Health club chain 24 Hour Fitness has reopened some of its sites in Texas and is preparing to open further locations in Florida and Hawaii, the three states in which it has operations and where gyms are allowed to reopen.
Clubs to have already reopened are the company's six sites in Houston and 10 in Dallas/Fort Worth. They will be followed by three locations in Miami and seven in Hawaii – all of which are scheduled to open in mid-June.
The operator has introduced a number of COVID-19 measures at the reopened clubs – including spacing cardio equipment six feet apart to ensure physical distancing and the requirement for members to pre-book 60-minute workout sessions using the 24GO app.
The reopenings came as a number of US-based media report the company – which has more than 430 locations – is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to allow it time to reorganise its affairs.
The
Wall Street Journal,
Bloomberg and
USA Today were among those to say the company was seeking a loan to allow it to restructure the business following the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement to the media, 24 Hour Fitness said: "We are considering a broad range of options to ensure the long-term sustainability and success of 24 Hour Fitness and we are not going to comment publicly on our strategic plans."
In April, 24 Hour Fitness was among a number of US gym operators
hit by lawsuits relating to the collection of membership fees during the lockdown.
In May, franchised fitness giant
Gold's Gym filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as part of a restructuring process which will see at least 30 company-owned gyms close permanently.
