My wife and I joined a fitness center several years ago.
When the kids were old enough to work out, we added them to a family plan. Sometimes we went together as a family on the weekends and spent a couple of hours at the fitness center. The kids liked some of the group fitness classes like Tae Bo, Zumba, and cycling. My wife and I preferred to lift weights and work on our legs and arms. Everyone was excited when the fitness center announced the addition of a brand new building. The new building includes a pool, hot tub, sauna, and steam room. It took eight months for the building to be finished and there was a grand opening celebration to honor the building. My wife and I attended the celebration. Everything inside of the building was brand new. When the director gave his speech, he mentioned and upgraded membership. My wife and I talked with the membership director when the speech was over and we found out that our membership fees do not include use of the pool, sauna, hot tub, or steam room. If we want to have use of the new building, we have to upgrade our membership to the Platinum category instead of gold. It will cost an extra $999 for our entire family to enjoy all of the extra benefits. I understand why they have to raise membership fees, but my family and I already pay $2,000 a year for our fitness center membership. The added cost is a lot when compared to other gym membership fees.