We do not accept MultiSport cards and we are not considering introducing them, mainly for the following reasons:
1. Our concept is a quality sports centre for clients who feel like they are in their own club – clients who are demanding when it comes to services, but at the same time proud of “their” centre and feel a sense of belonging to it. This concept is fundamentally different from the MultiSport concept, where all services are intended for everyone (“sport for all”), in comparable quality and price, across as many centres as possible.
2. By its very nature as a “sport for the masses” product, the MultiSport concept does not provide sufficient remuneration to maintain the level of service quality our clients are entitled to and which we want to offer in the long term. At the same time, it does not generate enough resources for maintenance and further development of the centre.
3. Another important argument is that at a time when we are encouraged to support Czech products, farmers and other local businesses, MultiSport clearly leads to profits being taken abroad – unfortunately in a sector where there really isn’t much money to spare.
4. Most of our visitors are athletes – and in sport, the same rules apply to everyone. It is simply not fair to have a group of “chosen ones” for whom much more lenient rules apply. This naturally divides clients inside the centre into those with a card and those without.
5. Centres that accept these cards and where card holders head (and will continue to head) inevitably become overcrowded and uncomfortable, and people will not be able to exercise there in the way they imagined. To stay profitable, such centres will need to increase their capacity significantly. Clients who pay directly for services will then understandably be dissatisfied and start looking for alternatives.
Additional arguments for those interested in the economic side of things:
1. One of the goals of the Polish company behind MultiSport is to acquire sports chains – something that is currently happening on a large scale in Prague. If we ever decide to sell our centre, it must be entirely our free decision.
2. Another well-known consequence of cooperating with MultiSport is that many sports centres have become dependent on MultiSport clients and have effectively ceased to be true owners of their own business model. They have lost the ability to influence key parameters of their business and can only watch how the situation develops.
For the reasons above, we ended our cooperation with MultiSport on 1 April 2019. Looking back, we see this as a very positive step. After the initial complications and drop in visitor numbers, operations returned to normal – with a much friendlier and more positive atmosphere in the centre. The standard we are now able to maintain is also significantly higher.