The Fitness Center as a Booking Driver

Today’s business travelers expect more than a place to sleep. They expect amenities that support their holistic wellbeing, not just their itinerary. 

In the following blog, Luke Carlson shares a perspective that hospitality leaders can’t afford to overlook: the fitness center has become a meaningful driver of hotel preference and long-term loyalty. Drawing from years of balancing executive leadership, endurance training, and a demanding travel schedule, Luke illustrates how consistency, equipment quality, and trust in a brand can shape far more than a single workout. 

His story offers more than a personal routine. It’s a reminder that for performance-minded guests, the training experience is inseparable from the overall brand experience, and increasingly, from the booking decision itself. 

My alarm was set for 3:30am on a Friday morning. I was waking up at a hotel in a suburb of Atlanta and I had a 7:30am flight to Orlando. I was 10 weeks out from the Boston marathon, and I needed to be up early to complete a 7-mile progression run before the day of travel and work was underway. 

I made my way to the hotel fitness center to greet a Life Fitness treadmill. 

Mile 1 at an easy 8-minute pace. 

Mile 2 and 3 and 6:49 pace. 

Mile 4 at 6:40 pace. 

Mile 5 at 6:31 pace. 

Mile 6 at 6:23 pace. 

Finally, mile 7 at 6:11 pace.  

I travel every week and stay in a hotel at least 100 nights per year, some years well over 200. The hotel fitness center is the epicenter for my workouts and stress relief.  

Once an afterthought, the hotel fitness center is now one of the primary features that business travelers seek when selecting a hotel.  Over the last 10-15 years, I’ve personally noticed the shift in the hotel consumer prioritizing both the fitness center and the equipment in it over almost all other amenities.  During that period, when someone exercised and the equipment they exercised on became an extension of their identity.  More so than wearing a luxury watch or carrying a designer handbag, the consumer received status as someone who exercised at a specific gym or club.  This phenomenon extended to business travel; the hotel consumer branded themselves as the type of person who prioritizes a workout, even while amid hectic business travel.  And thus, the hotel fitness center rose to paramount importance.   

I’ve stayed in nearly every brand of hotel, but I lean toward Marriott as I have the highest possible status with them and, ever since I read the book about Bill Marriott, Success is Never Final, I’ve developed a sentimental loyalty. I think I’ve stayed at every Courtyard Marriott in North America (or I’m getting close), and every week I’m at a Marriott, Sheraton, Aloft, Moxy, Residence Inn, JW Marriott, W, Westin, and about once a year, a Ritz Carlton.  

I’m a business traveler; however, the amenity that’s most important to me when selecting a hotel is the brand of treadmill. I’m loyal to Life Fitness. If I haven’t stayed at the property before, I always call ahead of time to see what brand of treadmill is in the fitness center, and then I plan my runs and workouts accordingly.  

I’ve run 20 miles on a Life Fitness treadmill at the Marriott on Michigan Avenue in Chicago as I trained for the 2019 New York City Marathon, and I ran 20 miles on a Life Fitness treadmill at the Marriott World Resort in Orlando on my 40th birthday in 2020.  When I’m in Orlando, I intentionally choose the Sheraton Orlando North because of that property’s new Life Fitness treadmills; my last stay was November of last year, and I started the weekend with 15 miles on the treadmill.  I appreciate the rooms, the pool, and the restaurants on property, but the real reason I stay there is the fitness center and the treadmills.   

I’ve read all of the books from the great hoteliers of our time: Isadore Sharp of the Four Seasons, Bill Marriott, and Horst Schulze of the Ritz Carlton.  I love hotels.  If I were in conversation with hotel leadership today, I would remind them that the hotel fitness center and the gym equipment in it is a powerful extension of the entire brand.   

Beds and pillows are important, I have deep appreciation for the hospitality delivered by the staff, and I value on-site dining options, but the treadmill in the fitness center is always my first and most important consideration when selecting where I’ll stay. 

Luke’s experience reflects a broader shift happening across hospitality: many guests are evaluating hotel gyms with the same scrutiny they apply to guestrooms, dining, and service. 

For operators, that shift presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Investing in thoughtful, high-quality fitness environments isn’t simply about adding an amenity; it’s about reinforcing brand standards, supporting guest routines, and earning repeat business from travelers who refuse to compromise their performance. 

As expectations continue to rise, the properties that recognize the strategic value of their fitness spaces will be the ones that stand out. 

For more insights from Luke Carlson and other leaders at the intersection of fitness and hospitality, check out the articles below.