What Cardio Machines Should a Hotel Gym Have? (Australia 2026)

What cardio machines should a hotel gym have?

Source: manufacturers' recommended minimums as reported in Sekendiz et al., Journal of Fitness Research (2016); footprints from VERVE product specifications.

Your guest has 40 minutes before a breakfast meeting, or a slow morning at the resort, and walks into the gym expecting it to work. If the treadmill is out of order, the console needs a manual, or the air bike roars through the wall of the room next door, that guest notices. A hotel gym should work the first time for anyone who walks in, with nobody on hand to help. That comes down to four choices: the right machines in the right order, a footprint that fits the room you actually have, consoles a first-timer can read, and placement that keeps the noise away from sleeping guests.

This guide covers cardio only. For the strength side of the room, see the hotel gym equipment guide.

Which cardio machine comes first, and why

Buy in this order and stop where your floor space and budget run out.

• 1. Treadmill. It is the machine guests look for first and use most, because walking and running need no instruction. Put the biggest share of your budget here. The Kuro Commercial Treadmill ($5,499) runs a 3.0kW AC motor across 1 to 24 km/h and 0 to 20% incline on a 600 x 1600mm running surface, with quick speed and quick incline keys on a 21.5" console.
• 2. Upright bike or elliptical. Low impact for guests with sore knees, a long flight behind them, or no interest in running. The Kuro Commercial Upright Bike ($2,699) has the smallest footprint in this guide at 1200 x 500mm, about 0.6 sqm; at the time of writing it is on pre-order with an ETA of early November. The Kuro Commercial Elliptical (Touchscreen) ($5,699) gives a 540mm stride, 25 resistance levels and a 150 kg max user weight; it is on pre-order with an ETA of late December at the time of writing. The Kuro Commercial Elliptical ($10,499) is made to order.
• 3. Rower or air bike. For the guest who wants a hard 20 minutes. The Commercial Rower ($1,099) has a 10-level damper and is rated to 150 kg. The Commercial Air Bike ($1,199) uses a Poly-V belt drive rather than a chain, and its resistance rises with the rider's pace, so there is nothing to set. Both run on fan resistance, which matters for noise (see below).
• After that: a Kuro Commercial Stair Climber V2 with Touchscreen ($6,299) for variety, and a Ski Trainer on the wall for resorts with a functional crowd. The Ski Trainer is $1,699 at the time of writing, with the optional floor stand $299; a wall bracket is included. The original Kuro Commercial Stair Climber ($10,399) is made to order.

If you need a low-impact bike on the floor before the upright bike lands, the Volt Spin Bike with Console ($3,449) is built for clubs, corporate fitness centres, schools and hotels, and is rated to 160 kg. The trade-off: a spin bike asks the guest to set seat height, fore and aft position and pedals, which is less familiar to a casual rider than an upright bike. It suits resorts that run group rides better than a small room with one bike.

Which treadmill for a hotel gym?

The Curved Treadmill wins on simplicity and power: no motor, no buttons, nothing to break in the electronics. It loses for the casual walker who wants a steady pace and a free hand for a phone, because the guest has to drive the belt. Put it beside a motorised treadmill, never instead of one.

How many machines for your room size and guest numbers

The area column adds each machine's footprint from its product page to a 2 m by 0.5 m safety zone around each treadmill. Walkways, stretching space and the gap between the other machines come on top, so treat it as the floor the cardio line occupies, not the size of the room.

Guest numbers matter more than room count. If your gym runs on key-card access, the entry log shows how many guests are in the room in the early-morning peak. When guests are waiting for the treadmill, a second treadmill earns more than a new machine type. When the treadmill is free but the bike is busy, the opposite is true. Whole-room sizes and budgets, including strength and flooring, are in the hotel and resort gym fit-out guide.

Footprint and clearance: will it fit?

Prices and stock status are at the time of writing; each product page shows today's price and availability, and your quote confirms lead times.

Treadmills need the most room. An Australian audit of treadmills in health and fitness facilities, published in the Journal of Fitness Research, used manufacturers' recommended minimums of 0.5 to 1 m on each side and 2 m behind, and found treadmills set closer than that. The 2 m behind the belt must be clear floor: not a wall, not a rower, not a glass partition. For the Kuro Commercial Treadmill that brings the zone to about 7.7 sqm with 0.5 m sides. Your model's manual is the final word, so check it before you lock the layout.

• Rowers are long. The Commercial Rower is 2400mm, the longest machine here. Run it along a wall with room to step off either side.
• Stair climbers are tall. The V2 stands 1803mm and the made-to-order Kuro 2230mm, and the guest climbs on top of that. Check ceiling height, especially under bulkheads in basement and converted rooms.
• Heavy machines on upper floors. The Velocity weighs 240 kg and the made-to-order stair climber and elliptical 226 kg and 225 kg. Have your building engineer confirm floor loading, and check lift and doorway sizes for delivery.
• Leave service access. A technician needs to reach the motor hood and the back of each machine without moving the one beside it.

Power: what each machine needs

• Velocity Full Commercial Treadmill: 10 amp plug.
• Kuro Commercial Treadmill: AC220V/110V, 3.0kW motor.
• Kuro Commercial Treadmill with Touchscreen: 3.0kW AC motor; the product page does not list the supply.
• Kuro Commercial Upright Bike: plug-in with no internal battery, so it needs a constant power connection. Place it within reach of a power point, with no cord across a walkway.
• Kuro Commercial Elliptical (Touchscreen): AC 110 to 240V input through a 24V 6A adapter.
• Curved Treadmill: no motor, so no power point needed. It can go anywhere the floor suits.
• Air Bike, Commercial Rower and Ski Trainer: fan resistance; their product pages list no mains power requirement.

None of the product pages says whether a treadmill needs its own circuit. Two or three 3.0kW treadmills on one wall is a serious load, so have your electrician confirm circuit capacity at design stage. Adding a circuit before the walls close is cheap; adding it after opening means closing the gym.

Noise: rooms near guest floors

If the gym sits under or beside guest rooms, footstrike through the slab is the complaint you are most likely to hear, so the flooring under the treadmills does more for noise than the machine choice. See the gym flooring range. Opening hours that match the room's position help too: a gym under the pool deck can open at 5 am; a gym beside a corridor of rooms may need a later start for the fan machines.

Consoles a guest can use without asking

A hotel gym has no staff on the floor. Every console needs to show the guest how to start, change pace and stop within a few seconds.

• Kuro Commercial Treadmill: quick speed and quick incline keys, so a guest can jump straight to a pace without scrolling.
• Velocity Full Commercial Treadmill: speed and slope shortcut keys on a 21.5" touch screen.
• Kuro Treadmill with Touchscreen: preset programs, custom workouts, heart rate zones, Bluetooth audio and scenic trails. The best for long stays, but more to learn, so add a one-line start card.
• Curved Treadmill: no buttons. Step on and go.
• Air Bike: nothing to set; resistance follows the rider's pace.
• Commercial Rower: a 10-level damper and a performance monitor.
• Kuro Elliptical (Touchscreen): 15.6" TFT screen with headphone and USB ports as standard.

Whatever you choose, put a short card on each machine: start, change speed, stop. It saves calls to the front desk.

Commercial duty, warranty and service

A hotel machine does a different job to a home machine: many short sessions a day, by guests of every size, most of whom have never used it before. Buy commercial-rated. The Kuro series is built for high-traffic commercial floors, the Velocity is designed to run day in, day out, and the published max user weights are 180 kg for the Velocity, 160 kg for the Volt, and 150 kg for the Kuro Elliptical (Touchscreen) and the Commercial Rower.

On warranty, ask for the terms in writing on your quote. The Volt Spin Bike is the only cardio product page here that publishes them: on commercial use, a lifetime frame warranty, 3 years on the brake, 3 years on parts with 1 year on wear items, and 1 year labour. The Kuro Treadmill with Touchscreen is backed by VERVE service. For every other machine, get the warranty, who attends a fault, and where parts come from confirmed before you sign. A broken treadmill in a guest gym is a daily advertisement for the property, so service terms are part of the price. VERVE is based on the Gold Coast.

Cleaning between guests

• Every day: housekeeping wipes grips, handlebars, seats and consoles. Keep a wipe station by the door so guests can do the same.
• Screens: check the manual for the approved cleaner before anyone reaches for the bathroom spray.
• Rower: wipe the stainless steel track so the seat runs clean.
• Air Bike: the belt drive needs no chain oiling or tightening, one less job for maintenance.
• Weekly: maintenance checks for loose bolts, worn belts and damaged cords, and clears dust from around and under the treadmills.
• Resorts near the pool or beach: sweat and salt air are hard on metal, so wipe down more often.

Frequently asked questions