FitReserve is a monthly subscription that allows its members to mix and match classes across a network of more than 1,000 top fitness studios and gyms in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, DC (with several additional markets launching soon). Members have access to studios’ entire class schedules and can save up to 50% of retail drop-in prices.
A Passionate Fitness Leader
Megan Smyth is Co-founder and CEO of FitReserve, a premium multi-studio fitness membership that provides access to over 200,000 monthly fitness classes. After earning her MBA at The Wharton School, she spent seven years working on Wall Street before leaving to pursue her passion for entrepreneurship and fitness and launched the first national fitness class aggregator and consumer booking platform.
Simplifying Access to Fitness Classes
FitReserve was created to offer a compelling, long-term solution for both consumers and studio owners, alike. It simplifies consumers’ active lives with one convenient, all-access membership that allows them to mix and match classes from a curated selection of the top studios at a more accessible price point. The company provides members variety and convenience while offering the flexibility to not be tied down to one studio, gym or workout modality. At the same time, it serves as a cost-effective marketing platform for studios to attract new customers and fill empty seats. The market is becoming increasingly competitive with 70% of classes going unfilled so FitReserve helps studios attract high-quality customers profitably and earn incremental revenue.
Customized Product for Better Approach
In 2012, Megan launched the first national fitness class aggregator and consumer booking platform that enabled customers to search for classes based on workout type, location, date and time and book them a-la-carte. While it was a great tool to search for classes and discover new studios, not as many people booked through the site. As such, the team pivoted to an all-access monthly subscription model with FitReserve. This shift removed the friction for the consumer having to pay a-la-carte each time he or she wanted to reserve a class. FitReserve also allows for access to classes at a more accessible price point to drive more bookings and incremental revenue to studios.
A Trusted Industry Provider
FitReserve benefits studios and gyms by helping them to:
- Attract High-Quality New Customers: FitReserve is a cost-effective digital marketing platform that allows studios to cross-market their classes with other fitness providers to reach a broader audience of consumers who may not have been aware of their studio.
- Earn Incremental Revenue: FitReserve helps to fill empty seats, thereby driving incremental revenue to studios.
Establishing Industry Collaboration to Mitigate Challenges
At the beginning, signing on the first customer is always the hardest part. Prior to the launch of the platform, Megan and the FitReserve team spent considerable time meeting with studio owners to truly understand their pain points and unfulfilled needs. By doing its due diligence, the company was able to create a product with their needs in mind from the outset, which made the sales process easier. Since the company didn’t have a live product yet, the most important factor was establishing the studio owners’ trust that the team would launch a product with seamless booking that maintained the integrity of their brands and would attract high-quality customers. Upon consumer launch, the credibility of its early partners combined with brand awareness through press and word-of-mouth resulted in many more studio partners joining the FitReserve platform soon thereafter.
Solutions That Drive Innovation
FitReserve’s platform is integrated with several key scheduling software providers which allows for seamless real-time class booking with no extra work for studio staff. Consumers can easily search for workouts by studio, location, date or time and book all of their classes in one convenient place via the company’s website or iOS app.
Looking Ahead
FitReserve expects continuous growth in the industry to be driven by the following key consumer trends:
- Increased prioritization and spending on healthy and active lifestyles, including a greater focus on investing in experiences versus material goods.
- Focus on the highest quality offerings and specialization – According to the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), between 2012 and 2015, membership at traditional gyms grew by 5%, while membership to boutique studios grew by 70%. FitReserve expects to see continued growth in the sector and demand for these more specialized offerings.
- Growth in consumer choice and demand for variety and flexibility - Consumers, particularly millennials, do not want to be tied down to one membership or pursue just one workout modality but rather want the option to choose from multiple studios and types of workouts and mix and match. With FitReserve, members can go to a barre studio on Monday, take a spin class on Tuesday, and then a boxing class on Wednesday, and never get bored.
- Emphasis on simplification and convenience - The substantial growth in the number of fitness offerings has driven greater demand for an aggregated solution and the ability to easily discover and book workouts in one place, where and when customers want - in the morning, after work, and every time in between.
Advice to Emerging Business Leaders
In her advice, Megan says, ‘Feedback Is Gold’; the more people communicate with their customers, the more they will guide them toward optimization. For example, FitReserve routinely requests and receives feedback from its customers through email, live chat, surveys, and phone calls, and, through these channels, the company gains invaluable insights to deliver the best product to meet their needs. Although it is critical to be ever-evolving, it is simultaneously essential to deliver a consistent, unparalleled experience to gain customer trust and loyalty.