Where does the extra revenue come from?
From people whose day does not match your opening hours. Most of them already exist in your area, and today they either train somewhere else or not at all.
Longer hours also help the members you have. A packed 18:00 slot spreads out when some people can come at 21:30 or 05:30, and a less crowded gym is easier to renew.
- Early starters who want to train before work, and people who finish late
- Shift workers: hospitals, care homes, transport, hospitality, logistics
- Parents who can only train once the children are in bed
- People who prefer an empty gym, or feel more comfortable training when it is quiet
- Members who would otherwise leave for a gym that never closes
Why don't staff costs grow at the same rate?
Because the quiet hours don't need someone at reception if the door can check memberships by itself. Automatic gym entry lets you keep staff where they earn their cost: peak times, new member inductions, sales, classes and personal training.
Some costs do grow, and they belong in your sums from the start: energy for lights, air and showers, cleaning, wear on the equipment, security and cameras, and a possible change to your insurance premium.
What do I need before opening without staff?
Four topics come up every time. This is not legal or insurance advice: the answers depend on your premises, your lease and where you are, so take each one to your insurer and your adviser.
- Access control: a door or turnstile that only opens for a valid membership, and a log of every entry and every refusal
- Cameras: where they go, what they record, how long footage is kept, and the signs that tell people they are being recorded
- House rules for unstaffed hours: who may train, guests, heavy lifts without a spotter, what to do in an emergency, and how members accept the rules
- Insurance: tell your insurer which hours will be unstaffed and what security you have, and get the cover confirmed in writing
What else should the rules cover?
Think about the member who is alone at 03:00 and something goes wrong. How do they call for help? Is there an alarm, a first aid kit, a defibrillator, a phone number on the wall? Many gyms ask for an induction before a member gets unstaffed access, so nobody's first visit is also their first night alone.
Then think about your neighbours, your lease and any local rules on opening hours, noise and parking. They are easier to sort out before the sign on the door changes than after.
How do I know if it is working?
Through the entry log. When every entry is recorded with the time, you can see which extra hours are used, by how many members, and whether new members join for them.
Refusals tell a story too. A member who tries the door on an expired membership is a renewal waiting to happen, and a pattern of refusals at certain hours tells you where your rules or your communication need work.
Look at the log weekly for the first months. The question is simple: are these hours bringing in or keeping members who pay for them? On Yeki the log sits in the same app as your gym membership software, so the hours used and the people who pay for them are in one place.
How do I start without betting the business?
Start with a test, not a promise. Extend opening at both ends of the day before going round the clock: early mornings and late evenings are usually where demand shows first. Keep reception staffed at peak times.
Then do the maths with your own numbers. On one side, the new members who join for the hours, times your membership price, plus the members you keep who would have left, plus any price you charge for round-the-clock access. On the other side, the one-off costs of access hardware and cameras, and the monthly costs of energy, cleaning and insurance.
Divide the monthly costs by your membership price and you have the number of extra members the hours need to pay for themselves. If the log shows you are on the way after a few months, extend further. If not, you have lost little and learned a lot.
How does Yeki help a gym open longer?
Automatic access is part of Yeki's free gym management software. Every member has a QR code on their phone and in their Wallet. A reader at your door or turnstile reads it, Yeki checks that the membership is valid at that moment, the door opens or stays shut, and every entry and refusal is logged with the name and the time. Turnstile integration is included, and during staffed hours members check in at reception with the same code, into the same log.
The rest of the gym runs from the same app, which matters when nobody is at reception. Members buy memberships, class packs and drop-ins on their phone, with payments straight into your bank account, so someone refused late in the evening on an expired membership can renew there and then. Bookings and the waiting list run by themselves, announcements tell members about the new hours, and the members at risk of leaving show up before they go, so you can see whether the longer hours keep them.
Cameras are not part of the app. We help you set them up, with advice on where they go and by coordinating the installation, with an installer if you need one. And there is no subscription fee for any of the software.
