Lifetime Fitness 2013 Annual Report Download - page 16

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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 between 8:00 a.m. to noon and 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Our centers are appropriately
staffed 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,
2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
Total number of visits (in millions) 69.2 68.4 63.8 60.1 57.7
Average number of visits to large format centers
per month 63,412 64,263 63,496 62,229 61,715
Average number of visits to large format centers
per year per membership 100 100 99 98 98
New Center Site Selection and Construction
Site Selection. Our management devotes significant time and resources to analysis of each prospective site
(including both undeveloped land and existing facilities available for lease) on the basis of facts. We look at the
physical geography of the site, the highway patterns and drive times, demographics within primary and secondary
trade areas as well as cultural and competitive information. We focus mainly on markets that will allow us to operate
multiple centers that create certain efficiencies in marketing and branding activities, but we select each site based on
whether that site and trade area can support an individual center.
After we identify a potential site and determine that it is a viable site, we develop a business plan for a center on that
site. This requires analysis from several functional areas of management and approval from the Finance Committee
of our Board of Directors. We believe that our disciplined, structured process reduces the potential for developing a
site that the market cannot support.
Design and Construction. Our wholly owned subsidiary, Life Time Construction, provides us with architecture and
design services, millwork fabrication and construction management. With approximately 135 employees, this
subsidiary is dedicated solely to the design and construction of each new center and the remodel of existing and
acquired centers.
We have developed a series of prototypical plans and specifications that can be easily adapted to each specific site.
Project architects along with our construction management teams monitor quality and oversee the construction
progress throughout the development of each new center.
Life Time Construction's management teams provide on-site supervision, for each new site and remodel, as well as
administrative services, such as permitting, purchasing, project accounting and safety administration. The
construction management teams qualify subcontractors, bid each component of our projects to ensure cost-effective
pricing, and monitor cost progress for the duration of the project. By using similar materials at each center, we not
only maintain a consistent look and feel, but we are also able to maximize buying power and leverage economies of
scale in purchasing.
Through Life Time Construction we are able to maximize flexibility in the design process, retain control over the
cost and timing of the construction process and realize potential cost savings on each project. Nearly all of their
costs are capitalized as a part of the overall initial investment in the new center or the remodel. Any remaining
unallocated costs are recognized as an expense in the period incurred. Because this subsidiary perform services
solely for us, we do not recognize any revenue or profit related to Life Time Construction's operations.