Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Elevate returned for 2026 delivering a wealth of learning and networking opportunities for fitness industry professionals. These are the 5 biggest takeaways from the two days for you as a gym operator.
Elevate 2026 returned to Excel London on 17 and 18 June 2026. Leaders from gyms, fitness clubs and studios gathered to see showcases from a wide variety of suppliers.
The 10th anniversary edition of Elevate exceeded all expectations with endless chances to network and learn. We enjoyed welcoming many customers and partners, as well as new and old industry friends to the Xplor Fitness & Leisure stand. Thank you to everyone who joined us!
As ever, there was a lot going on at Elevate, so, it was impossible to see and hear everything. That’s where we can help with these takeaways for gym operators like you.
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#1: Know your why
One thing that’s always crystal clear at Elevate is just how passionate those working within fitness are about what they do.
In such a purpose-driven industry where opportunity is plentiful, having a well-defined mission and aligning to it as a business is central to achieving growth. It should guide your operations and business decisions.
This was touched on in The Future Of Fitness panel with Glen Thurgood (Evolve), David Minton (Evolve), Baz Moffat (The Well HQ), Simon Wilkinson (Tanita), and Dan Aguilera (Peripheral).
The panel discussed how guided by purpose, there’s a significant opportunity for operators (and the industry overall) to grow by tapping into communities. If you can make people feel part of something, they’re more likely to stay. At scale, this increases retention and increases participation.
Having clear principles to anchor your business around can also help you grow revenue.
This shone through in the Every Visit, More Value: Maximise Revenue From Every Member panel with Dan Harrison (Evolve), Lesley Aitken (Nurturing Skills), KJ Dixon (Elevate Consultants and 3-1-5 Health Club), and Lara Morgan (KitBrix).
The group spoke about the new wallet in town – the wellbeing pound. From foam rollers to supplements, many gymgoers are spending elsewhere on wellbeing. To capture some of this spend, go back to your purpose then look for products and services that fit.
#2: Charge what you deserve
Knowing your why will also help you charge what you deserve. This was the topic of discussion for the Charge What You Deserve: Value-Based Membership Pricing panel where our own James Barter was joined on stage by Alice Hulley (Waterside Hotel and Leisure Club), Duncan Anderson (South Downs Leisure), and Jack Burton (FIT24).
Research found that 90% of operators have seen costs rise, yet only 68% have increased prices. With this in mind, the panel discussed how operators can overcome common fears surrounding increases and create impactful pricing.
Essentially, success in charging what you deserve comes down to confidence. You need to know where your business sits in the market, who your audience is, and the value you deliver to them.
Ultimately, the right audience for you will feel the value they get from a membership matches the price they pay.
Despite the businesses the panellist represent having very different operating models and pricing approaches, they all share something in common.
They all constantly communicate with members. Letting them know regularly what’s new, what’s being improved, and, more generally, what’s available to them as a member.
By consistently reiterating the value of a membership, the businesses prime members for price changes. So, increasing receptiveness and acceptance to minimise attrition.
#3: Listen to stay relevant
Communication is best when it’s two-way. For growing businesses across price points, scaling authentically when adding locations is a common challenge.
As the Local Soul, National Scale panel, led by Rebecca Douglas (The Well Crowd) with Sarah Townend (Snap Fitness EMEA), Jamie Groves (DLL), and Graeme Payne (Bird & Bird LLP), discussed, it’s a challenge that communication can help with.
Whether you’re expanding to open new locations that are company-owned or franchises, the strength of your brand can help you attract members as you grow. But it won’t necessarily help you keep them.
That retention will be easier if they feel part of something, an affiliation and connection to the community within their chosen gym location.
Building scale without losing that local feel that often keeps members coming back is tough. As operators who’ve scaled successfully without compromising that local feel, the group shared tips for success.
A key takeaway was the importance of internal communication between the ‘corporate’ team and those on the ground locally.
While overarching brand and operating best practices should be clearly set centrally, listening to local team members will make it easier to adapt to market needs in specific locations. You’ll also be able to learn from those locally and extend what’s working in one place to others.
Ultimately, the experience a member gets between locations should feel consistent. Yet, with the right approach, each location should have its own personality and community.
#4: Start with a goal
Data was a recurring topic in many of the sessions at Elevate 2026.
In the opening From Leisure To Lifeline: A Decade Of Transformation And The Future Of Active Health panel Elevate’s Lucy Findlay-Beale was joined by David Stalker (ukactive), Tara Dillon (CIMSPA), and Lisa Dodd-Mayne (Sport England).
The group discussed how as an industry overall we collect a lot of data. That data is delivering insights, but right now it’s not quite telling a story that shows the industry’s impact. In part at least, that’s because we’ve not established the question we need to answer.
The same will be true of your business. Without knowing what you’re trying to do with the data you collect – what question you want to answer, what problem you want to solve – you will have insights that are tough to action.
By starting with a goal and understanding the questions you need to answer, you’ll be able to effectively select the right data (and reporting format) to establish clear, reliable answers.
The importance of having a clear goal before acting was also emphasised when it comes to finding ways to use AI within your business in the Tool, Teammate Or Threat? Trusting AI In A Human-First Sector panel.
Melinda Nicci (Bella AI, ukactive Board member), Tiffeny Gould (LeisureLabs), Jesse Shanahan (VOR Technologies), and Suzanne Gabb (Good Boost) engaged the audience to show how many operators lack strategy when it comes to AI.
By not having a clear strategy for when, where, and how to use AI, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and like you’re playing catch up. To overcome this and tap into the potential of AI, start by framing the problem you want to solve.
Importantly, the panel emphasised the importance of action when it comes to AI. Outline what you want to achieve, then experiment, learn, and iterate for the best results.
#5: Think human
Even with a clear goal to define how you use AI, trust and potential loss of authenticity are common concerns operators report when it comes to AI.
The Tool, Teammate Or Threat? panellists emphasised the importance of keeping a ‘human in the loop’. AI can do a lot but can doesn’t always mean should. When implementing AI into your business identify where human intervention is needed.
A major place to maintain human involvement is critical decision making. The people within your business have a wealth of experience and understanding of nuance that AI can easily miss.
AI is great for data crunching. But people should always verify what is being said and interpret that into decisions that take the wider picture into account. This also reduces the risk of cognitive offloading and skill decay caused by overuse and reliance on AI. So, keeping your team sharp.
The wrap up…
What a great two days! There you have it, the biggest takeaways for gym operators from Elevate 2026:
- Know your why – A clear sense of purpose is central to growth in such a purpose-driven industry. Use it to build community and increase retention. And look to the wellbeing pound, products and services that fit your purpose can capture spend members are already putting elsewhere
- Charge what you deserve – Most operators have seen costs rise, but far fewer have raised prices. Charging what you deserve comes down to confidence: know your market position, your audience, and the value you deliver. Communicate that value consistently to prime members for change
- Listen to stay relevant – Brand strength helps you attract members as you scale, but it won’t keep them. Two-way communication between corporate teams and local staff helps you retain that local feel, adapt to market needs, and spread what’s working from one location to others
- Start with a goal – Whether it’s data or AI, insights and tools are only useful if you know the question you’re trying to answer first. Define your goal, then experiment, learn, and iterate
- Think human – AI is a tool, not a replacement for human judgement. Keep people at the centre of critical decisions and member-facing empathy. It’s what makes the data and the tools actually useful
We’ve just scratched the surface of all there was to uncover at Elevate 2026. Did we miss anything you’d include?
Step into the future of fitness with gym management software from Resamania. Our experts are here to show you what’s possible for your gym business.
by Resamania
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First published: 22 June 2026
Written by: Resamania