With A level results now out and students pushing to secure their university places, there’s a sense of a fresh start after the disruption caused to the 2019–20 academic year by COVID-19.
Reports indicate that, as at 13 August, over 70% of private purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) beds had already been let for the new academic year. Yet even for developments that are already full, challenges remain – not least the need to adequately support students’ wellbeing in what is still an unsettled climate.
Fitness will be a key part of this – both from a physical and a mental health perspective – for a generation to whom being active and health-conscious has long been a lifestyle choice.
What does your fitness provision look like?
Gyms around the world are reporting that younger people are more readily returning to exercise in-club than the more COVID-fearful older generations, which means any communal fitness facilities you’ve got on-site are likely to be in demand from day one.
However, this already tech-savvy generation will also have had their online habits reinforced over the months of lockdown, with vast amounts of on-demand fitness content pumped onto the internet by everyone from Joe Wicks and the fitness influencers to global fitness megabrands such as Barry’s and Peloton.
The expectation of being able to ‘click and consume’ high-quality fitness content – any time, anywhere – is now more firmly embedded than ever.
So, how are you meeting this dual demand: for fitness provision but also, specifically, for a fitness offering that’s flexible, convenient – and yes, in spite of the self-perceived invincibility of youth, that’s safe and socially distanced?
For these digital natives, a digital solution is the only real answer, and this is where Wexer comes in.
Fitness in the palm of students’ hands
The Wexer Web Player is a great example: a web-based portal that allows students to stream their choice of fitness and wellbeing content to any internet-enabled device, any time, anywhere.
The platform has always included access to hundreds of music licence-free, on-demand classes curated from our global content partners – something for everyone, no matter what their interests or fitness experience. That remains the case.
But if you’d also like to create and upload your own content, that’s now possible too thanks to a new feature – Connect – which effectively hands you your own TV channel. Whether you choose to live stream, pre-record and schedule or make content available on-demand – or all of the above – Connect allows you to bring high quality wellness content to your students 24/7, wherever they may be.
Whether it’s a cookery workshop for the Freshers who may be away from home for the first time, or a mindfulness session to help students manage their stress, your content can sit alongside and complement our on-demand classes to even better serve students’ wellbeing needs – a great USP for your PBSA development.
We white label the portal, too, so students perceive it as an added value offering that comes directly from you. It’s password-protected, so you can offer it exclusively to your residents. And if you want to monetise some or all of the content, that’s possible too through a series of paywall options.
Meanwhile, data gathered on usage patterns means you’re able to fine-tune the content, tailoring class collections and Connect uploads to meet the specific demand at each of your locations.
Make your fitness studios on-demand too
Meanwhile, for those students who do want to train in a dedicated space, you might like to consider creating a virtual group exercise studio.
These can be created in just about any space, whether that’s an existing exercise room or an under-used communal area: just add a large screen, a high-quality AV system for an inspirational environment, and a Wexer Player.
With over 1,500 different classes led by the world’s top instructors – from HIIT to mind-body, strength to dance, stretching to meditation – Wexer Virtual caters for every possible student profile.
It also dovetails perfectly with the Web Player, whose curated selection of classes can all be found on the Wexer Virtual platform too. It means students can take part in their favourite class in their room, in the park or in your studio – a seamless experience that fits around them.
Wexer Virtual classes can be scheduled, or else you can leave it to students to choose their own class – or a mixture of both.
This combination makes Wexer the perfect partner for PBSA’s who are developing their student wellbeing strategy – where our seamless reliability, class quality and variety of content is a perfect fit for tech-savvy, fitness-focused students looking for a 24/7 solution.
To find out more, contact us me at info@wexer.com
Â