Inside the Low-Labor Model Powering SweatHouz’s Expansion

The contrast therapy studio’s success illustrates why less is more when it comes to staffing in the fitness and wellness industry 

If you step into a fitness or wellness studio, you’ll quickly realize an abundance of hands are required to keep everything moving. Coaches or instructors are leading experiences. Someone’s at the front desk frantically checking in members while other staffers run around re-racking weights or ensuring everyone’s moving safely. 

As the business grows, the required investment in personnel scales as well. Plus, staff turnover is often disruptive to operations, programming and even membership.

“Labor and staff churn continue to be the single biggest operational tax on traditional fitness and wellness,” said Nico Varano, CEO of SweatHouz (SWTHZ). “Traditional boutique fitness has it even worse than concepts like SweatHouz, as boutique models that have been built around instructor-led classes are basically in the talent management business. When a rockstar instructor decides to part ways, if they have a cult-like following that outweighs that of the brand, you will see a mass exodus of clients.”

However, SweatHouz, the contrast therapy studio franchise, features a private suite setup, which is a kind of cheat code for issues like this. The user-led experience offers a unique business opportunity that leverages the advantages of the wellness boom without the extensive staff costs.

Benefits of a SweatHouz Suite

As a completely self-guided wellness concept, there’s no staff in the suites, because there’s no need. Members can plunge, sauna and shower in their own secure area with the freedom to change temperatures from inside the chamber. 

“Our suites are our experiences,” Varano said. “Clients spend approximately 45 minutes in the infrared sauna, 3-5 minutes in the cold plunge, with the remaining time being used to utilize the Vitamin-C shower. Our clients spend a full hour in their private suite without any involvement from our staff members, and members consistently tell us the privacy and self-direction is one of their favorite parts of SweatHouz.”

The members aren’t the only ones who love it. The self-serve setup also allows franchisees to run their business with significantly fewer employee headaches.

“There’s no instructor leading a class, no therapist running a session and no specialist required to be on the floor for the member to get value,” Varano said. “Most of the time, we just need to have two staff members in the studio at the front desk to check clients in and guide the client into the experience.”

Altering Focuses

That front desk role is essential at SweatHouz. Those staff members greet members, direct them to suites and offer a uniquely hospitable experience. The latter is made possible thanks to SweatHouz’s self-guided model. 

Varano said since much of the SweatHouz journey runs independently, the staff members present aren’t stretched thin across multiple responsibilities like other businesses might require. That enables them to concentrate more intently on hospitality. 

“Even with the staggered session schedule we have in studios, our model allows for the staff to have time to focus on each client that walks through the door,” Varano said.

With this in mind, SweatHouz franchisees typically prioritize people skills when hiring. 

“In our system, we don’t need to hire instructors, but instead we have to hire best-in-class hospitality,’ Varano added. “We’ve moved labor away from service delivery and toward hospitality and retention. We spend a significant amount of time and capital on sales training and best practices.”

Beyond the front desk, Varano noted the only other staff need is an extra attendant to help keep studios spotless. 

“Cleanliness is a non-negotiable for us, so we always have a second staff member dedicated to suite upkeep,” Varano said.

The Future of Staffing

SweatHouz credits much of its scaling success to the self-guided concept at the core of its business. The brand now has a presence in 25 states with over 100 locations. 

That track record is also why SweatHouz argues lower-staff, tech-enabled experiences are the future of fitness and wellness.

“Service-heavy concepts are getting harder to staff and harder to scale, and we think the brands that win the next decade will be the ones that deliver a premium experience without a heavy labor stack,” Varano said. “When the operating model doesn’t have to depend on hiring and retraining, multi-unit operators in our system can scale faster. This also allows single-unit operators to have a faster path to profitability so that they can begin opening second studios.”

Success at the franchisee level also bodes well for the network at large. 

“From a franchisor perspective, that translates to a stronger development pipeline, better unit-level economics across the system and a more reliable growth trajectory,” Varano went on. “We are focused on disciplined, sustainable growth by making sure every studio we open has the support and the operating fundamentals to perform. The leaner staffing model is a meaningful part of why that’s achievable at scale.”

Interested in learning more about SweatHouz’s low-labor model and franchise opportunities? Visit its website.