Ayres Hotels is a family collection of European Boutique Hotels located throughout southern California, setting a new standard in comfortable, inviting accommodations and warm, personalized service for business and leisure travelers at an affordable price. Since 1985, business and leisure travelers alike have experienced the comfortable elegance, rich amenities and attention to detail that are hallmarks of every Ayres Family European-style hotel. Anticipating the customer’s every need, Ayres offers the very best locations, impeccable service and creature comforts like living room-style lobbies that make its properties seem more like homes than hotels.

Originally, Ayres had not placed a significant level of emphasis on its overall fitness amenity, and upon deciding to make upgrades, the hotel chain called upon AFP. The goal was to make its fitness offering a more contemporary and higher-quality experience, and be consistent across each of its Southern California-area locations.

Ayres’ previous fitness centers had been simplistic, with little emphasis on the unique nuances of design, spatial layout and equipment selection that is inherent to a safe and efficient fitness environment. The existing fitness rooms were not devoted fitness "environments" but simply guest rooms converted to house a selection of basic fitness equipment.

With the hotels targeting overnight business travelers, improvements to their fitness facilities would only increase traffic and general use and revenue potential for the hotel.

Before any new equipment was brought in, AFP reviewed the fitness rooms across all 18 of Ayres’ current Southern California locations to develop a consistent streamlined look for each of them. AFP then provided Ayres’ with a fitness center layout plan and recommendations on the types of commercial exercise equipment that would work best within the available space. Finally, AFP suggested alternate locations to relocate the fitness rooms altogether where it made sense to do so.

After addressing location and spatial considerations, AFP turned its focus to selecting exercise equipment that would be as versatile as possible and consistent with Ayres’ overall standard. AFP looked no further than its industry-leading partners at Precor and Star-Trac. Not only were outdated cardio machines replaced, but space was maximized by the use of multi-purpose strength machines, allowing for a wider variety of exercise options from each piece of equipment. In addition, an array of dumbbells and accessories such as stability balls and stretching mats provided an added level of versatility to each fitness center. For the finishing touch, AFP focused on hygiene-friendly measures, including updated fitness flooring, equipment mats and disinfectant handy wipe dispensers.

Now featuring a fitness amenity that clearly measures up to Ayres’ overall standards, the hotels will enjoy added traffic and increased use of the fitness centers at each of its 18 Southern California locations. Most importantly, the upgrade will go far in increasing the hotel’s level of overall customer satisfaction.

Ayres will also be utilizing AFPs proprietary online Facility, Supply & Support system. The online service allows facility managers password access to their own inventory web page through AFProducts.com where they can easily manage their equipment inventory, anticipate when preventative fitness equipment maintenance is required to maximize the life of the equipment and avoiding costly breakdowns, as well as reorder accessories and supplies as needed.

"We are grateful to Advantage Fitness Products, as they were instrumental in helping Ayres’ Hotels upgrade many of its current fitness centers, while insuring our new properties get started with the correct equipment, layout and accessories," said Don Ayres III, principal of Ayres Hotels.