Augie In Action! Augie In Action! - Ihrsa

CBI Spends 10 Minutes on the Line with
Tim Miller
Tim Miller, 41, is now
applying his hotelier
expertise—acquired as
both a principal for the
Morgans Hotel Group,
one of the fastestgrowing
boutique
hotel companies in
the country, and as
founder and president
of Alden Hotels—to
Crunch Fitness.
.com
For more information
about Crunch
Fitness, log on to
www.crunch.com.
What was it like to venture into a new industry, and why
did you undertake such a challenge? How did you
ramp up? In what ways does your background in the
hospitality business support and complement your new
responsibilities and your vision for Crunch Fitness? What
are your plans for expanding and refining the brand?
“When I was first approached about the job, I saw
it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was aware
of Crunch both as a loyal member and as a mediasavvy
person. I’d seen the luster of the brand fade a
bit over the years, and I saw this as my opportunity
to recreate and reinvent an excellent brand. After
working for 17 years in the hospitality industry,
serving in executive positions with both Alden and
Morgans hotels, it was a tough decision. But I thought
that, if I didn’t take this chance now—to make a mark
with a company that already had great brand equity—
I’d always second-guess that decision.
Actually, I think I’ve had one of the best educations
you can possibly get as far as fitness goes. I’ve been
a workout enthusiast since I was in high school—
for more than 20 years now. I truly have a member’s
perspective. Being in a gym five days a week for the
past two decades has taught me a lot about what
works, and what doesn’t work, for the people who
are most affected by the decisions we make.
And, because the hospitality and fitness businesses
aren’t really all that different, my transition has
been incredibly smooth. In both cases, it’s the people
who make the business happen. In hospitality,
you’re serving guests; in fitness, it’s members. The
two industries provide different experiences, but
both share the mission of keeping people engaged,
happy, and, ultimately, coming back. In the hotel
business, it’s a metric we called the “repeat guest
factor,” while, in fitness, it’s retention. Similarly, on
the employee side, the staff work long hours, and,
as a leader, you need to acknowledge the work
they do to keep the guests and members happy,
which can apply to almost any business.
Crunch has always been an “inclusive” brand. We
never made judgments, and everyone could
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belong—hence the tagline, “We all Crunch.” And
there’s always been a great sense of fun and
whimsy. But, since the chain was sold twice, we’ve
lost a little bit of the glow. So I see my first task
as fortifying the brand and making sure that
people both inside and outside the organization fully
understand what Crunch means and that they
should be a part of it. If we want to grow—we’re at
30 locations now and we’d like to be at 50 or more
during the next three years—we need to have a welleducated
and well-informed organization regarding
the ethos and core of the brand. To that end, we’ve
had a team here developing what I call our “cultural
awareness program,” which is all about educating
our staff about the brand. In January, every
employee began participating in that program.
And we’re poised to grow. We just announced
two new San Francisco sites, and we’re looking at
locations in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York.
We’re also looking in entirely new markets where
we feel there’s a synergy between what Crunch
stands for and what the market will bear. We’ll be
in key urban areas where there are people who
fundamentally understand our brand. Crunch isn’t
about New York City—it’s about a sensibility shared
by people all over the world. We’re not based on a
demographic, but, rather, a psychographic—someone
who’s young at heart, savvy, knows what’s
“good,” and likes to have fun.
Another focus for us will be retention. Coming
from outside the business, one thing that I find
startling is the attitude the industry takes toward
attrition and retention. Our goal is to provide an
undeniably great experience—so that we don’t
have a large number of people who decide to go
someplace else. ” —|
www.ihrsa.org | MARCH 2008 | Club Business International 43