After a long day in the office or on a sluggish Monday morning, even the most disciplined fitness routines start to feel skippable. Once you look out the window and see heavy rain patting the glass, your short trip to the gym or studio begins to feel like a cross-country voyage. Just like that, you’re already talking yourself out of it.
But even as the excuses to stay in stack up, oftentimes something still compels us out the door. No, it’s not an umbrella. It’s the social connection fitness consumers crave and the accountability that comes from being part of a group.
“People aren’t just working out to get in shape or stay fit,” said Michali Aizen, Head of Customer Success Management at Hapana. “That’s still important, but more than ever, they’re looking for a sense of belonging, a routine they actually enjoy and a community they feel part of.”
Hapana, an end-to-end fitness studio management software solution, has positioned itself as a lead architect helping more than 1,000 gyms and studios foster those feelings. Ahead of its new platform launch, the brand recently revealed three additional features, all of which leverage social interaction.
Positive Peer Pressure
When going to the gym starts to feel like a burden, having someone beside you makes it easier to bear. People feel compelled either to see friends and enjoy that social interaction or avoid letting them down by bailing at the last minute.
“We see it all the time,” Aizen said. “If someone knows a friend is going to be there, or they’ve booked a class together, they’re less likely to cancel or skip it. It turns fitness into something shared, not something you have to push yourself to do alone. Over time, that consistency really adds up. Showing up and seeing familiar, friendly faces is what keeps members coming back.”
Even for those who can’t meet in person, virtual social interaction creates a draw as well. Posting on Strava and other platforms gives members a chaseable payoff at the end of a workout, as they’re eager to share their fitness journeys with their inner circles.
A study conducted in April 2024 by UC Berkeley also backed this idea that social experiences bring an added incentive to workouts and foster long-term retention. The research group found gym-goers who worked out with a friend increased their attendance by 35%.
Rethinking Memberships
With this in mind, Hapana believes operators need to stop thinking about memberships as one-person services and start thinking about them as multi-faceted investment opportunities.
“Traditionally, memberships have been designed around individual access, but that’s not all people are looking for in fitness anymore,” Aizen said. “They want to train with friends, bring a partner or involve their family. There’s a real opportunity for operators to design memberships that reflect that behavior.”
Seizing that opportunity involves allowing members to stretch their membership to cover others with it. Equipping businesses with the right tools to do both begins with Hapana.
How Hapana Helps
With Hapana, gyms and fitness studios can sell and accept shared credits, guest passes and family accounts. Collectively, these features allow members to bring friends, family, coworkers and colleagues to work out with. This drives the aforementioned accountability and relays long-term retention.
“People are less likely to drop off when their routine involves someone else,” Aizen said. “There’s a bit of built-in accountability there. Plus, it’s just more enjoyable.”
These features work as organic referral outlets as well, boosting revenue and saving money on the back end.
“When it’s easy for members to bring someone along, whether that’s a friend, partner or family member, you start to see more people coming through the door without needing to rely as heavily on traditional marketing,” Aizen explained. “It becomes a natural referral engine, especially when those experiences are built right into the membership.”
Ready for What’s Next
Built to create memberships that are easier to retain over time and with more engaged users, these tools also provide brands with a more reliable fuel source for growth.
“When people feel connected, not just to the studio but to other members, they’re more likely to stay, show up consistently and bring others along,” Aizen said. “That’s where you start to see more sustainable growth, not just from constantly chasing new sign-ups, but from building a community people enjoy being a part of.”
Hapana argues the time to shift the focus from individual memberships to social groups is now. And the brand’s next iteration is designed to help operators navigate it in the near future as well.
“We’re seeing more operators think this way, and that’s what we’re focused on supporting at Hapana,” Aizen went on. “That’s also a big part of the new era of Hapana, launching this March. It’s a rebuilt platform designed for ambitious fitness brands, built to support this shift towards more connected, community-driven growth.”
