Bringing in other trainers and classes…
I am in the process of opening a studio in my area. I already have several clients on my roster that are coming over, but I’m thinking about allowing other trainers in with their clients also. Rather than charge them a per month fee for use of the facility I was thinking about a per session rate. Does anyone have a suggestion to the percentage or flat fee to charge? How about a fee to pay or charge someone looking to teach a class? I know a lot of this depends on what that trainer will charge and what they are willing to pay, but I’m just looking for averages.
It is going to depend on the going rate in your area. You might want to look on some of the fitness job sites and local ads and see if you can get a sense of what people with small facilities are charging to rent their space. An hourly rate is good, as it makes it fairer, and makes you more desirable to someone who would just want to train one or two people.
You say ‘class’, are you thinking of offering the facility for a group class, as well as personal training? Then it is going to depend on the size of the room, and how many people max can fit, as well as local going rate for classes. In one model you would make a deal to take half of the proceeds. For example, in my area if someone has enough space to fit 20 people for a yoga class (this is what I know best, but the principle is similar for other types of classes), and the going rate in this market is 15$ for drop in, though a lot of people will buy multiple classes, which might bring it down to 10ish, and of course if you do groupon it becomes more like a ‘loss leader’, and you might get 3$ish. If you were simply going to rent it out you would need to charge less than the absolute maximum half you would get for a full class, otherwise it makes no sense for someone to rent.
Depending on your set up, the size of the space, whether you have a room with a door and so on, you might also be able to rent to bodywork professionals…. massaage, reiki, and so on. Again you need to look at what local facilities charge and figure a percentage of that.
The good thing about diversifying is that you can maxamize the use of your space.