A class schedule is your product shelf. A good class at a time nobody can make sells nothing, and a full 7 PM class with a waitlist every night is a second class waiting to be added.
This guide covers how to build a first timetable, how to tell which classes work, and how to change it without upsetting the regulars who plan their week around you.
Start from what you can staff
Before you place a single class, write down your limits. They decide how many classes a week you can run, not your wish list.
- Rooms and equipment: how many classes can run at once, and how many spots each holds, such as eight reformers or twenty mats.
- Instructors: who teaches what, which days, and how many classes each can teach well in a day.
- Reset time: the minutes between classes to clean equipment, open windows, and let one group out before the next comes in.
Place classes where clients can come
Most clients fit a class around work or school. Think about who you want in the room, then when that person is free.
| Slot | Who it usually suits |
|---|---|
| Early weekday morning | Office workers before a commute, especially near business districts like Makati, BGC, or Ortigas |
| Weekday lunch | People who work nearby and can take an hour |
| Weekday evening | Most working clients; often your busiest hours |
| Mid-morning weekday | Parents, retirees, people who work shifts or from home |
| Weekend morning | Almost everyone, including people who can't come on weekdays |
Your own area changes this. A studio in a residential part of Quezon City and one inside a Cebu IT park will fill different hours. Ask your first clients when they would come, and start there.
Give each class a clear level
A beginner who walks into an advanced class has a bad hour and may not come back. Label each class with who it is for, and make sure a new client always has an option within their first week.
- Beginner or foundations classes at times new clients can make, such as weekday evenings and weekend mornings.
- All levels classes where you need to fill a slot from a broad group.
- Advanced classes for regulars, often at the times they already come.
Publish weeks ahead and keep it steady
Regulars build habits around your schedule. Publish it at least a few weeks ahead so clients can book their week, and change times only on a set date with notice, not week to week.
Decide when online booking closes before each class. A cutoff of a few minutes lets late bookers in; a longer one gives the instructor a final count. See how to fill classes with waitlists and first-timer offers.
Read the numbers after a few weeks
Give a new class time to find its people, usually four to six weeks, then look at two things for each slot: how full it runs, and whether the same people keep coming.
- Full with a waitlist: add a class at the same time in another room, or the slot beside it.
- Steady and healthy: leave it alone. Regulars value the same class at the same time.
- Always thin: move it, change the level, or pair it with an offer for first-timers before you cut it.
Set your own floor for a class, the number below which it costs more to run than it brings in, using your instructor's pay and your room cost. For the arithmetic, see how to price class packs and memberships.
Change the schedule without losing regulars
- Tell the regulars of the class in person or by message first, with the new time.
- Run the old and new times side by side for a week or two where you can.
- Cancel the old class only after its bookings have moved, and give back what clients used to book it.
In Onsuki, add a class once or every week on chosen days with its room, teacher, and spots, and Onsuki skips any time the room or teacher is already busy. Levels show on your booking site, online booking can close minutes before each class, and a full class takes a waitlist. The Classes report shows attendance and fill rate, and Busiest Times shows bookings by day and hour. Canceling a class gives everyone back what they used and emails them. See Classes and Pilates studios.
