Group classes, courses and intakes
Seat limits, a waiting list and attendance tracking instead of a notebook full of ticks
A group class is not one appointment with several people on it. It is its own thing: an event with a date, a duration, a resource and a seat limit. Clients book onto it through a special version of the online booking form, which shows events rather than free slots.
How an event differs from an appointment
| Appointment | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| Who picks the time | The client, from free slots | The company, scheduled in advance |
| How many people | One | A seat limit |
| What the client sees | Free hours | A list of available classes |
| What happens when it is full | The situation cannot arise | A waiting list |
Trying to run group classes as ordinary appointments creates exactly one problem: the system does not know about the limit and will not stop the seventeenth person booking a room that holds sixteen.
The waiting list
A ready-made answer for people who wanted a place on a full class. When a seat frees up it is offered to those who waited rather than sitting empty until the last minute.
It is the cheapest way to lift attendance: the demand already exists, it just has to not be lost.
A course is a series of events
For regular classes the event plan is created against the company schedule rather than one at a time. Clients can be moved between events in one click, and group operations handle the case where a whole group has to move.
Payment: one-off or membership
Group classes are almost always sold on a membership, and that is not an accident: paying per visit gives neither you nor the client any predictability.
- A membership for a number of classes is deducted automatically when attendance is marked.
- An advance payment to hold a seat is available in the event booking form itself.
For children's clubs, language courses and dance the working combination is usually a monthly membership plus a waiting list for the trial class.
What to configure before launch
- The resource: the room, studio or trainer whose time the event occupies.
- The seat limit, the real one rather than the hoped-for one.
- A schedule of events far enough ahead that a client has something to choose from.
- Memberships that match the format: monthly, a number of classes, a trial.
- Reminders. They matter more here than for individual appointments: someone who did not turn up occupied a seat somebody else wanted.
Common questions
Can several people be booked onto one class at once?
Yes, and that is exactly why the limit is set in seats rather than in clients.
What if a class has to be moved?
Moving the group is a group operation, not a client-by-client one.
Can one trainer mix individual and group services?
Yes. They occupy the same resource, so the system will not allow a time conflict.
Does the client see how many seats are left?
That is a setting on the event booking form.