Survey Results from European Operators, by Deloitte
A recent survey of European operators done by Deloitte shared this information: that they were projecting, if you will, for December of this year—so December of 2020—they're projecting that their overall membership revenues will be down about 14%. And then looking into the future for 2021, and then December of 2021, they're projecting those same revenue numbers to be down if you will, by 10%. And that, of course, is compared to projections not compared to reality. And since that survey was done, unfortunately, a lot of Europe has been closed except for non-essential businesses, which the clubs and gyms you know, around the world, are not considered at this time, unfortunately.
Bookings and Appointment Data from Mindbody
Got some really great information from Mindbody, another one of IHRSA's great supporters. They're doing some really good research there and they have some good data and they shared data about their bookings, and appointments that are made online. So they have a number of different clients across a lot of different segments, including big box gyms, smaller fitness-only clubs and even studios. And they reported that as of October 22—so this is just last week—the overall bookings and appointments in the United States was down 32% compared to a year ago. So 30%, down in bookings and appointments through Mindbody Online.
And then in my further conversations with CEO Josh McCarter, he said, you know, of course, that number is way down a little bit by California and New York, because they have just recently opened. And so their numbers brought it down, which were respectively 54% bookings by California, 56% bookings for New York compared to [the] prior year. But then it was also supported on the other end by the two leading states according to bookings, and appointments. And that was Georgia, with 15%, and Arizona with about 20%. Although he did say those have lagged a little bit, just in the last week.
Overall, he feels like that's probably where the new normal will be; that appointments and bookings going into next year, he thinks, will be about 15 to 20% of what they were prior year. And of course, he also shared those clubs are navigating, you know, the crisis and the pandemic and trying to boost those numbers by offering more classes, by offering outdoor fitness, and being more creative with sort of, you know, how they're encouraging people to book through their virtual offerings and so forth.
Health & Fitness Recovery Act of 2020 (H.R. 8485) Update
An update on the Health & Fitness Recovery Act Bill, it continues to gain support. Last week, I talked about some of the actions and the letters and the fact that we had co-sponsors on both the Democratic and Republican side of the house. Now there are nine additional co-sponsors to that bill. So it is gaining momentum and gaining some traction. We're excited about that possibility.