Understanding the Real Cost of In-House Cleaning
For many gyms and fitness operators, keeping cleaning in-house feels like the most cost-effective option. It offers familiarity, perceived control, and the belief that outsourcing will inevitably cost more.
However, as fitness environments become busier, more competitive, and increasingly multi-site, the true cost of in-house cleaning often extends far beyond wages. What initially appears efficient can quietly introduce operational waste, management strain, and inconsistent results over time.
The challenge is rarely effort. It’s visibility.
Where Costs and Inefficiencies Commonly Hide
In-house cleaning models often absorb inefficiency without it being immediately visible. As operations grow busier or more complex, small compromises in structure can quietly turn into ongoing cost and performance issues.
In practice, this often shows up as:
• Standards drifting across sites or shifts, particularly during peak periods
• Overstaffing or poorly structured schedules, where more hours are added to protect coverage without improving outcomes
• Limited oversight as operations scale, making performance harder to measure and manage
• Cleaning becoming a recurring distraction for operations and facilities teams
Crucially, adding more cleaners or more hours does not always lead to better results. In many fitness environments, performance improves when schedules, coverage, and oversight are optimised rather than expanded.
Individually, these issues may seem manageable. Collectively, they can significantly increase cost while delivering diminishing returns.
When Outsourcing Fails and What Actually Works Instead
Many fitness operators have tried outsourcing cleaning, only to move back in-house after poor experiences. In most cases, the issue isn’t outsourcing itself, but the lack of structured management behind it. Without clear accountability, audits, and escalation, outsourced cleaning can feel like a loss of control, reinforcing the belief that internal teams are the safer option, even when inefficiencies remain.
A managed cleaning model addresses this by focusing on how performance is run, not simply who delivers it. Through structured oversight and, where appropriate, TUPE transfer, experienced in-house teams can be retained while introducing better scheduling, clearer accountability, and reduced waste. For multi-site fitness operators, this creates control and consistency without disruption, setting the foundation for more efficient operations as they scale.
A Final Thought
In a market where margins are under pressure and member experience matters more than ever, the question isn’t whether your current cleaning setup works.
It’s whether it’s working as efficiently as it could.
For operators reviewing cost, consistency, or scale, understanding how cleaning is managed is often the first place to look.