An operator of sports and active lifestyle clubs in California, Oregon and Washington, The Bay Club does things differently than its competitors
The Bay Club occupies a unique space within the fitness and wellness industry. The West Coast giant, which boasts 26 locations across 10 campuses, isn’t quite a country club or a sports complex, and it’s certainly not a run-of-mill gym, either, although it plays in all those spaces.
The San Francisco-based brand describes itself as a “sports and active lifestyle company,” offering everything from state-of-the-art fitness facilities to spa and beauty services to pickleball, tennis and golf.
With 135,000 members and a presence in major West Coast markets including the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland, The Bay Club is certainly doing something right.
Joe Dalecio, The Bay Club’s chief customer officer, tells Athletech News that the brand’s secret sauce lies in its “playbook,” a three-step process that guides strategic decisions on everything from food and beverage offerings to acquisitions.
“We look at it in three steps – we want a dominant position in the geographical zones, a best-in-class product and innovative amenities, … and an open membership system where we allow the consumer to define who they want to share their club experience with,” Dalecio says of the playbook.
Dalecio sat down with ATN to break down each step in The Bay Club’s playbook.
Step 1: ‘Geographic Dominance’
Founded in 1977, The Bay Club still hasn’t expanded beyond its West Coast roots. That’s not due to a lack of demand – it’s a strategic choice on the part of the brand’s executive team.
Rather than race to open new locations in every corner of the country, The Bay Club seeks to dominate the markets it enters with an integrated offering that few can rival. The brand currently operates 26 clubs spread out across 10 “campuses,” with members able to belong to multiple locations with a single membership.
At its campus In San Francisco’s East Bay region, The Bay Club operates four locations, each of which adheres to the brand’s core ethos but offers something a bit distinct. Bay Club Walnut Creek notably features a 175-room hotel complex in addition to pools, tennis courts and fitness options like Pilates, yoga and weight training. The nearby Bay Club Crow Canyon offers an 18-hole golf course with expert instructors.
“We want clusters of clubs and highly amenitized, complementary campuses in geographical zones to have that market-dominant position,” Dalecio explains.
In total, The Bay Club currently operates locations in:
- Northern California (17 clubs across six campuses spanning San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Clara and surrounding neighborhoods)
- Southern California (six clubs across 2 campuses in Los Angeles and San Diego)
- Pacific Northwest (3 clubs across 2 campuses in Seattle and Portland).
Step 2: Amenities, Amenities, Amenities
Once members are inside The Bay Club location of their choosing, they can expect best-in-class amenities ranging from dining to spa services.
According to Dalecio, The Bay Club classifies its amenities across four “quadrants”: fitness, sports, family and hospitality.
“The beauty of our product is you can come to a club and do 30 different things, 30 days in a row,” he says.
On the hospitality side, The Bay Club has identified food and beverage as a key differentiator. At its El Segundo (Los Angeles) location, The Bay Club has a partnership with Cafe Vida, a Southern California chain offering healthy, Latin-inspired dishes. Cafe Vida runs food and beverage for the entire club, providing a restaurant-in-a-gym feel.
“It is really the soul of the club, and provides not only such a high-quality product but a high-quality service to our membership base,” Dalecio says of Cafe Vida, which offers a full menu including breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with smoothie and protein-shake options.
The Bay Club is looking to recreate the Cafe Vida experience at its other clubs. In July, the brand partnered with Local Kitchens, a multi-brand restaurant, to enrich the member experience at its Redwood Shores location on the San Francisco Peninsula. At Redwood Shores, Bay Club members can order burgers, salads, pizzas, Mexican dishes and more.
The Bay Club will look to add Local Kitchens to other clubs if the initial run at Redwood Shores goes according to plan, Dalecio tells ATN.
As for fitness, The Bay Club has added dedicated recovery centers to 13 of its 26 clubs. Members at those clubs now have access to tools including Hyperice massage guns, Normatec boots, and CryoLounge+ and HydroMassage chairs from WellnessSpace Brands, all of which are included as a complimentary service within membership dues.
The Bay Club is also in talks to add next-gen sports experiences like golf and ski simulators to some of its clubs, although nothing is confirmed yet on that front.
Step 3: Shared Memberships
Last but not least in the playbook, The Bay Club takes a modern-day approach to one of the fitness industry’s most hallowed areas: membership sales.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, The Bay Club launched a shared membership program, allowing people who aren’t part of the same traditional family unit to share a joint membership at a reduced rate. With a shared membership, Bay Club account holders can add up to five additional members (family, friends, roommates or coworkers) to their account for a modest monthly increase.
It might seem like no big deal, but shared memberships like these still aren’t common in the fitness industry, especially among high-priced luxury clubs, some of whom impose strict cohabitation requirements for family plans.
“It’s allowed for such a variety by market,” Dalecio says of shared memberships, noting that The Bay Club now attracts a wider swath of the population in the West Coast cities in which it operates.
“You look at San Francisco, where we had minimal family memberships pre-COVID, now it’s dominated by young professionals on a shared membership with their friends or coworkers coming and engaging with the product together,” he added. “In the suburbs, we’re seeing that family of four add their kids’ friends on the account.”
