this evolution in access control, gym members use their smartphone to access the gym. This can work in several ways:
- Bluetooth: A Bluetooth reader at the gym entrance detects the member’s phone and provides access.
- NFC: An acronym for near-field communications, an NFC reader at the gym entrance detects a credential on the user’s phone. It’s the same technology as “tap to pay” with credit cards stored in the phone’s wallet.
- App: The member opens an app on their smartphone for access. The app may simply display a barcode to scan at the entrance, or it may connect via the internet to the door to unlock it.
Smartphone-based access control is quickly becoming a favored tool, not just at gyms but at campuses, office buildings, and residential buildings. It’s convenient because most people carry their smartphones wherever they go. Meanwhile, younger generations are less likely to carry wallets or to drive, which means fewer key chains. Putting access credentials on the phone is increasingly favored.
Biometric Gym Access
Biometric access control ensures only authorized members are granted access by using a person’s unique features to verify their identity. These method prevent credential sharing, which is possible with PINs, key fobs, and key cards.
- Facial Recognition: Gyms can install a camera that detects faces and compares them with images stored in a database. It’s the same technology as face unlock on a smartphone. It’s hygienic and hands-free.
- Fingerprint Scanning: Gyms can install a fingerprint scanner to verify member identities, but this is less common.
How a Comprehensive Management Dashboard Can Help
A centralized dashboard is the control center of a modern gym access system. It allows gym owners and managers to monitor real-time activity, view usage trends, track member check-ins, manage entry permissions, and receive alerts about unauthorized access attempts. The dashboard can also integrate with billing systems and customer relationship management (CRM) tools, giving operators a holistic view of member behavior and operational efficiency—all from one place.
A good management platform can also provide gym members with data and analytics they’ll appreciate. Today, many employers or HMOs will offer gym reimbursement stipends to those who can show they use the gym regularly. Companies and colleges can also use the data to encourage fitness and offer community challenges that get people into the gym.
A Checklist of Other Key Considerations When Choosing Gym Access Control
After considering the type of entry point your gym has (turnstile, door, front desk, etc.) and the credential type (key fob, smartphone, face ID, etc.) here is a list of other factors to consider in choosing a system that will work best for your gym:
- Compatibility: Does the new system integrate with preexisting doors, gates, or turnstiles and their electronic locking mechanisms?
- Speed: Members should be able to enter without delay and without lines forming to enter. Does the system provide nearly instantaneous access?
- Access Customizations: A good system allows customization of access rules based on membership type or time of day, or restricts entry to certain areas like locker rooms or VIP zones for different members.
- Scale: Check for the system’s ability to scale if the community or membership grows in users. Some systems may max out at dozens of users, while others can accommodate tens of thousands.
- Tracking: Gym management can benefit from tracking member usage statistics. Members also appreciate if the gym can make this information available to them online or via the gym’s app. What kind of tracking, database, and analytics are offered?
- Billing Integration: Especially for public gyms, you may want a system that automatically integrates with the gym’s membership payment platform. That way, access can be cut off automatically if a member hasn’t paid.
How Swiftlane Can Help
Swiftlane is a San Francisco-based access control company providing whole-community entry-management solutions for residential buildings, gated communities, offices, salon suites, college campuses, and fitness centers.
Multi-Credential Expertise
Depending on your gym’s needs, we can offer entry solutions that use facial recognition, QR-code scanning, numeric PIN pads, key fobs and keycards, or smartphone-based access. Our systems can integrate with various types of doors, gates, turnstiles, proprietary membership databases, as well as other building systems like security cameras.
Easy to Manage on the Cloud
Swiftlane access control solutions are all layered onto our easy-to-use cloud-based management platform, which lets you add or remove users or change their permissions all from a centralized database. You can manage multiple gym locations, access points, and members all from one office without having to reprogram equipment at every location. Moreover, we offer 24/7 technical support to keep your operations humming, especially if you operate 24/7 gyms.
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