Sell More Personalized Studio Experiences With Appointments by Walla

Consumers are prioritizing personalized experiences more than ever, especially in a pandemic-adapted society where doing something has more weight than material objects. And with over 74% of Americans valuing action-oriented adventures over products, Millennials and Gen X (many of your target clients) are leading the charge and rank wellness experiences at the top of their spending—and social sharing—list. So how is this consumer behavior applicable to your studio? It starts with scheduling and selling Appointments, the answer to individual fitness and wellness experiences.  ‍

From managing Pilates sessions to an individual yoga flow and private stretch bookings (just to name a few), selling appointments at your studio taps into a whole new revenue stream and influences differentiating spending and booking habits. Not only can appointments increase client accountability and leverage the desire for personalized fitness and wellness experiences, but they also offer a marketing and upsell opportunity to define your studio expertise further. 

With Walla’s appointments, you can schedule and sell fitness and wellness options built specifically for your vertical and give your clients a streamlined, simple booking flow, eliminating the spa and salon confusion on other studio management platforms. Here are seven top features and functions for our appointments so you can start scheduling and selling immediately as you positively impact your revenue and retention strategy. 

1. Create appointments for individual fitness and wellness offerings

Whether appointments are part of your studio business model or you’re open to testing individual classes and sessions, adding an appointment to your Walla software and schedule can be completed in seconds! Like creating a class, all your appointment details will be established utilizing the +Add New Appointment button under Appointments in the main navigation. When adding a new appointment, you’ll be able to determine the following:

• Location, name, and duration - the foundational details
• Schedule start times - this shows how often an appointment can be scheduled/booked on a client-facing booking calendar
• Rooms - you can assign and override a room when an appointment is booked; Walla will look for room availability but never restrict or add a room for you    
• Primary category and subcategories - enable your clients to find and book the type of session they want easily 
• Description, age requirement, items to bring, and max attendance - with the option to add clarity, include additional appointment information 

From there, you can set booking rules, booking window, pricing, and visibility. 

2. Design and sell appointment-specific plans (plus add exclusive discounts!)

When building a plan for appointments, you’re taking similar steps to create a class plan. It’s that simple! Appointment plans enable your studio to establish if the package is unlimited or limited, add discounts (including member-only markdowns), define the start date, and assign a cancelation policy based on studio location. You can also add standard pricing in dollars and credits, which you can override based on a staff member's pay rate who is teaching/leading specific appointments. ‍

3. Save staff time with a seamless scheduling flow 

Signing a client up for a private training session at the front desk? Easily book a single appointment in seconds! From the Appointment Schedule section on the main navigation, select +Add a Calendar Event, choose a client name, studio location, eligible staff member (if applicable), and appointment type. Once confirmed, you will select the date, time, and room based on availability—which you can override if needed. And based on the appointment parameters, the client will pay a deposit or in full with a plan, credit card, cash, or gift card. You can also add a promo code or discount on the checkout process. After you click checkout, the private appointment is saved to the individual staff and studio schedule! 

4. Settle up appointments to easily track attendance, no-shows, and cancellations

When an appointment is booked in-person or online, and the checkout process is complete, it’s time to settle that session up! So what does that mean? Settling up an appointment enables your studio to measure attendance, no-shows, and cancellations, helping establish appointment retention and revenue metrics (and empowering us to build a future report to share that data proactively!). Appointments can be settled up from the individual booking on the schedule. Plus, you’ll be alerted to any unsettled appointments and upcoming appointments (with new client callouts!) on your Walla dashboard.   

5. Review appointments and update availability with our colorful calendar view

The Instructor Appointment Schedule gives a color-coded, holistic view of booked classes, schedules, and appointments based on staff availability and eligibility. The order of staff members shown in this view for appointment-specific bookings is based on who has the most immediate appointment scheduled (which could be later today!). From there, staff members/instructors are listed according to availability, followed by alphabetical order. All gray/light blue sections on an individual calendar represent who is available to be booked, which benefits clients when booking appointments through your widget. This view is also most helpful for the front desk and eliminates double booking for both staff and rooms at your studio between all types of classes, workshops, and appointments. 

6. Keep the studio schedule accurate and keep track of staff availability with calendar blocks

Vet visits, vacations, doctor checkups, weddings—your instructors/staff who teach and lead your appointments go “out of office” (or studio?), and you want to make sure your schedule is accurate for the client booking experience based on availability. Located under Staff on the main navigation, calendar blocks can be quickly added to a specific staff profile and schedule. Just select the staff name, choose the schedule tab and click Add a Calendar Event. From there, a singular or recurring block (and also an appointment!) can be added to an individual calendar with optional details and saved. Now your studio schedule is instantly up-to-date. Internally, a block will appear as dark gray on the appointment schedule. And to a client? They won’t know the difference because the timeframe was never an option!   

7. Give your clients a seamless booking experience

Introducing new appointment offerings to your clients? Promoting your always popular individual sessions? When you sell appointments at your studio, the mobile-friendly booking flow for your clients is super simple and easy to use on your widget. Your clients can select the studio location, any/specific instructor, appointment type, date, and time and immediately book and buy! If a plan they have purchased applies to their appointment, it will pop up as a payment option. During checkout, sales tax for the deposit or full payment will appear, too, along with any additional appointment details. Once confirmed, your clients will be ready to go—and your studio schedule will be automatically updated! Currently, appointment bookings are only available on the Walla widget, but they will be available on the Walla app soon! 

For more information about appointment specifics, please visit our Walla Customer Support portal to access in-depth articles.

And if you’re interested in watching a recorded webinar about appointments from our co-founder Laura Munkholm, click here. Passcode: Jx6#1cY@