Strengthening Gym Security and Management: How ProdataKey Secures Fitness Facilities
- ProdataKey
- Oct 6
- 7 min read
The modern fitness industry is rapidly changing, with facilities ranging from expansive commercial gyms to specialized studios and athletic venues. To remain competitive, facility owners and managers must ensure both physical security and operational efficiency–challenges that can be met effectively with advanced access control solutions like ProdataKey (PDK). This white paper explores how ProdataKey helps fitness facilities to protect life and property, while simultaneously improving long-term member management and retention.
Exploring Fitness Facilities: Types, Characteristics, and A Common Goal
The health and fitness industry is increasingly diverse, encompassing facilities of all shapes and sizes. Large-scale gyms offer a variety of machines and equipment, group classes, membership perks, and more. On the other end of the spectrum, small boutique studios typically focus on a singular workout style, like pilates, spin, CrossFit, and more. Fitness facilities also include sports-focused venues, such as golf courses or simulators, tennis courts, basketball courts, and more.
From large gyms to niche studios, fitness facilities serve as a place for people to pursue their personal health, build a community, and develop useful skills. While these organizations may differ in the specific services they offer, health and fitness facilities are united by a shared goal to protect visitors, staff, and property at all times.
Security Threats Faced by Fitness Facilities
Whether it’s a small studio or a commercial gym with multiple locations, owners and managers must address not only the safety of their members and staff, but also the protection of valuable assets within the space.
The Risk of Unauthorized Entry
The main security risk that fitness facilities must mitigate is unauthorized entry. Health and fitness spaces typically function on a membership-basis, so restricting access to members only is imperative. Access control systems allow fitness facilities to secure entrances and ensure that only approved individuals can enter the premises. This makes it easy to keep out people without memberships, or people whose memberships have lapsed.
Credential sharing also poses a notable risk to fitness facilities. It has become common in many gyms and fitness studios for members to share their keys or access credentials with friends. By sharing a credential, non-members can effectively enter a fitness space without proper authorization. This can pose a safety risk to members within the space, and the sharing of membership privileges can also result in a decrease in revenue for the organization.
Protecting Facility and Personal Property
Fitness facilities are home to expensive, specialized equipment, so it is imperative for managers of these spaces to monitor the equipment and ensure that no instances of theft or property damage occur. This can be accomplished through a combination of tools like secured access points, surveillance cameras, and clearly defined staff protocols for equipment use and monitoring.
In addition to theft or damage to facility equipment, the United Kingdom’s National Business Crime Centre revealed that many gym thefts also target high value personal items like watches, bank cards, and jewelry. These crimes often occur in locker rooms, where security mechanisms may be less robust.
Overall, in order to create an environment where members and staff feel respected and secure, health and fitness facilities need to properly address the threats towards life and property in their space. To do so, comprehensive security solutions like ProdataKey’s cloud-based access control can be utilized, allowing facility owners or managers to take their safety measures to the next level.
How PDK Improves Gym Security
ProdataKey’s intuitive cloud-based solutions are equipped to meet the growing need for fitness facilities to provide secure, flexible access while maintaining detailed reports and usage logs.
Easy Access on Any Schedule
On top of the various risks that health and fitness facilities face, there is an additional pressure on many of these organizations to function at all hours. When asked what is most important when securing gym and fitness facilities, 74% of ProdataKey installers identified secure 24/7 access as the top priority for this industry. Particularly for large-scale commercial gyms, 24/7 access has become a common practice and expectation for customers. This requires a facility to have security measures in place that can function reliably around the clock.
ProdataKey’s cloud-based access control is designed to meet the need for secure 24/7 access with ease. Facility managers can grant members secure access to their building using the variety of credentials provided by ProdataKey, including the Red encrypted physical credentials as well as PDK’s mobile credentials, available in the PDK Access App.
Ranked as the most convenient credential type by 68% of PDK dealers, mobile credentials allow users to turn their personal mobile device into a digital key. This allows users to open a door by presenting their phone to a reader or using the push-to-open feature inside the app. Not only is this practical, but it reduces the overall likelihood of credential sharing or theft, as individuals are less inclined to share or misplace their own mobile device.
And for spaces that don’t want to function on a 24/7 basis, PDK makes it easy to program automatic access schedules using the Auto Open feature of PDK.io. With this functionality, staff no longer need to complete the manual tasks of unlocking and locking doors in accordance with business hours.
Comprehensive Reporting and Monitoring
Also available in PDK.io is the Live Events page, where system managers can watch access events unfold in real-time–the #2 benefit of ProdataKey’s cloud-based access control, according to PDK dealers. Every entry attempt, whether successful or denied, is logged instantly in PDK.io, allowing managers to quickly spot any unusual activity as it happens. Additionally, system managers can use the Reports feature to generate access logs for a specific period of time in the past. This historical data is valuable for understanding incidents like theft or membership disputes.
In addition to live-monitoring of access events, PDK makes it easy to integrate third-party cameras that capture surveillance footage at the same time. By pairing PDK’s access control with surveillance technologies, staff can monitor video feeds, bookmark access events, and have a visual to pair with any suspicious activity captured by ProdataKey’s devices.
By offering secure credentials, comprehensive monitoring and reporting, flexible scheduling, and simple integrations, PDK delivers an all-encompassing security solution tailored to the demands of any fitness facility, no matter the size. This comprehensive approach to security not only reduces the risk of incidents, but builds trust and confidence among staff and members–the exact thing that fitness facilities need to keep customers coming back.
Barriers to Gym Member Management and Retention
Alongside addressing security risks, managers of fitness facilities are tasked with the proper management and retention of members. While creating a safe, secure environment is key to keep members coming back, there are many other aspects of the fitness experience that facility owners and managers must keep in mind.
To better understand what an ideal fitness facility experience looks like, it is helpful to look at what users have specifically identified as problem areas. YouGov, an international research data and analytics company, released a report in 2024 that highlights the main reasons behind cancelled gym memberships today.
Of the many reasons that fitness facility users may have for discontinuing a membership, three stand out: cost, experience, and convenience.
Of the people polled by YouGov, 41% identified the cost of fitness memberships as the main reason for cancellation.
This lines up with the 2024 UK Fitness Report from PureGym, where 44% of respondents said that they could not afford spending money on fitness memberships or supplies. Even members who are otherwise satisfied with a facility may still choose to leave if the price feels excessive compared to the perceived value.
Beyond cost, the quality of the member experience plays a large role in retention. This ranges from the upkeep of the facility itself to things like member perks, class offerings, payment collection, and more. Without efficient systems in place, administrative errors or inconsistent enforcement can lead to frustration or problems for members and staff alike.
Ultimately, in order to consistently bring in and retain new members, fitness facilities need to create a day-to-day experience that provides the ideal flexibility, convenience, and value for each member. Luckily, PDK is equipped to help gyms and fitness facilities achieve this.
How PDK Improves Gym & Fitness Management
Alongside industry-leading security mechanisms, ProdataKey’s cloud-based access control lays the foundation for a positive member experience in any fitness facility. With PDK, fitness facilities can allow members to have a convenient, elevated experience without rising administrative and membership fees.
Making Fitness Affordable
To reduce the financial stress that leads many gym-goers to discontinue their memberships, ProdataKey allows businesses to reduce operational expenses through cost-effective solutions. Namely, ProdataKey allows facilities to incorporate unlimited mobile credentials without any additional fees.
Unlike many access control providers that assign a per-credential fee, an unlimited number of ProdataKey’s in-app push-to-open credentials can be added to a system without any additional cost. This empowers fitness facilities to grow without restraints and pass those savings on to members, avoiding the need for frequent price increases. By lowering operating costs, fitness studios can then reinvest in enhancing the member experience while keeping prices stable. This makes it easier than ever to maintain customer loyalty and long-lasting member retention.
Simple, Seamless Management
For facilities that want to offer different levels of access on the basis of membership level, the Groups feature in PDK.io allows facility managers to create distinct access rules for different groups of people. For example, standard members may have access to only general areas, while premium members can be given access to specialized rooms, like saunas, pools, or recovery rooms.
The member experience can be further improved through integrated management tools that allow for streamlined class bookings, equipment reservations, payments, and more.
Utilizing the system’s open API, integrators can easily integrate ProdataKey with tools like Playbypoint and Registry to enable seamless reservation of tennis courts or golf simulators, respectively.
Additionally, through ProdataKey’s integration with the automation-builder Zapier, installers can connect PDK with an existing database of 8,000+ software tools, including programs like Gymdesk, Clubworx, GymMaster, and more. Zapier allows for automated workflows, such as disabling access once a membership payment fails. This results in a friction-free and consistent experience for all members, without the need to assign additional work to staff.
A Secure and Seamless Fitness Experience
In an industry where member expectations for convenience, safety, and value continue to rise, fitness facilities must strike a balance between reliable security and exceptional service. From preventing unauthorized entry and safeguarding valuable assets to simplifying membership management and reducing operational costs, ProdataKey provides the tools needed to achieve this balance.
ProdataKey (PDK) is a team of security integrators with decades of hands-on, in-the-field experience. PDK believes that the best technology is created by professionals who know what it takes to secure a facility properly and provide the end-user with a solution that instills confidence and safety.
PDK is passionate about creating technology to enhance the security, safety, and overall experience of both the professionals installing electronic access control and those that live with and use the system. PDK continues to create technology every day to enhance its products and the products of its technology partners.
