Fitness and Wellness at a Private Club: In-House, Contracted, or Blended?

When a private club wants to add a fitness or wellness service, one of the first questions is who will deliver it. The club can employ the people and manage them directly (in-house). It can bring in an outside provider under an agreement (contracted). Or it can do some of each (blended). Some readers call the second option “outsourcing.” This guide says “contracted” because the word describes the arrangement without passing judgment on it.

None of the three is right for every club or every service. The better fit depends on what the service is, who is already on staff, how much direct control the club wants, and what the club’s insurer and counsel advise. This guide compares the models side by side, describes when each tends to fit, and lists questions to ask any provider and questions to settle inside the club first. It picks up where Country Club Amenities: How Management Decides What to Add leaves off, after the club has decided an idea is worth exploring.

A note on perspective. Golf Stretch Academy provides a contracted on-site wellness service. Because that gives us a perspective on one of the models discussed below, we have tried to describe the in-house, contracted and blended approaches fairly, and we refer to our own service in only one clearly labeled box.

What In-House, Contracted and Blended Mean at a Club

• In-house. The club employs the people who deliver the service and manages them directly. Scheduling, member communication and administration run through the club’s own staff and systems.
• Contracted. An outside provider delivers the service under an agreement with the club. Which tasks sit with the provider and which stay with the club depends on the agreement, so staffing, scheduling, equipment, member support and billing are all worth defining in writing.
• Blended. The club employs core roles and uses outside providers for specialties. A club might have its own fitness team and bring in outside practitioners for services it does not employ.

Terminology varies from club to club, and one club can use different models for different services. Treat these as working definitions for comparing options, not industry standards.

The Models Side by Side

The table shows where each model typically places a responsibility. Actual arrangements vary, and an agreement can divide the work differently.

Dimension	In-house	Contracted	Blended
Staffing	The club recruits, hires, trains and employs the people.	The provider recruits and assigns practitioners under the agreement.	The club employs core roles; providers supply specialties.
Expertise	Limited to the skills the club hires or develops.	Can add skills the club does not employ, as the agreement defines.	Core skills in-house; specialized skills brought in.
Continuity	Depends on the club’s hiring and retention.	Depends on the provider’s staffing and the agreement’s coverage terms.	Depends on both, and on how well they are coordinated.
Scheduling	The club schedules its own staff.	Set by the agreement; often shared between provider and club.	Club and provider schedules need to be coordinated.
Equipment	The club buys, maintains and replaces it.	Set by the agreement; may be supplied by the provider.	Split by role or service.
Space	The club provides it.	The club typically provides an appropriate space; terms are agreed.	The club provides space for both.
Member communication	Club staff and club channels.	Shared; the agreement should say who communicates what and who approves it.	Needs one consistent message across both.
Administration	The club handles payroll, records, scheduling and any billing.	The provider handles its own personnel administration; the club handles agreement oversight and any billing role.	Both sets of tasks apply.
Oversight	Direct supervision by club managers.	Through the agreement, reporting and a named contact; less direct control of provider personnel.	Direct for employees; contractual for providers.
Cost categories	Wages, payroll costs, benefits where applicable, equipment, training, management time.	Payments under the agreement, internal management time, administrative and oversight work.	Some combination of the two.
Insurance and liability questions	The club’s own coverage and employment arrangements; ask the club’s insurer how the service is covered.	The provider’s coverage, certificate of insurance and contract terms; ask the insurer and counsel.	Both; ask how the coverages fit together.

This table is an editorial framework based on how clubs describe these arrangements and on management reasoning. It is not research showing that any model performs better.

On cost, the categories differ by model, but which costs less depends on the service, its scope, expected volume and the terms of any agreement. We did not find credible, independent cost comparisons for club wellness services, so this guide offers none. Treat any figure you are given, including a provider’s, as something to verify against your own numbers.

When In-House Tends to Fit

An in-house approach tends to fit when:

• The club already has the team. Trainers or wellness staff are on payroll and have capacity for the new service.
• The service is part of daily operations. It needs to be available throughout the day and to change quickly with member demand.
• Direct supervision matters. Managers can set standards, adjust duties and address concerns without going through a third party.
• It connects with other departments. Golf, dining, events and membership staff can coordinate with people who work for the same employer.
• It can run inside existing systems. Booking, billing and member records are already in place and the club controls them.

In-house also means the club carries the work of an employer for those roles: recruiting, training, scheduling coverage, payroll and management time. For clubs that want that control and already have the structure to support it, that can be a reasonable trade.

When a Contracted Provider Tends to Fit

A contracted provider tends to fit when:

• The service is specialized. It calls for expertise the club does not employ and may not want to develop.
• The schedule is limited or defined. A few days a week, a seasonal offering or another defined schedule may not justify a new internal role.
• The club does not want to add a position. Creating, filling and managing a new role is a commitment the club may prefer to avoid for this service.
• The provider manages certain delivery functions. Recruiting practitioners, scheduling, equipment and member support can sit with the provider if the agreement says so.

There are trade-offs to weigh as well:

• Less direct control of the provider’s personnel. Standards are set through the agreement and its oversight, not through day-to-day management.
• Dependence on the agreement. Scope, coverage, standards and what happens when something goes wrong are only as clear as the contract.
• Insurance and contract oversight. Someone at the club has to collect and review documents, track renewals and bring in the insurer and counsel.
• Coordination. The provider has to work with the club’s systems, space and member communication.

Contracting changes who does the work. It does not remove the club’s role: someone still reviews the agreement, oversees performance and answers members’ questions.

When a Blended Approach Tends to Fit

A blended approach tends to fit when a club has a core team it wants to keep but also wants services it does not employ, or needs for only a few hours a week. The club might employ a fitness or wellness lead and trainers, and use outside practitioners for specialties.

The trade-off with blending is coordination. Someone has to keep schedules, member communication and standards consistent across employees and providers, and the club manages two sets of obligations: the employment side and the contract side.

One published example illustrates the idea. Club + Resort Business reported in April 2026 that Country Club of Charleston has three personal trainers and two group fitness instructors on its in-house staff, led by a director of wellness, with chiropractic care, massage therapy and acupuncture provided through contracted services. That is one club’s arrangement. It is not an industry norm, and the article reports no measured results, so it is not evidence that the model produces better results.

A blended approach is not automatically the ideal one. It carries the requirements of both models, and it fits only if the club can manage both.

Questions to Ask Any Provider

These are prompts for discussion with any outside provider. They are not legal or insurance advice. Questions about insurance and legal terms are for the club’s insurer and qualified counsel to answer.

Operational questions

• What does the service include, and what does it not include?
• Who are the practitioners, what qualifications do they hold for this service, and how are those qualifications verified?
• How are appointments scheduled and booked? Does the provider use its own system, or can it work with the club’s?
• What happens when a practitioner is unavailable?
• How will members learn about the service, and who approves the messages?
• Who supervises the work on site, and who does the club contact with a concern?
• What records and reports will the provider keep and share, and how is member information handled?
• How will the club and provider review how the arrangement is going, and how often?
• How does the arrangement end, and what happens to appointments and member commitments when it does?

Insurance questions

• What insurance does the provider carry, such as general liability and professional liability, and at what limits?
• Can the provider supply a certificate of insurance? Know what it does and does not establish. RM Magazine describes a certificate as a summary of coverage issued as a matter of information, which confers no rights on the certificate holder and reflects coverage only as of the date it was issued. Being covered as an additional insured generally depends on an endorsement to the policy, which is a question for the club’s insurer.
• Does the club’s own insurer have requirements or concerns about an outside provider operating on the premises?
• Are waivers needed, and who drafts, collects and keeps them?
• Who reviews coverage documents, and who tracks renewals?

Legal questions

• Who will review the agreement before the club signs it?
• Which terms, such as indemnification, termination and handling of member information, should counsel review?
• Has the provider received advice about how its practitioners are classified? See the section below.

Questions to Settle Inside the Club First

Before comparing providers, settle these inside the club. They apply under any of the three models, and several repeat the work in Country Club Amenities: How Management Decides What to Add.

• What is the service meant to accomplish for members? Start with the member need, stated without naming a model or provider.
• Who owns the relationship? One person should be the day-to-day contact and answerable for reviewing how it goes.
• Where will it happen? Name the space, when it is available and what it displaces.
• Which systems are involved? Booking, billing, member records and communication channels.
• Which cost categories apply, and who bears each? Use the categories above, and be candid about what you do not yet know.
• Who reviews insurance and contracts? Name the club’s insurer contact and counsel, and when they will be involved.
• Who approves? Approval paths vary by club. Depending on the club’s bylaws, policies and the size of the decision, it may involve a department head, a committee, the board, the membership or some combination. Find out how yours works before you start talking to providers.

Employee or Independent Contractor: A Question for Counsel

Any arrangement that involves individual practitioners raises a question that is easy to overlook: are the people doing the work employees or independent contractors? That is a legal question, and it can arise under any of the three models. This guide does not say how any club or provider should classify anyone.

Worker classification can involve different standards under federal wage-and-hour law, federal tax law and state law. Those standards can change and may not produce the same answer in every context. In brief:

• Federal wage-and-hour law has its own worker-classification analysis, which looks at the economic reality of the working relationship (U.S. Department of Labor).
• The IRS considers factors involving behavioral control, financial control and the nature of the relationship (IRS guidance).
• California generally uses the ABC test, subject to exceptions and other applicable standards (California Department of Industrial Relations).

The operating label in a business proposal does not determine legal worker classification. Clubs and providers should have their actual arrangements reviewed by qualified counsel.

A Neutral Comparison Checklist

Copy this into a document and fill it in once for each model you are considering. A line you cannot answer tells you what to find out next.

Item	Question to answer	Your notes
Service	What exactly would members receive?
Skills	What qualifications does it require, and how would they be verified?
Frequency	How many hours or days, and at what times?
Supervision	Who supervises the work day to day?
Space and equipment	Where does it happen, and who provides, maintains and replaces the equipment?
Systems	Which booking, billing and member-record systems are involved?
Scheduling	Who schedules, and who covers absences?
Member communication	Who tells members, and who approves the message?
Cost categories	Which apply under this model, and who bears each?
Insurance documentation	What documents are needed, and who reviews them?
Legal review	Who reviews the agreement and any worker-classification questions?
Relationship owner	Who at the club is accountable for it?
Review	When and how will the club look at how it is going?

Once you have settled on a model, the next question is how the service works day to day: the space, scheduling, booking, member communication and billing. Continue with How an On-Site Wellness Service Works Inside a Private Club.