Lifetime Fitness 2009 Annual Report Download - page 16

11
Other Membership Plans. We have three other membership plans that are aimed to attract niche memberships. They
include the following:
x Junior Membership: Children under the age of 12 qualify for a junior membership, with dues of $6 to $8
per month, depending on the center. The junior membership provides access to the child care center, pools
and gyms at designated times. We do not count junior memberships as reported memberships since they are
already part of the family membership.
x Under 26 Membership: In 2008, we created a 26-and-under membership which provides individuals in this
age group with monthly membership dues that are $10 to $20 less than the standard rate. This membership
type is intended to increase the number of members we serve in this demographic in selected locations.
x Express Membership: From time to time, we offer a limited service, center-only membership. Memberships
in this plan generally pay $10 less per month than the standard rate.
Other Subscription Plans. We have a subscription plan (Flex membership) for members who choose to “freeze”
rather than terminate their membership with us. Memberships in this plan pay $10 per month, whether they are an
individual, couple or a family. Benefits include access to our exclusive member Web site, myLT.com, Member
Advantage discounts, subscription to Experience Life magazine and the ability to resume their membership without
paying an enrollment or administrative fee. We do not count these frozen memberships in our membership count
since they do not have access to our centers. We do not count these frozen memberships as terminations in our
attrition calculation since they remain connected and continue to receive other benefits associated with a Life Time
Fitness membership. We experienced significant growth in this membership type in 2009, which we believe was due
to the economic challenges our members faced and, yet, reflects our members’ desire to maintain a direct
relationship with our company. As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, we had 50,001 and 20,890 Flex memberships,
respectively.
Usage
Our centers are generally open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We typically experience the highest level of
member activity at a center during the 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. time periods on weekdays
and during the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. time period on weekends. Our centers are staffed accordingly during peak and
non-peak hours to provide each member with a positive experience. We have introduced a number of initiatives
focused on getting our members more involved and connected with the goal of higher membership usage and
increased member satisfaction. The following table reports our usage statistics:
For the Year Ended December 31,
2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
Total number of visits (in millions) ......................... 57.7 50.4 42.1 33.8 26.8
Average number of visits per month, per center ...... 57,792 56,300 54,647 54,376 53,175
Average visits per year, per membership ................. 98 94 88 84 80
New Center Site Selection and Construction
Site Selection. Our management devotes significant time and resources to analyzing each prospective site (both
undeveloped land and existing facilities available for lease) on the basis of predetermined physical, demographic,
psychographic and competitive criteria in order to achieve maximum return on our investment. We focus mainly on
markets that will allow us to operate multiple centers that create certain efficiencies in marketing and branding
activities; however, we select each site based on whether that site can support an individual center on a stand-alone
basis.
After we identify a potential site, we develop a business plan for a center on that site. This requires approvals from
all functional areas of executive management and the finance committee of our board of directors. We believe that
our structured process provides discipline and reduces the potential for developing a site that the market cannot
support.