Fitness Studios Have A Capacity Problem. Ai Could Help Fix It.

Playlist is betting that smarter outreach, real-time booking support and personalized engagement can turn unused class inventory into incremental revenue.

For fitness and wellness businesses trying to determine where artificial intelligence can deliver tangible returns, Playlist said the place to start is all those empty class spots.

During the Athletech News Closing the Capacity Gap webinar, Playlist executives Shaina Resto and Aswath Krishnan discussed how AI can help operators generate more value from schedules they are already running.

Studios fill only 37% of their class capacity on average, according to data from Playlist, parent company of MindBody, ClassPass, Booker, Kite, and eGym. Those empty spots add up to a big opportunity.

“A 6 am Tuesday spot has no value, is $0 at 6:01,” Krishnan said. “So, if you don’t fill it, you lose it.”

Meanwhile, the cost of the instructor, facility and scheduled class is largely fixed whether eight people attend or 18. That makes improving utilization an attractive opportunity for operators looking to increase revenue.

The challenge is often not a lack of demand. The problem is reaching customers at the moment when they’re most motivated to book a class, which is typically at the last minute. This is a challenge for the front desk who might be working with other guests when incoming booking requests pop up. Additionally, many inquiries come in outside of business hours, prompting a delayed response.

Playlist’s AI Concierge is designed to step into those situations. The product is integrated with Mindbody so it can communicate through web chat and text, respond to unanswered calls and access current scheduling information to book clients instantaneously. Additionally, the system can escalate requests to the team, as necessary.

“You have full control as the operator on what you want handled by AI versus your staff having that personalized touch on,” Resto said.

In this way, Playlist isn’t positioning automation as a substitute for employees. Instead, the idea is to reduce repetitive administrative duties so staff members can devote greater attention to customers in the studio and situations requiring judgment or empathy.

“Every member feels more valued when the staff is focused on them instead of being on the phone or on their computer, and that’s what this enables,” Krishnan said.

Early results suggest those efficiencies can add up. Resto said single location studios actively using AI Concierge are saving roughly 25 staff hours each month at a single location, while the technology is handling approximately 90% of incoming inquiries.

AI can also support more sophisticated customer targeting. Playlist is applying the technology to recognize and tailor campaigns to customers with flagging engagement as well as highly engaged clients ripe for upsells.

Watch the full webinar to discover:

• Why filling unused class capacity can be one of the fastest paths to measurable AI ROI
• Where front-desk workflows most often break down — and what AI can realistically automate
• How AI Concierge turns missed calls and website questions into potential bookings
• How operators can customize tone, rules, escalation points and brand voice
• How multi-location operators can control permissions and maintain brand consistency while giving individual locations flexibility
• Playlist’s plans to bring AI Concierge to Booker, Kite and other platforms
• What the AI Concierge platform looks like and the basics for setting it up

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