Class waitlist and late cancellation policy guide

How a waitlist that fills classes works

A useful waitlist is a queue, not a list of names. It has five properties, and each one solves a problem that lands at the front desk:

1. 1.It moves on its own. When someone cancels, the spot goes to the queue that same minute, with no staff involved.
2. 2.It keeps the order. The first to join the waitlist is the first to be called.
3. 3.It checks eligibility. Before handing over the spot, it checks the person still has an active plan or classes on their pack.
4. 4.It tells people. Whoever gets in receives a notice with the class, day and time.
5. 5.It shows the position. Third in line knows they are third, and decides whether to wait.

Without the first property, the waitlist depends on someone watching. And a spot that opens at 17:02 for the 18:30 class needs someone at 17:02.

Auto-book, or offer the spot first?

There are three ways a queue can hand over a spot. The choice is between filling the class fast and never booking someone without them knowing.

In group training with full lunchtime and evening classes, auto-book fills the most spots. It works under two conditions: the queue is short, and leaving it costs nothing.

How long the queue should be

A long queue promises a spot that almost never opens. Tenth in line for a class of sixteen will not train, but did not look for another time either. A cap of half the class capacity, or less, is a good starting point. Adjust it to what your gym shows you.

How to choose the cancellation window

The cancellation window exists for the person on the waitlist. It should be the time they need to see the notice, rearrange their day and get there. Four things decide it:

• The class time. For a 07:00 class, the queue needs to know the evening before.
• The distance. Where members drive in, the notice has to arrive earlier.
• The class size. In a class of six, each empty spot weighs more.
• Demand. A class with no queue does not need a tight window.

Start with one rule for the whole gym. Then, only if needed, add an exception for the class type that fills most. Three different windows on one timetable are three rules to explain at the desk.

Late cancels and no-shows are different

Someone who cancels after the window still hands the spot back. If there is a queue, someone can take it right up to class time. Someone who simply does not show up locks the spot until the class ends.

A late cancellation still hands the spot back to the queue. A no-show keeps it locked until the class ends.

So a no-show deserves a consequence at least as heavy as a late cancel. If cancelling late costs more than not turning up, people stop cancelling and start not turning up. That is the worst outcome for the queue.

The consequences you can choose from

Whichever you pick, write it into the terms members accept when they join. A consequence nobody knew about when they booked becomes an argument at the door.

The exceptions that keep the rule fair

A rule applied the same way to everyone is the easiest to stand behind. But some cases involve someone who did nothing wrong, and those need to be planned for:

• The gym cancels the class. Nobody loses a class, and everyone booked is told.
• Staff cancel on someone's behalf, for an injury mentioned at the desk, say. It never counts as late.
• Someone moved up from the queue after the window. They got the spot without choosing it at that hour, and may not be able to come.
• Illness or an emergency. Decide who can make an exception, and write it down. Then everyone gets the same answer.

What a last-minute spot is worth

Take the price of a plan and divide it by the classes it gives in a period. The figures below are examples: swap in your own.

Twelve spots a week is two a day, six days a week. With a queue, each one reaches the next person the minute it opens. Without one, they stay empty, and the class starts with mats nobody is using.

Two texts ready to use

The first goes into your gym's terms. The second is the message announcing the rule to existing members, a week before it starts.

How to tell whether it is working

1. 1.Pick the class that has a queue most often. Just that one.
2. 2.For four weeks, count how often it started with empty spots while people were waiting.
3. 3.Count late cancellations and no-shows, separately.
4. 4.After four weeks, change one thing only: the window, or the queue size. Not both.

Compare your class with itself, month by month. Every gym has different hours, distances and people.

For no-shows, there is a method of its own, class by class. How to reduce no-shows in group classes

How this works in Rummo

In Rummo, the queue uses the auto-book model. When someone cancels, the spot goes to the first person in the queue who can still take it. The system checks for an active plan, classes left on a pack, and room in a weekly or monthly limit.

Anyone who no longer qualifies is skipped and keeps their place. Whoever gets in receives an in-app notice and an email with the class, day and time. The queue also moves when you raise the capacity of a full class.

• Booking a full class puts the member in the queue, with their number. From fifth place down, the app warns that a spot is unlikely to open.
• Joining the queue uses nothing. Leaving it is free too, and rejoining goes to the back.
• On the class page, members with a spot see the window in writing. Past it, the cancel button warns that the class will count as used.
• When cancelling, members can say why: something came up, work, being away, or not feeling like it. It is optional.
• Each member's profile shows the reasons from the last 90 days, with a count for each.

With no window set, anyone can cancel up to the start without using a class. The window is set in minutes and can differ by class type and by plan. The app shows the gym-wide window, not the exception.

If the gym cancels a class, nobody loses one. If staff cancel for someone, it never counts as late. Notices arrive in the app and by email, with no text messages or phone notifications. The member app is in European Portuguese.

Timetable, booking rules and the queue are on one page. See scheduling in Rummo