NYC Sparked It, Now LA Studios Are Mobilizing With Loyalty Month Against Fitness Booking Apps
The clash over third-party booking apps is spilling west as Los Angeles boutique brands urge Angelenos to support studios with direct bookings
Los Angeles boutique fitness studios are taking a page from New York and launching “Boutique Fitness Loyalty Month,” a citywide campaign to steer clients away from third-party apps and back toward direct booking with splashy activations and brand partnerships.
The initiative builds on New York’s Gym Loyalty Month, which rolled out in August and asked fitness consumers to support local gyms and studios by skipping apps such as ClassPass.
Critics say third-party booking apps have created an unsustainable model for independent gyms. In New York, Tone House’s James McMillian told Athletech News that a $35 class could drop to just $10 or $12 on a third-party platform, eroding the value of trainers’ work and giving apps control over pricing, citing those numbers as ballpark examples. In Los Angeles, organizers point to cases where studios sometimes receive $0 for bookings, even when members pay, and where no-show fees go entirely to the platform.
By contrast, direct memberships ensure that 100% of the cost goes back to the studio and its trainers. As Ruben Belliard of The Training Lab put it during New York’s campaign, “Loyalty isn’t charity; it’s survival.”
On the West Coast, Rachel Hirsch, founder of Empowered Yoga, host of The 2% Club podcast and one of the LA initiative’s organizers, echoed that sentiment.
“As third-party platforms evolved, they’ve taken more and more from studios — while many of us are left with less and less,” said Hirsch, who’s also the founder of VC firm Wellness Growth Ventures. “This month isn’t about fighting tech; in fact, it’s not about them at all. It’s about the LA Wellness community. It’s about building and supporting the LA Wellness Community. It’s about the community coming together to support each other — from the students, to the studios, to the teachers.”
For its part, ClassPass leaders argue the platform helps studios, not hurts them, by filling empty class spots with paying customers they wouldn’t have reached on their own and that its goal is to drive “incremental revenue,” pointing to data showing that the average Mindbody business sees a 29% revenue lift after six months on ClassPass.
Some operators back that up. Solidcore’s vice president of strategy, Gillian Almeida, called ClassPass “an invaluable partner” for optimizing off-peak revenue, while Chicago’s Bolt Fitness founder, Steph Rountree, said the exposure has helped her young studio attract new clients.
While the debate over third-party apps continues, participating LA studios, including Empowered Yoga, One Down Dog, Pilatesmith and Pilates Boutique will offer perks for booking directly, host community events and stage “Studio Triathlons” across neighborhoods, featuring multi-stop workouts that blend Pilates, HIIT, yoga and meditation.
“Every time you book direct, you’re not just reserving a spot in class,” Hirsch said. “You’re casting a vote for your studio to stay open, for your teachers to keep teaching and for your community to grow stronger.”
Organizers say the request is simple: if you’re a client, skip the apps this September and book directly; if you’re a studio, commit to steering members the same way. Whether Los Angeles residents answer that call will determine if Boutique Fitness Loyalty Month is just a moment or the start of a movement.