Fitness Center Feasibility Study in Hawaii

The smallest median in a lopsided ranking

Hawaii's fitness lending shows how far a state can sit from the national pattern. The median loan is $50,000, only 0.19x the national median for fitness centers, and half of the 26 loans fall between $28,425 and $254,500. Across FY2017 to FY2026 those loans add up to just $5.0 million gross. Hawaii ranks 50 of 54 for the class, yet fitness centers sit 6 of 39 among Hawaii's asset classes, with a location quotient of 0.73x. So within the islands fitness businesses matter, but the loans are small, which suggests studios, small gyms and equipment or lease costs, not large club buildings.

Lender, islands and franchises

Central Pacific Bank dominates the 7(a) table, with 14 loans worth $457,900, more than half of the state's total count. Franchise share is 26.9%, so national and regional brands account for a real part of the activity. SBA 7(a) carried 25 loans and SBA 504 just 1. Honolulu County has 16 loans, Hawaii County 5, Maui 4 and Kauai 1. Volume spiked at 7 in FY2023 after 1 or 2 a year in several earlier years. These lines come from SBA's records of loans this bank holds or held, and they speak to its book, not to its standards.

Gaps in the outcome data

Hawaii fitness centers carry no printed cancellation rate or charge-off rate. The cohorts have too few loans, and we would rather print nothing than an unstable percentage. Do not treat that blank as a rate of zero, because the rates shown elsewhere are floors.

What a Hawaii fitness study has to test

Island economics change every line of a fitness feasibility study. Population within reach is bounded by water and traffic, so catchment should be drawn by actual travel time. Tourism may supply some visits in places, but the study should not count visitors without evidence of how many pay. Rents and construction are high, shipping adds to equipment prices, and the study must price these locally, then compare the result with a median of $50,000 to see whether the project is a small studio or something larger needing more debt. Membership ramp-up and churn determine coverage, so show the case where sign-ups arrive slowly. If a franchise is proposed, the study should test the system's fees and territory terms against the site, and the appraiser will want a lease long enough to support the improvements.