Class booking for yoga and fitness studios: drop-in, class pass or membership

There are three models for class booking in a yoga or fitness studio: every place is booked and paid for individually, several visits are sold in advance as a class pass, or members pay a fixed monthly fee. Drop-in booking suits open classes, workshops and teachers without their own studio. Class passes and memberships pay off once your income depends on regulars who come every week. Most studios combine two of the three.

How do the three models differ?

What income does each model bring?

Worked example with assumed prices: a single class costs € 18, a ten-class pass € 150, a membership € 79 a month. With the pass, a class costs € 15. A member who comes six times a month pays € 13.17 per class. With only three visits it is € 26.33. For you this means: 40 members bring in € 3,160 a month whatever the weather. The same 40 people as drop-ins with four visits each bring € 2,880, and in a holiday month with two visits each only € 1,440.

So a membership smooths your income. In return you carry the risk that very active members take more places than their fee covers. Many studios therefore limit visits per week or require a booking for each class, even from members.

With a class pass you receive the money before you deliver. In your books and in law you still owe the classes. Do not count visits that were sold but not yet redeemed as certain profit.

What are the legal points?

The following points outline the position, first for Austria, then for Germany. They are not legal advice.

• Single class booked online: for leisure services with a specific date there is no 14-day right of withdrawal, in Austria under § 18 (1) no. 10 FAGG, in Germany under § 312g (2) no. 9 BGB. The exemption requires a date or period fixed in the contract. For a class pass or membership without a fixed date you should therefore have someone check whether the right of withdrawal exists and how you inform people about it.
• Validity of a class pass in Austria: the chamber of commerce (WKO) states for paid vouchers that they are valid for 30 years without a time limit and that too short a limit in standard terms is void. For value vouchers it names three years or less as inadmissible, following Supreme Court case law. The page does not say whether this applies in the same way to class passes. If you want a short validity, have it checked and offer an extension or refund.
• Membership in Austria: § 15 KSchG gives consumers a right to terminate certain contracts for recurring services at the end of the first year and every six months after that. Whether your studio contract falls under it and what commitment is permissible depends on the contract. Have the commitment period and notice period checked.
• Membership in Germany: under § 309 no. 9 BGB the initial term for consumers may be two years at most. Tacit renewal is only permitted if it is for an indefinite period and the member can then terminate at any time with at most one month's notice. The notice period before the end of the initial term may be one month at most.
• Membership concluded online in Germany: § 312k BGB requires an easily accessible cancellation button on the website.

What does a booking system have to handle?

• For drop-in booking: classes with a maximum number of participants, a weekly schedule with exceptions, online payment, an attendee list, cancellation through a link.
• For class passes: a credit balance per person that goes down with each booking and comes back on timely cancellation, plus validity and extension.
• For memberships: recurring billing, pausing, termination, follow-up on failed payments and a rule for how many classes a member may book.
• For all three: a waiting list for full classes, a cancellation deadline and a message to all attendees when a class is cancelled.

Which model suits you?

1. You teach alone, in rented rooms or outdoors: drop-in booking with prepayment. Little admin, no contract.
2. You run workshops, training courses or retreats: individual booking with prepayment or a deposit and a clear cancellation deadline.
3. You run a studio with a fixed timetable and regulars: membership at the core, plus class pass and single class for those who come less often.
4. You are unsure: start with drop-in bookings and watch for three months how often the same people return. Only then is the admin of a pass or membership worth it.

How this works in EachVisit

Today EachVisit handles only the first model. You set up classes with a number of places on a weekly schedule, with exceptions for public holidays and breaks. Guests book their place online and pay straight away if you wish. You have an attendee list with check-in and can message all attendees of a class at once. Rooms and teachers are scheduled, and one-to-one sessions with a choice of teacher work too.

In EachVisit attendees book and pay for each class place individually. That fits open classes, workshops, retreats and individual teachers. Class passes are in development. The regular Solo and Klein plans cost € 19 and € 69 a month respectively, both with unlimited team members. EachVisit takes 0 % commission, and Stripe's fees apply to online payments. Closed beta pricing is available on request. Regular plan prices are shown for reference; any later paid use requires your active acceptance.