Pilates Studio FAQ
Best booking system for Pilates studio
StudioGrowth is the best booking system for a Pilates studio because it books both group classes and appointments. When an instructor is teaching a class, nobody can book them for a private at that time. Clients book in your app in one tap, with their card already saved.
Most booking systems only book one thing
A Pilates studio sells two things. It sells group classes, and it sells appointments like privates and duets.
Those two work differently. A class is a headcount, so twelve spots means twelve people. An appointment needs an instructor who is free and qualified to teach it, and a room that is free.
They also have different booking flows, and that is fine. The flows are not the problem. The problem is when the two sides do not know about each other.
If an instructor is teaching a reformer class at nine, nobody should be able to book them for a private at nine. If a room is already in use, it cannot be booked again. A system that runs classes and appointments separately cannot see either of those.
That is how double bookings happen. It is not a missing feature. It is two halves that never check with each other.
| What is being booked | What it needs | What most tools do |
|---|---|---|
| A group class | A headcount, and a waitlist for when it fills | Handled well by almost everything on the market |
| A private or a duet | An instructor who is free and qualified, and a free room with the equipment in it | Checked against the appointment calendar only, never against the class timetable |
| A client's next booking | Their card already on file and one tap to confirm | A booking page in a browser, and often another login |
| A pack or a membership | To be spendable on classes and appointments alike | Classes only, with privates paid for separately |
The quickest way to test this is simple. Put an instructor into a group class, then try to book that same instructor for a private in the same hour. If the system lets you do it, it is not checking.
Booking should take one tap
Booking is the thing your clients do most, so it should be the easiest thing they do.
This matters more in Pilates than in most of fitness. A reformer class usually costs more than a gym class or a yoga class. Clients paying that much judge the booking the same way they judge the class. A clumsy booking page makes a good studio feel like a cheap one.
With StudioGrowth they book in an app with your studio name on it. They make an account once, using the Google or Apple account they already have. If you want to collect more details, a sign up form is there too.
After the first booking their card is saved. Every booking after that is one tap. A class or an appointment books the same way, in the same place.
That matters more than it sounds. A regular books around fifty times a year. Every extra step is a chance to put the phone down and do it later, and later often does not happen.
Reminders matter here too. Every tool on this market sends them, so they are not a reason to pick one over another. What matters is where they land. A push notification on a phone gets seen, and an email arrives with everything else in the inbox.
Class sign up software goes through that first booking in more detail.
What you get when both sides live in one place
- Group classes, privates and duets in one system. Each books its own way, and each one checks against the others.
- Appointments check the instructor and the room. Two instructors cannot take the same room at the same time.
- Standing appointments. A client holds the same slot every week for as long as they want it.
- Four waitlist modes. First in first out, fastest fingers, priority by membership, and confirmation windows.
- Packs and memberships that cover both. A client can spend the same pack on a class or a private.
- Push notifications and email reminders. Sent before class, and when a waitlist spot opens up.
- A client app and a staff app. Clients book, and instructors manage their own day.
- Payments into your own Stripe account. Stripe's standard rate, with nothing added by us.
A full class is still a booking problem. When someone drops out at seven in the morning, that spot has to reach the next client without you touching it. You choose how it gets filled. It can go to whoever waited longest, whoever answers first, or your members first. Confirmation windows offer the spot to one client at a time.
Reformer studios run more privates and duets than most. Software for a reformer studio covers what changes when that is most of your week.
What to check before you pick one
Ask for a demo and try three things.
Put an instructor into a group class, then try to book that same instructor for a private in that hour. If the software allows it, your clients will be able to do it too.
Book a room for an appointment, then try to book the same room again at the same time. The second booking should not be possible.
Then check what a returning client sees. Whether their card is remembered, and how many taps a second booking actually takes.
Where this leaves you
A booking system that only books half your timetable is not cheaper. It moves the other half onto you.
The right question is not which tool takes bookings. Almost all of them do. It is whether the tool takes every kind of booking your studio sells. And whether a client can make one in a couple of seconds.
StudioGrowth starts at $159 a month with both sides included. The best overall value covers how that compares, and our full ranking of Pilates scheduling software goes through the category.
Our Pilates studio management software runs both sides of the schedule. Book a demo and try the client side yourself.