most all gyms are going to be franchise gyms. there are rare situations where it is a mom and pop owned gym.
the thing is not all franchise gyms are the same. they are different in size, they have different environments, they have different equipment, and they have different management. and the thing is all this can change. so i recommend checking recent reviews online, going there and checking out the place, and also pay cash upfront and no contracts. give them a year upfront. this way if you don't like the place you can peace out instead of jumping through hoops to cancel
i went to a really good mom and pop gym for years but one day i got billed one of those stupid yearly upgrade fees, but they never told me about it and it wasn't in the contract. i went in and talked to both the manager and owner with my contract in my hand. the owner claims he always mentions it when you sign up, but it wasn't him who signed me up! someone elses signature was on the contract. he waived the fee but gave me a lecture about how he always tells people out this blah blah blah, but again he wasn't the one that talked to me. long story short once my year was up i peaced out, he lost my trust right then in there by calling me a liar. i would have gladly paid that small fee if he would have just said 'sorry man we messed up' but instead he acted like i was in the wrong. so don't trust any of these fucking people to give them a credit card or your DL. pay cash upfront and that is it