Guide 7 of 10 to opening a gym · Set up
Founding member pricing for a new gym
Prices at a gym that is about to open come in three layers. The standard price is the real one, worked out from your costs. The founding price is a discount for the first members, with a fixed number of spots, an end date and a written rule for what happens next. The presale price is what people pay before the doors open. A founding member is someone who joins before opening, or in the first weeks, on terms nobody gets again. This guide shows how to set each layer and which plans to launch with. There is also a ready-made text to announce the offer.
Start with the standard price
You can only size a founding discount once you know the normal price. And the normal price comes from your numbers: the cost of an hour of class, the spots it has, the occupancy you expect, and the classes each member takes a month.
The full membership price calculation, with its four numbers, is in another article. How much to charge for a membership
Looking at nearby gyms tells you what the market accepts. It does not tell you whether your numbers work, because their rent, room and occupancy are different.
Four plans to open with
On day one, fewer plans is better. Every plan is a question at the desk, a rule to explain and one more line in payments. Four cover almost every audience:
| Plan | Who it is for | The rule that must be written down |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited | People training four or more times a week | How many bookings they can hold at once |
| Two or three times a week | Regular members who do not train daily | Whether unused classes carry over |
| Class pack | People with irregular schedules | How long the pack lasts, and what happens to unused classes |
| Drop-in | Visitors and people trying it out | Whether it counts towards a plan if they stay |
A trial class is something else: a way in, free or at a token price. It works best at a set day and time, in a class designed for newcomers, not in a regular class halfway through a hard workout.
Unlimited needs a limit
An unlimited plan with no booking rule lets one person book every 19:00 class of the week and decide later. Cap future bookings, for example at two or three at a time, and set a cancellation window. The plan stays unlimited in classes, but not in spots held.
The annual plan
An annual plan paid up front gives you cash when you need it most, in the first months. The discount pays for that predictability. Write the terms carefully: what happens after a long injury, a move to another city, or a temporary closure.
An example opening grid
| Plan | Standard | Founding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited | 80 | 65 | Up to three future bookings |
| Twice a week | 60 | 50 | Unused classes do not roll over |
| 10-class pack | 100 | No discount | Valid for three months |
| Drop-in | 15 | No discount | Credited against the first month if they join |
The founding price
A founding price is a discount in exchange for risk. Founders pay before they see the gym working. You get revenue and a community on day one. To be fair and sustainable, decide four things before announcing it:
- 1.How many spots. A fixed number you can show counting down.
- 2.Until when people can buy. A date that does not move.
- 3.How long the price lasts. For as long as they stay a member, or a fixed term such as one year.
- 4.What loses the price. Cancelling and rejoining, a long pause, a plan change.
| Model | For | Against |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed price for as long as they stay | Easy to sell and explain, and it keeps early members | A permanent discount that grows with every standard price rise |
| Price for a term, then standard | Known, limited cost of the discount | You must notify each founder before the change |
| Free months or a discounted first month | Simple, with no long-term commitment | Less reason to join before opening |
What the discount costs
A founding discount is a launch cost, and it helps to see it as one. Multiply the gap to the standard price by the number of founders and by the months the price lasts.
7,200
Compare that figure with what it would cost to find the same 40 members after opening. If the sum does not make sense, lower the discount or shorten the term.
The presale price
A presale means paying before opening. It might be the first month, three months up front, or an opening bundle. The payment is recorded with a start date, which is opening day, and the paid period counts from there.
- Write down what happens if opening is delayed: the paid period starts when you open, and anyone who does not want to wait gets their money back.
- State in writing whether the payment is refundable, and on what terms.
- If you sell online, check consumer rules on cancelling distance contracts. In the EU, consumers generally have 14 days to withdraw from a service contract made at a distance.
- There are exceptions, such as some leisure services with a set date. Whether they apply to your plan is a question for a lawyer.
How to run the presale, from the interest list to the first payment, has its own guide.
Discounts that cost too much
- A discount with no end date. It becomes the price.
- A discount negotiated at the door. It cannot be explained to people paying the standard price.
- An unlimited founding plan with no booking limit. It fills the busiest hours.
- A discount that changes from person to person. The price starts depending on who asks.
- A promise that “the price never goes up” for everyone. Costs do.
A founding price has counted spots, an end date and a written rule. Without all three, it is just a discount.
How to announce prices
Check how your consumer law requires prices to be shown. In Portugal, for example, the price displayed must include taxes. On your gym's page, show the full price, what it includes, and the conditions that matter.
We open on [date]. Until then, there are [number] founding spots.
The [plan name] plan costs [standard price] a month. For founders, it costs [founding price] a month for [term / as long as they stay members].
Join by [deadline]. After that date, or once the spots are gone, the standard price applies.
The first month is paid now and starts on opening day. If opening is delayed, the month starts when we open. If you would rather not wait, we refund you.
Founding spots still available: [number].
When someone asks for a discount
In the first weeks, people will ask for discounts: for couples, for friends, for anyone coming from another gym. The easiest answer to keep is the same for everyone, and it fits in one message.
Hi [name], thanks for asking.
Our prices are the same for everyone, and they are all on this page: [link].
If you train twice a week, the [plan name] plan may suit you better than unlimited. Happy to help you choose.
If you decide to offer a couples or student discount, write the rule down, publish it and apply it to everyone who qualifies. A public discount is a plan. A private discount is an exception that spreads.
Moving to the standard price
If the founding price has a term, notify each person in advance, in writing, with the date and the new amount. A month is a reasonable minimum. The notice is also a good moment to offer an annual plan to anyone who wants to lock in a price for longer.
With Rummo
On Rummo's paid plans, you create memberships and class packs with a price, a validity period and booking rules. A Founder plan is a plan like any other, which you stop selling when the spots run out. Your gym's public page shows the prices.
A plan marked as renewing creates the next period and issues the charge on the day the previous one ends. For your launch event, paid tickets support member pricing and early-bird prices.
Memberships, packs and credits are set up once, and each balance adds up its entries. Plans, memberships and class packs
Frequently asked
- What is a founding member at a gym?
- Someone who joins before opening, or in the first weeks, on terms that are not repeated. Usually a lower price, with a fixed number of spots and a deadline to join.
- How big should the founding discount be?
- Big enough to reward the risk of paying before opening, and small enough for your numbers to work. Work out the total cost of the discount and compare it with the cost of finding the same members later.
- Should the founding price last forever?
- It can, for as long as the person stays a member, but then it is a permanent discount. The alternative is a fixed term, such as one year, with written notice before the standard price applies.
- How many plans should a new gym launch with?
- Four are enough: unlimited, two or three times a week, a class pack and a drop-in. An annual plan can be there from the start. Add the rest when people ask for them.
- Can I take payments before opening?
- Yes, as long as you state in writing when the paid period starts and what happens if opening is delayed. For online sales, check your local rules on cancelling distance contracts.
- Do I need a trial class at launch?
- It helps, if it runs at a set time in a class designed for newcomers. A trial dropped into a hard regular class shows the wrong side of the gym.
- How do I move founders to the standard price?
- With written notice, giving the date and the new amount, at least a month ahead. Use the notice to offer an annual plan to anyone who wants to fix their price for longer.
Sources
- Decreto-Lei n.º 24/2014 (Portugal), transposing Directive 2011/83/EU on distance contracts · Diário da República, 2014
Rummo team
Written by the people who build Rummo, management software for gyms, boxes and studios: classes, bookings, members and payments.
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