Customers want classes adapted to their schedule, not the other way round
Boutique indoor cycle studios have hit the UK market and are rapidly gaining market share. Meanwhile studios in mid-market facilities sit dormant for up to 80 per cent of opening hours, missing out on valuable revenue. Protect yourself against the rapid growth of boutique cycle studios by providing your members with the best possible cycle experience. Here are five steps to making it happen.
1 Set up an inspiring studio It is imperative you set up a studio that members want to be in. Create a space that inspires people to push hard and enjoy their overall workout experience. This includes everything from the layout and quality of the bikes to the studio décor.
Great interior décor and lighting work together to create the overall studio experience. Carpets, colours, wall graphics, marketing materials, patterns and shapes can all be used to create a great sense of energy and movement.
Creating amazing workout experiences relies on a quality sound system capable of pumping high volume. There’s one design factor that is non-negotiable – all participants must have a clear and unobstructed view of the class instructor.
2 Offer better cycling classes more often The fastest, most simple way to increase weekly attendance is to give people more of what they want. Customers want immediate satisfaction and they want your schedule to adapt to theirs, not the opposite.
Research shows “convenient schedule times” are a major driver of group fitness attendance globally, and one of the primary reasons for the success of boutique gyms. Offering a mix of live classes and virtual classes enables the number of classes on offer to grow considerably each week.
3 Get rock star instructors Instructors are the face of your business. It’s important you build a rock star team – and keep them. Ideal instructors are: * People who have involvement or experience in the entertainment industry * Credible physical role models and passionate about sport * Naturally able to interact and connect with a large variety of people * Naturally able to catch and hold people’s attention * Passionate about inspiring your members and developing social bonds * Totally committed to ongoing training and up-skilling * Able to represent your club culture and willing to help grow your club.
4 Provide customers with an online booking system Boutique cycling studios offer a booking process that is driven by technology. These days customers want ‘no barrier’ experiences. They want to be able to pay, book and select seats without any hassle.
5 Add performance tracking Adding a performance tracking element so that people can compete (either with each other or with their own historic performance) is a highly attractive proposition, specifically with the millennial market. This should allow your members to compete by measuring and displaying key metrics, and record and track their personal performance over time.
Join the discussion on these insights and more at our free Les Mills Insight Series Seminar, Indoor Cycling: The Missed Opportunity.
Active Blackpool is deploying Cornerstone Connect, a new digital interface allowing
disparate information from multiple systems to be aggregated into one dataset, to support
its focus on reducing health inequalities and improving healthy life expectancy. [more...]
Panatta brought together four of the most influential figures in bodybuilding history on the
stage of RiminiWellness 2026: Phil Heath, Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman and Hany Rambod. [more...]
Customers want classes adapted to their schedule, not the other way round
Boutique indoor cycle studios have hit the UK market and are rapidly gaining market share. Meanwhile studios in mid-market facilities sit dormant for up to 80 per cent of opening hours, missing out on valuable revenue. Protect yourself against the rapid growth of boutique cycle studios by providing your members with the best possible cycle experience. Here are five steps to making it happen.
1 Set up an inspiring studio It is imperative you set up a studio that members want to be in. Create a space that inspires people to push hard and enjoy their overall workout experience. This includes everything from the layout and quality of the bikes to the studio décor.
Great interior décor and lighting work together to create the overall studio experience. Carpets, colours, wall graphics, marketing materials, patterns and shapes can all be used to create a great sense of energy and movement.
Creating amazing workout experiences relies on a quality sound system capable of pumping high volume. There’s one design factor that is non-negotiable – all participants must have a clear and unobstructed view of the class instructor.
2 Offer better cycling classes more often The fastest, most simple way to increase weekly attendance is to give people more of what they want. Customers want immediate satisfaction and they want your schedule to adapt to theirs, not the opposite.
Research shows “convenient schedule times” are a major driver of group fitness attendance globally, and one of the primary reasons for the success of boutique gyms. Offering a mix of live classes and virtual classes enables the number of classes on offer to grow considerably each week.
3 Get rock star instructors Instructors are the face of your business. It’s important you build a rock star team – and keep them. Ideal instructors are: * People who have involvement or experience in the entertainment industry * Credible physical role models and passionate about sport * Naturally able to interact and connect with a large variety of people * Naturally able to catch and hold people’s attention * Passionate about inspiring your members and developing social bonds * Totally committed to ongoing training and up-skilling * Able to represent your club culture and willing to help grow your club.
4 Provide customers with an online booking system Boutique cycling studios offer a booking process that is driven by technology. These days customers want ‘no barrier’ experiences. They want to be able to pay, book and select seats without any hassle.
5 Add performance tracking Adding a performance tracking element so that people can compete (either with each other or with their own historic performance) is a highly attractive proposition, specifically with the millennial market. This should allow your members to compete by measuring and displaying key metrics, and record and track their personal performance over time.
Join the discussion on these insights and more at our free Les Mills Insight Series Seminar, Indoor Cycling: The Missed Opportunity.
The UK's four Chief Medical Officers have published a refreshed edition of Physical activity
guidelines: UK Chief Medical Officers' report, updating the evidence that underpins the nation's
physical activity recommendations and placing greater emphasis on strength, balance, reducing
sedentary behaviour and, for the first time, supporting people taking weight loss medications.
Places Leisure has exchanged contracts to build and operate a flagship £60m water and leisure
destination on behalf of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
The Republic of Ireland will become the latest market in PureGym’s expanding international
portfolio, with the first launch planned for Dublin in 2027.
Anytime Fitness opened more than one club a day in 2025 and is on track to maintain this rate
of growth this year, as parent company Purpose Brands targets further international expansion.
The £33.9 million Leighton Leisure and Community Centre has opened in Leighton Buzzard, UK,
creating a next-generation public leisure, health and wellbeing hub for the local community.
Walnuts Leisure Centre in Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley, has reopened following
a £17m transformation designed to secure the long-term future of the public leisure asset and
reposition it as a community wellbeing hub.
The Gym Group, has announced that it's sustained positive trading momentum has continued
through the first half of 2026 and the company remains confident about the outlook.
Luxury boutique Pilates and wellness studio, X-Club, officially launches a
4,000sq ft flagship at
Marylebone on 16 July Built around X-Club’s four pillars of wellness – mind,
movement,
nutrition and therapy – the facility features two group exercise studi
Active Blackpool is deploying Cornerstone Connect, a new digital interface allowing
disparate information from multiple systems to be aggregated into one dataset, to support
its focus on reducing health inequalities and improving healthy life expectancy. [more...]
Panatta brought together four of the most influential figures in bodybuilding history on the
stage of RiminiWellness 2026: Phil Heath, Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman and Hany Rambod. [more...]
