The curious incident of ClassPass in our wellness-obsessed times

A “parasitic company” destroying communities and the businesses trying to create them

We need to talk about ClassPass. A tech giant that appears to be doing serious damage to independent businesses working in the so-called wellness (urgh, I hate that word) space. It’s a thought that’s been knocking around my mind for a while since I’ve personally seen the impact the company’s growth has had on yoga classes I’ve taught this year.

You might be a longtime CP user or maybe you’ve not heard of it until now. Either way, given the app’s continued popularity more people - especially customers - could do with fully understanding what they’re getting themselves wrapped up in.

“If you want your yoga 'Amazon style' then go for ClassPass, but if you prefer local, independent, heart-felt studios then you should consider supporting the studio directly before they are all gone".

Owner of a yoga studio in north London

Alongside my own concerns the issue of ClassPass has popped up in conversations I’ve had with dozens of people I’ve met and worked with since my book, The Yoga Manifesto was published last year. I started seeing a trend emerge as everyone I was talking to - all owners of indie yoga and fitness studios - was telling me the same thing: that CP’s widespread use was making it a struggle for them to survive. There’s a story here I thought.

ClassPass is a monthly membership platform that gives its users access to studios, gyms, salons and spas in thousands of cities around the world. Studios, gyms and the rest sign up and ClassPass takes a cut from each booking made by its members through the app.

When a business joins ClassPass it’s likely to pull more people in. That’s why they do it, even if it means losing money. Big brands with larger cashflows are in a better position to take a profit-losing hit but for independents, ClassPass is a bumpier ride. The flip side of opting out - which many feel isn’t an option - means that if they don’t offer spaces via ClassPass they might end up with empty classes. It’s a tricky situation.

I’ve seen how tricky it can be first-hand. Yoga at the ARC, is a studio I’ve been teaching at since January. Cash earned from yoga classes supports a busy food bank which is open on the night my class is on. The ARC also runs five community garden spaces through revenue it generates. The centre exists as a much-needed resource for its community and it would be a massive loss if it were ever forced to close.

The ARC centre’s directors do their best to pay teachers well and to foster a feeling of community among them. They do use ClassPass but I suspect its because visitor numbers would dwindle if they didn’t. I also know they’d be in a better position if customers paid them directly for classes to enable them to expand and do more of their work in the local area.

Elsewhere, I’ve been told that businesses can negotiate their rates with ClassPass, but also that “you’re dammed if you do and you’re damned if you don’t” (use CP) which is how the owner of an east London fitness studio put it to me. This studio earns on average between £3-£5 per ClassPass visit. The studio was on its knees earlier this year and close to shutting down until they were able to re-negotiate their ClassPass contract. The owner tells me they are still scraping by.

The east London fitness studio owner said:

“A lot of people also think that ClassPass is a just a booking platform and don’t know about the cost implications to small businesses. It would help if there was more visibility for customers to see what they’re spending on ClassPass versus what actually makes it to the studio.

“The reason the studios sell memberships is because everything we pay for goes out monthly. Paying for teachers, rent, music licences, insurances, cleaning has to be covered each month regardless of who walks in the door. That means high costs and a lower profits.

“Of course a tech company can make money this way because they don’t need to think about any of the other elements involved of delivering the service. ClassPass affords people the opportunity to drop in. People can’t be blamed for taking that opportunity, it’s just surprising that a lot of them don’t realise there’s a reason we our model requires a monthly commitment.”

It’s not just money that’s being lost due to the popularity of ClassPass but building a sense of community too, which is what many of us go to these places for. I first got a sense of this when I noticed more people coming to classes I was teaching through using it. I knew that this would have a knock on effect on the business which didn’t feel great but there wasn’t anything I could do about that. If the studio I worked at got rid of ClassPass entirely they might not have enough people attending classes meaning they wouldn’t be able to pay my and other teachers’ wages.

I went through a temporary lull that had me questioning whether I could enjoy teaching as much as over time you find that ClassPassers don’t always come back (despite telling you they loved your class). This can kill the vibe or at least makes it hard to foster a doing-it-together feeling of community which is ultimately the thing I love most about the job. Building relationships is at the heart of teaching for me and it can sometimes feel like a transactional conveyor belt when you don’t have at least a few regulars. The manager of a yoga studio in north London told me that they tried to leave ClassPass twice to deal with this sort of thing but received complaints and were forced to reintroduce it.

The north London studio manager said:

“Students need to understand what they are really paying for. Using Class Pass feels affordable now but its ultimately going to lead to more expensive classes in fewer venues, which will all be large chain because all small independent studios cannot exist on such payments per head.

“Students are more keen to use ClassPass than leave them at the moment. It might be a cost of living saving as it can be very cheap. We have had some success when teachers explain that supporting the studio directly is better but that’s only been with a few clients. Many simply didn’t visit us when we switched Class Pass off.”

For CP users, a class might be a filler on their way home from work, a fun activity to try out as a one-off, or simply an opportunity to bag a freebie as part of the ClassPass intro offer. A free trial is ClassPasses secret to reeling people in.

The trouble with this as the east London studio owner told me, is that people will sign up for a 14-day free trial, cancel their membership and then sign up for free again using a different email address. Studios don’t make any money from free spots. If ClassPass doesn’t get paid, the studio doesn’t either.

“ClassPass doesn’t try hard enough to prevent people creating multiple accounts. We get people coming in regularly who I know I’ve seen before which is frustrating. When a person comes in through ClassPass I have no idea if it’s going to be free or paid and as a business you can’t opt out of delivering for free.

”In the first quarter of the year we delivered nearly 350 free spaces to ClassPass. That has an enormous impact on a small business. We can’t afford not to use it because every other studio nearby does. If other local studios weren’t on there we’d probably all gain in revenue but that would mean a mass exodus that none of us can afford to do.”

Owner of a fitness studio in east London

A monthly membership to classPass starts at £15 a month (which I’m guessing would cover one class) to £159 a month which seems crackers and I’d want some proper perks if I was paying that much. But then I’m a loyalist. Always have been. I like going to the same place, I enjoy getting to know staff and teachers, seeing regulars and feeling at home in a familiar space. The buzz of novelty wears off for me pretty quick before I’m hankering to return to somewhere I know. 

This is partly what I can’t get my head around. I understand the convenience of being able to choose from hundreds of venues to get your class fix, but in cities where living alone is common for so many of us it surprises me that there isn’t a bigger appetite for direct memberships. Much as I seek a lot of alone time, without spaces where I can see familiar friendly-faces I’m stuffed. That goes for classes I teach as well as those I attend. Does no one else feel this way?

Rebecca Hopwood, co-owner of YogaPoint Brixton in south London does. She and her partner, Vaccasin have never introduced ClassPass at their studio and don’t intend to. Rebecca describes the platform as an “Emperor has no clothes situation”.

Rebecca said:

“ClassPass is a parasitic company. They sell other people’s classes below true value to make themselves a profit. I cannot see any benefit to what they provide. Yoga studios and yoga teachers are undermined by ClassPass and so is yoga itself. Within ClassPass, yoga is merely a commodity to acquire at the cheapest price.

“It would be really good if all the studios in London stopped working with them and stuck to direct bookings. Then people could connect with their local studio/gym or the one near their work etc. This could lead to more community building. People often tell me X studio owner is only using ClassPass because they have to, to keep their business going. But if no one used them, no one would need to.”

Incidentally, ClassPass refreshed its brand in 2018 with a new circuit logo to represent connection. There’s clearly a fault in the system.

It’s hard to tell how things will go for yoga and fitness spaces in future. It’s worth noting that ClassPass was bought by MindBody, another tech heavyweight that’s dominated as the booking platform du jour for most studios for many years. I know some who have left and switched to other options - Momence seems to be a popular choice in London. I assume that’s down to it being a more cost-effective option for businesses. There’s no denying that MindBody is still the biggest player.

It’s clear that these companies aren’t going away any time soon. And that’s not my motivation. I have no issue with global companies making money if everyone involved gets a fair share of the pie. It’s when smaller businesses and individuals feel quashed that the situation turns into something I don’t want to be part of. If ClassPass changed how they worked to make smaller businesses lives easier, I’d happily get behind it. The world’s a nicer place to be when everyone’s winning.

However you might feel when it comes to ClassPass it’s important to think about the reasons you might use it and the impact its clearly having. Much in the same way we worry ourselves about single-use plastic, fast fashion and fair trade coffee. And of course bookshops; we’ve gotta keep supporting the bookshops.

A national ClassPass boycott in a David v Goliath chuck-a-hand-grenade-at-it and see what happens is what I’d like to see. That might sound impossible but it’s always where I end up because I get antsy in the face of hard workers being ripped off. I can’t make do and be done with it. Gloomy situations require immediate action and there’s always a way to push back. It’s worth a shot anyway.

Nothing changes unless we change things; and changing things starts with each of us. The world can be a maddening place; we need each other. History shows us that movements do work and people can win. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, when enough people take small actions together it can generate a collective power that can create change. If customers stopped using ClassPass and switched to paying studios directly, businesses might feel safer to drop using it and thrive. As a customer you’d get what you pay for and more (friends to practice or train with) and the studios would have an easier time running the businesses they love.

Endnote: I’ve written about ClassPasses use in London where I live but the stories here are reflected in places beyond. You can read more about the perils of ClassPass which were written about in Vice in 2020 here and here. Those pieces are over three years old and there’s still clearly a problem so I wanted to share fresh stories of people I’ve met closer to home.

Also, ClassPass published The Gamechangers Report (which doesn’t appear to have a date) featuring global case studies from businesses extolling its virtues. Worth remembering if you flick though that it only tells one side of the story.

BTW, I emailed ClassPass requesting a comment for this piece (cos that’s how proper journalism is done). They didn’t respond.