The Challenge of Remodeling

Does this sound familiar? You announce that you are about to undertake the remodeling of the locker rooms, and the same people who have been complaining about the quality of the locker rooms are the first people to complain about the disruption the remodeling will cause.

Remodeling is always a challenge and is rarely viewed as a welcome event by the facility's patrons. The irony is that the decision to remodel is typically based on the need for improvement and the potential to enhance the facility for those very members.

These improvements should be welcomed, but in this industry, any disruption, regardless of an improved outcome, will likely impact the tranquility of the club. The best approach as a manager is to look at remodeling the same way you look at having to run a long-distance race; it doesn’t do much good to worry about it. Once you know the direction and the way you need to go, just start running and keep focused on the progress you are making.

First, the decision to remodel is usually based on the need to upgrade the facility. There is a difference between an upgrade that repairs an existing part of the facility and an upgrade that will alter the function of the facility. With replacement, always review all the options you have. This is a great time to take advantage of upgrading to a better system or model. Future thinking is important. Will there be increased demand? Will there be more advanced materials available in the future that you could capitalize on? As an example, you are about to replace all of your lockers. Will there be an increase or a decrease in the number of members who would like day lockers? Will more members want large lockers instead of small ones? Will there be more need for keyless lockers or better-secured lockers? Is this a good opportunity to buy lockers in a color that would take into consideration any other future remodeling in the locker room?

The industry is constantly changing, and new products are always either available or on the horizon. If you know what you are going to need for the future, then shopping for the right product will be simpler.

If an upgrade is on the agenda, then this is again a good opportunity to try to forecast the future demands of the club. Will four showers be enough? Maybe the current demand is for four showers, but six showers, or even eight, would open up the door to more growth in the club. Your research shows that your club’s focus will change down the road to more fitness and less tennis; as a consequence, maybe more day lockers will be needed. You hope someday to add a pool, so possibly the remodeling could include a shower system for the members to use more readily before entering the pool. As with a replacement, an upgrade needs to be fully researched. Look into other facilities and talk to other managers who have experienced this transition. Their insight is invaluable and more pertinent than the contractor or architect that you may use. You may get information like, “In retrospect, we should have installed grab bars on every shower and not just the disabled shower,” or “The soap dispensers should have been tiled into the walls instead of being put in afterwards.”

Now that you have determined how you want the project to go, time to review the financial ramifications. First, realize that the cost of remodeling should always be determined by using the worst-case scenario. If they say it will cost $200 a square foot, make it $300 a square foot. If they say that a certain part will cost $1,000, budget it to cost $1,500. This equation should also be used for measuring the time a project will take. The reasons are simple: in construction, there are many unforeseen issues, the weather may impact your work, supplies may not be available, permits can be held up, and of course, there’s always breakage and workers who fail to show. All of this contributes to the extra time and extra cost of remodeling.

Get at least three bids on any job. Again, use your sources and references to learn as much about the contractor as possible before the work begins. The same can be said about finding the right equipment. Get at least three bids and shop using all of your connections. These connections may include your members, the internet, or, again, other managers of other facilities that have gone down this path. Those managers who are near your location may view you as a competitor and will tend not to respond in earnest. You may need to contact others outside your area, but when doing so, make sure you are interacting with others who have very similar economic environments. Also, note that if you need the help of a consultant, be careful, the fact that our industry is very poor in sharing ideas and helping others has resulted in that void being filled by unqualified people who are capitalizing on our industry's lack of cooperation. Fortunately, a new organization is developing a platform to increase collaboration as well as organize regular high-level roundtable discussions to support tennis and all other racquet sports. 

One important rule to live by is that you get what you pay for. There is always a deal out there somewhere, but in the end, the quality of the final product will be reflected in the quality of those who did the work and the products they used. Cutting corners can come back to haunt you.

If architects and plans are needed, they will need approval and permits. This can take time, but it is a necessary step. You may find some frustration in this phase of the project, so prepare yourself to be patient and diplomatic. This is a phase of the project that cannot be hurried. City officials are responsible to many people, and politics and bureaucracy can be time-consuming to wade through. In the end, you will find that you get what you want when you listen more and demand less.

Before you start the project, take on these few steps. First, map out the project, or in essence, try to imagine yourself going through the remodeling. Picture the events that are about to take place so that you might head off any complications. Second, put together a complete informational approach for your members. Notify them as far in advance as possible. Use signs, flyers, newsletters, e-mails, and, probably the most impactful, your Reception Desk people, to inform the membership about what will be taking place, where it will be taking place, when it will be taking place, and how it will impact their usage of the club. Even more important, make sure your entire staff completely understands the impact of the project. You do not want to have a single person on your staff sounding uninformed about the project. They need to be able to answer all the members’ questions 24/7.

The communication doesn’t stop there. Once the project begins, you will need to have daily updates posted and daily meetings with those doing the work. Continue to anticipate future needs to help keep the construction on schedule. You will need to have inspections done on certain phases of the project; make sure these inspectors are lined up ahead of time. These inspectors can be very busy, so you need to book them weeks ahead of time. You could find your project coming to a complete halt until they can come and approve that phase of the work.

The manager will either be in charge of running the project or will be working with a construction manager. Either way, you will need a plan to help you when the project gets underway. Since most projects seldom stay on schedule and budget, keep a weekly planner to track these variables. This will help in your communication with your staff and your members. Members are curious people; it’s their club, they will want to know about everything, so they will end up asking the same questions over and over. So be prepared and patient with their inquiries, and make sure your answers sound knowledgeable. You need to get yourself and your staff prepared for this redundant questioning. It’s much like having a cast on your leg after an accident; everybody and anybody you interact with is going to ask you what happened. At first, this will be fine, but after 1,000 inquiries, it can be a little tough.

Your members will also want to ask the workers questions; you can’t help that happen. That’s when you need to post a sign explaining that phase of the project. Most people in construction not only dislike being interrupted, but it can also be very dangerous to be distracted. Keeping the project safe is all about a proper setup in the morning and proper breaking down at the end of the day. Make sure that you have completed stabilizing and reinforced all the temporary barriers. If there is going to be dust or any other type of material that might disperse during the construction, secure that area so that members or your staff are not exposed to these chemicals. Watch for tools or wires being left out in the open. These can potentially be dangerous for children walking by or possible tripping hazards. At the end of the working day, the facility may need to get right back into the swing of things, try to make the construction project look like it can be folded up and safely put to sleep for the night or the weekend. If a project needs to run into the evening or needs to take place at night, make sure that the supplies needed will be accessible. There are not going to be many hardware stores or supply places open at 2 am.

After you have gone through the entire experience of the remodeling, there is a strong tendency to relax and take some time off. This is not a good idea. Most projects have to be molded into the operation after they are completed. Unforeseen issues pop up, and they will need your full attention. Things that worked before now don’t work, and some things that never worked are now needed to work. The ramifications of this are never known until they surface.

You may also want to celebrate the finalization of the project with your membership. This is just as good a reason as any to have a party, so take advantage of the moment. After all, your members have had to endure this project; they deserve a little reward. Add a little publicity to the event and some PR around the community, and you will have fully capitalized on your improvements. Having a ribbon-cutting ceremony is a great way to have lasting memories so that the next time your members are asked by their friends, especially their friends who are members of another local facility, about how much you put back financially into the facility, you can count on a favorable response.