Normally a big fitness month, centers in Park Ridge, Niles see fewer clients this January due to vaccination mandate, Omicron: 'it's been a struggle' – Chicago Tribune
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For some local fitness centers, following a new Cook County Department of Public Health mandate requiring users to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination is the latest strain on their businesses after nearly two years of complications caused by the pandemic.
“I think people are so used to mandates being brought out, but I think the challenge for a business owner is having to ask (for proof of vaccination),” said Kristi Harrity, owner of LevelUp Health and Fitness in Niles. “It’s something personal and I think asking for it is on the challenging side.”
While LevelUp is following the mandate and requiring participants in classes to show that they are fully vaccinated, Harrity said she believes the mandate is hurting small businesses.
“It’s hard enough with COVID that we have to deal with breathing through a mask (during workouts), but now we have to deal with asking people for their vaccination cards,” she said. “It’s not easy. And I believe this mandate is preventing people from getting healthy and staying healthy.”
While current members of LevelUp have been “super cooperative” about providing their proof of vaccination, Harrity, who opened her business last year, said she believes the mandate is keeping others from joining health clubs during a time when business is usually booming.
“January should be the time when enrollment is through the roof, but I think people are dragging their feet because they don’t know what is going to be expected of them,” she said.
In addition to fitness centers, the Cook County Department of Public Health is requiring proof of vaccination at restaurants and bars when there is indoor dining, entertainment venues, and anywhere that food or drink are served for on-premises consumption.
Members of LevelUp who are signing up for classes text or email their proof of vaccination and it is entered into an app that allows Harrity to see their status under their membership profile.
“When instructors check people in for class, they can see the proof of vaccine,” she said. “I don’t have to stand at the door, I don’t have to flag people down.”
John Bonell, manager of KickHouse Park Ridge, which offers fitness kickboxing workouts, said he has seen an “unprecedented number of people” canceling classes or putting accounts on hold this month, which he believes could be due to the spike in COVID-19 cases and the mandate itself.
“This month, which is typically awesome for fitness centers, has been anything but,” Bonell said.
At the same time, a number of clients have accepted the new requirement in order to enroll in classes or training, he acknowledged. There has not been a “massive reaction” from clients expressing unhappiness or opposition to the mandate, Bonell said.
“I think everyone understands that we need to follow suit like everybody else,” Bonell said.
“Personally, as a business owner, I am not happy with it, obviously,” he said of the mandate. “But it’s kind of hard to argue against the safety and wellbeing of people, especially as someone running a health and fitness facility. That’s our top priority.”
Bonell said the the facility has required the wearing of masks and social distancing, and capacity has been limited for classes.
Kim French, owner of Pure Barre in Park Ridge, said being part of a franchise business with locations across the country has made implementing the mandate less challenging because many locations have already been subject to proof of vaccine mandates and “we were able to bounce ideas off of them.”
The mandate has also been received well by her clients, the majority of whom are vaccinated and “have no problem showing their cards,” she said.
“We haven’t had a lot of pushback at all,” French noted. “Everyone understands this is not in our control and we are doing what we can to keep our doors open after two hard years.”
The workout studio, which French purchased a month before the pandemic in 2020, has been closely following changing state and local mandates, as well as cleaning and safety protocols, for the last two years, she said.
“We’ve gotten used to being nimble,” French said.
Still, the business is having difficulty recruiting new clients, even though January is typically a booming time for fitness centers and health clubs, French said.
“With omicron, it’s been a real struggle to get our numbers where we’d hope they would be,” she said. “To maintain our membership base is hard.”
The vaccine mandate “certainly doesn’t help” the challenge of bringing in new customers, French acknowledged, but added that it has benefits.
“I do think it helps a number of our clients feel a little more comfortable coming to class,” she said.
While the three small business owners reported little resistance from their clients, pushback is what the Park Ridge Park District received after it initially announced proof of vaccine requirements for its fitness center and fitness programs, Executive Director Gayle Mountcastle indicated during a meeting of the park district board on Jan. 6.
Front line employees, she said, were “taking the brunt of people’s frustration on a situation that is out of the park district’s control. Several full-time staff spent (time) over the holidays communicating with several upset residents personally.”
The mandate also required the park district to purchase computer software allowing users to upload their vaccination cards and draft procedures for compliance, Mountcastle said.
Park District Attorney Derke Price said he is not afraid to challenge any government mandates like the one passed by Cook County, but noted that he is cautious against advising a public body to pursue litigation.
“Anybody who doesn’t want to have to provide proof of vaccination, they have standing to bring their own lawsuit (against the health department),” Price said.
Asking taxpayers to fund a lawsuit on behalf of a taxing body like a park district or municipality “is a hard choice for people to make,” he said.
The village of Niles, which operates the Niles Family Fitness Center, is following the proof of vaccination mandate and has seen most users of the fitness center complying with the requirement, said Niles Village Manager Joe La Margo.
“In the building there were some people who were a little frustrated, but not with the fitness facility or anything — just the mandate itself,” he said.
Slow-downs in attendance or memberships experienced at the center may not be attributed to the mandate alone, La Margo suggested
“Yes, it’s slow for sure, but I think it’s just the pandemic in general,” he said, noting that many users may not be comfortable going to a gym during the current surge, and a number of people may have purchased their own at-home workout equipment over the last two years.
jjohnson@chicagotribune.com
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