For the past couple of months I’ve been visiting NYC fitness
studios via FitReserve, a booking service connecting New Yorkers with a variety
of workouts. By paying a monthly membership, FitReserve allows you to book
classes at 94 studios in and around NYC. There are a few membership options, 5 classes @ $79,
10 classes @ 149 or 20 classes @ $249 classes (monthly rates).
This might sound familiar, sort of like ClassPass, which I
tried and wrote about a few months back. ClassPass was definitely not for me
and did not work with my lifestyle, I was not a fan of the service and had many
issues with their policies and offerings. FitReserve’s business model is built
around a similar service but there are a bunch of attributes that set it apart
and thus, made me a fan.
With FitReseve you have access to the entire schedule of participating studios.
My biggest gripe with ClassPass was that even though there were a ton of
partners, many studios were super in-demand and unless you booked immediately
when the booking opened up, there was no way you would snag a coveted spot in
the limited number of spaces reserved for ClassPassers.
While FitResreve has fewer partnering studios, you stand a
much better chance of actually getting into the classes you want as you can book literally anything on the schedule, peak times included. The cancellation policy differs
depending on the studio (ranges from 6 hours to 24 hours) but because you have
access to the entire schedule and can book right before class starts, I didn’t
have to worry about cancellation policies. I didn’t book my classes until I was
100% sure I’d be able to make it, in some cases this was as I was leaving my
office, headed to the studio.
Another big difference between FitReserve and ClassPass is
how many classes you can take. FitResrve you choose (5/10/20) and ClassPass is
unlimted. Unlimited sounds better but if you can’t actually get into classes,
who cares how many you could technically take. Also for me personally, with my
current workout schedule I can’t get to 10 classes; the 5-pack is perfect for
me and less than the $99 you’d pay for ClassPass.
Another FitReserve bonus are some extra perks like 20% off spa services at Exhale and Clay, plus discounts with a few participating companies/services.
I won’t say that FitReserve is 100% perfect; I wish there
were more participating studios and I wish there were more on the UWS (although
this may be more of a commentary on what’s available near where I live versus
who has chosen to partner with FitReserve, UWS could use more fitness studios!). Because you’re choosing an amount
of classes to purchase with your pack, I wish there was a rollover option (some
months are busier than others) and I’d love to be able to use some of the
classes for guests (looking at you MM!).
Booking with FitReserve is easy on the site although an app would make it much easier on the go. You can book from your phone but it’s not so easy to navigate the site via mobile.
If you are a frequent boutique studio visitor, I recommend
checking out the list of FitReserve participating studios. If you buy a FitReserve package
as opposed to purchasing through the studio, your price per class will be way
lower (with the 10 pack, each class comes out to under $15, unheard of in NYC). Keep
in mind you can visit each studio 4 times so if you’d like to go more, I’d
suggest FitReserve plus supplementing whatever other classes you’d take in a
month directly through the studio.
I’ve been reviewing studios as I go, you can check out my
write ups on EVF, The Movement, Mile High Run Club and Drill Fitness.
If you would like to give FitReserve a try, use my referral link HERE for $50 off your first month!
If you have any questions about my FitReserve experience,
ask me below!
