How to manage multiple fitness studio locations

Opening a second studio or gym is exciting, and it is also where many owners lose their evenings to admin. Two timetables, two front desks, two sets of numbers, and members asking whether their pack works at the new place. The trick is to make a handful of decisions once, write them down, and set your system up to follow them.

When are you ready to open another location?

You are usually ready when your first location runs well without you in the room. Check these signs in your own numbers before you sign a lease:

• Peak classes are full most weeks and often have a waitlist.
• Your first branch makes a steady profit after paying yourself.
• You have a manager or senior instructor who can run day-to-day operations.
• Your opening, closing, sales and cancellation routines are written down, not in your head.
• You know your monthly churn and fill rate, so you can tell whether the new branch is doing well.

Use your member records to choose the location. Look at where your current members live and work, which areas they travel from, and which time slots fill first. If a large group already travels across town to reach you, that area may be a good place for branch two, but also expect some of them to move from your first branch to the new one. Plan for that when you forecast how many new members the second location needs.

How should you price memberships across branches?

Keep prices the same everywhere unless a branch has clearly different costs or a different market. One price list is easier for members to understand and for staff to sell. Charge differently when rent, room size or the local market really differs, for example a city-centre studio in Kuala Lumpur and a suburban one in Penang.

If you do price per branch, keep the structure identical and only change the numbers. Here is an example:

Example prices only, to show the structure. Set your own from your costs and local market. Our gym membership pricing guide and guide to pricing class packs and memberships walk through how.

Should memberships work at every branch?

Most multi-location studios offer both: a cheaper home-branch membership and a pricier all-access one. That gives members a choice and protects your busiest branch from overflow.

Decide early how revenue is counted when a member from Branch A trains at Branch B. Common choices are to credit the sale to the branch where it was sold, or to split it by where the member actually attended. Pick one, use it for every report, and make sure it matches how you pay instructors and branch managers.

Class packs need the same decision. If prices differ between branches, a credit bought at the cheaper branch is worth less than a class at the dearer one. You can keep packs branch-only, sell a separate all-access pack at a higher price, or let any pack work anywhere and accept the difference as a perk. All three work. What causes trouble is deciding case by case at the front desk.

How do you roster staff across locations?

Plan rosters for all branches at the same time, from one shared pool of instructors. When each branch builds its own roster, you end up with gaps at one and double cover at another.

• Allow travel time. Do not schedule an instructor across town with 30 minutes between classes, especially at peak hour in the Klang Valley.
• Keep one cover list. Every instructor qualified for a format should be on the same cover list, whichever branch they usually teach at.
• Use the same pay rules. Pay per class, per head or revenue share the same way at every branch, or explain clearly why not. See how to pay fitness instructors.
• Name a lead at each branch. One person who opens, closes and handles member issues, so you are not the only escalation point.

Which numbers should you track for each branch?

Track the same handful of numbers for every branch, every month, and look at them side by side.

Look at the totals too, but be careful with them. A strong branch can hide a struggling one for months. Our guides on membership retention and class no-shows show how to calculate churn and no-show rates.

How do you keep the experience consistent?

Members expect the same studio at every address. Consistency comes from written standards, not from you visiting every day.

• Write a short operations manual: opening and closing checks, cleaning, how to welcome a first-timer, how to handle a complaint.
• Keep class formats the same. A "Reformer Level 2" class should mean the same thing at every branch.
• Use one set of booking, cancellation and waitlist rules for every location.
• Send member messages from one account, with the same tone and branding.
• Visit each branch unannounced now and then, and book a class as a member would.

What admin changes when you add a branch?

Each new premises usually needs its own approvals, so check early with the local council (PBT) for the area about business premises and signage licences, and update your business registration details where required. Decide whether each branch has its own bank account for payouts, and set up separate cost centres in your accounts so the per-branch reports above are possible.

What should multi-location software do?

Look for one member record across all branches, memberships you can set as shared or branch-only, rosters across locations, and reports you can filter by branch or view in total. Fitnow runs multiple branches from one dashboard, with instructor payroll and rosters built in, and Enterprise plans cover unlimited locations on custom pricing. See Fitnow gym software for the details.

Frequently asked questions