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No-shows and cancellation policies: How much revenue are you really losing from empty spots?

Michaela H. Nevosádová
Michaela H. Nevosádová
píšu, fotím a obecně se ráda hýbu :)

The silent profit killer in your schedule

It is a scenario almost every studio owner or instructor knows too well: your class is fully booked, all 10 spots are taken, the waitlist is longer than your to-do list… and then only 6–7 people actually show up. Someone forgot, someone “didn’t make it in time”, someone changed their mind and did not bother to cancel.

At first glance it looks like “just” a few empty mats. In reality it is a silent margin killer that can cost you enough over a year to pay for new equipment, rent or marketing.

In this article, we will look at:

  • what no-shows (unexcused absences) and late cancellations actually are,
  • what no-show rates look like in service businesses in general,
  • how much money an “average” no-show can quietly eat from your revenue,
  • how you can address the problem without punishing your clients – simply by managing your capacity more consciously,

and, of course, how the Zenamu booking system can help you do exactly that.

What is a no-show (unexcused absence) – and why should you care?​

Let’s start with some clear definitions:

  • No-show / unexcused absence – a client had a valid booking, but did not show up and did not cancel the class in advance.
  • Late cancellation – a client cancelled the class, but so late that there was no realistic chance to fill the spot again.

These two situations give you two important metrics:

  • no-show rate = number of no-shows ÷ total number of bookings,
  • late-cancel rate = number of late cancellations ÷ total number of bookings.

Imagine a model class:

  • 22 bookings
  • 16 actual attendances
  • 3 no-shows
  • 3 late cancellations

For this one class, you get:

  • no-show rate = 3 ÷ 22 ≈ 13.6%,
  • late-cancel rate = 3 ÷ 22 ≈ 13.6%.

And that is just one class. Now imagine similar numbers repeating for weeks and months across your timetable.

How common are no-shows, really?​

No-shows are not unique to yoga or pilates. In many appointment-based services, average no-show rates often sit somewhere around 15–30%.12

In healthcare – where no-shows are tracked very closely – a review of more than a hundred studies reports average no-show rates around 23%, with big variations between specialities and regions.34 Newer research in digital health confirms that no-shows are a structural, long-term problem, not just an occasional hiccup.5

Even though the context is different, the core message is the same:

10–30% of people who were supposed to come simply do not show up.

In the world of group classes, that means:

  • lost revenue,
  • blocked spots that could have been used by someone else,
  • the feeling of a “half-empty” class, even when the schedule was fully booked on paper,
  • and instructor frustration (“Why am I putting so much effort into this?”).

How much do no-shows really cost you? (A simple model)​

Let’s put some numbers on it with a simple model:

  • class price: 20 USD,
  • capacity: 10 spots,
  • average no-show rate: 15%,
  • and let’s assume your classes are fully booked in the calendar.

On an average class, this means:

  • 1.5 people do not show up (15% of 10 spots),
  • so roughly 1–2 spots are empty, even though someone else would gladly have paid for them.

Financially:

  • lost revenue per class ≈ 1.5 × 20 USD = 30 USD,
  • 20 classes per month (e.g. 5 per week) → 600 USD “lost” every month,
  • over a year (12 months) → 7,200 USD you never see on your account, even though in reality you could have earned it.

And this is just one instructor or studio and just a 15% no-show rate. If your prices are higher, capacities larger or you run more classes, that number escalates quickly.

Cancellation window: what does practice look like?​

How painful no-shows and late cancellations are for you depends heavily on your cancellation policy – in other words:

  • how long before class a client can cancel with no fee,
  • what happens if they cancel too late,
  • and whether you have a waitlist that can immediately fill up a freed spot.

A few examples from practice (mainly from English-speaking markets, but the logic applies elsewhere too):

  • Some community centres and YMCAs allow clients to cancel group classes for free up to 2 hours before class. After that, they charge a small late-cancel / no-show fee or let the credit/session expire.67
  • In discussions around functional training (for example F45), it is common to see fees around 20–25 USD for cancelling less than 12 hours before class, or for a pure no-show.8

In general:

  • for group classes, cancellation windows often sit around 2–12 hours,
  • for personal training, a 24-hour cancellation window is very common – anything later is usually charged at the full rate.910

Important note: There is no single “right” cancellation window. What matters is that it makes sense for your type of services and your clients – and that it is communicated clearly and consistently.

This is not about punishing clients – it is about managing capacity​

When studio owners hear “no-shows”, many immediately jump to:

“We will introduce strict penalties and that will fix it.”

Reality is more nuanced. Your goal is not to “punish your clients”, but to protect your instructors’ time and your studio capacity – without destroying the sense of trust and community you are building.

A reasonable, client-friendly approach might look like this:

  • Transparent rules – a clearly written cancellation window, – precise definitions of what counts as a late cancellation and what is a no-show, – concrete examples (“For a class at 6 p.m., you can cancel for free until 10 a.m. on the same day.”).

  • Fair consequences – first no-show → a friendly reminder, – repeated no-shows → a fee or loss of credit, – extreme cases → temporary suspension of booking privileges.

  • A system that does the heavy lifting – automatic reminders, – waitlists, – clear statistics: you see where and when no-shows and late cancellations happen most often.

How Zenamu helps you handle no-shows and cancellations​

This is where the philosophy behind Zenamu meets the daily reality of your studio.

We do not want your studio to turn into a “police state” where clients are afraid to click “Book”. We want to give you the tools so you can make informed decisions based on data, not just gut feeling.

1. Automatic reminders and notifications​

Research in healthcare shows that automated reminders (SMS, e-mail, push notifications) can reduce missed appointments by dozens of percent.111213141516

In Zenamu, you can:

  • decide how many hours before class a reminder should be sent,
  • tailor the text to your brand voice, language and tone,
  • set different reminder rules for open classes, courses and workshops.

This alone will significantly reduce “I forgot” no-shows.

2. Waitlists that actually save your margin​

The key issue is not only that someone drops out, but what happens with their spot.

In Zenamu:

  • you set the class capacity and enable the waitlist,
  • when someone cancels in time, the system automatically offers the freed spot to the next person in line,
  • the client on the waitlist gets a notification and can confirm with a single click.

The result: The spot is not “dead” – it has a real chance to be sold again, without manual juggling in spreadsheets or messages.

3. Clear statistics on no-shows and cancellations​

Intuition is useful, but numbers do not lie.

From Zenamu, you can quickly see:

  • no-shows and late cancellations over time,
  • broken down by class type (e.g. early morning open class vs. evening course),
  • by time of day (morning, midday, evening blocks),
  • by day of the week.

Thanks to this, you can:

  • identify where you may need to tighten your rules,
  • see where it is more about communication and education (for example early morning classes),
  • adjust capacity and frequency of classes based on real behaviour, not guesswork.

4. Flexible cancellation policies without chaos​

In Zenamu, you can configure:

  • different cancellation rules for different class types (closed course, open class, workshop),
  • how cancellations interact with memberships, class passes and single drop-ins,
  • how and where cancellation rules are shown to clients (in e-mails, in their online profile, in the booking flow).

The aim is not to create a “perfect universal policy”, but a policy that works for you and your community – and that your booking system fully supports.

A simple first step: know your numbers​

No-shows and late cancellations are not a sign that your studio is failing. They are simply a fact of life in any business that works with reserved time.

What you can influence is:

  1. Know your numbers. – calculate your no-show rate and late-cancel rate for the last month or quarter.

  2. Define your rules. – set and write down your cancellation policy so that even a first-time visitor can understand it in one read.

  3. Use a system that makes it easier. – automatic reminders, waitlists, statistics, payment tracking – all in one place.

If you would like all of this to live in a single, intuitive tool, that is exactly why Zenamu exists: a booking system designed for group classes and courses – built so that technology does not steal space from what matters most: the people in the room and your work as an instructor.

Footnotes​

  1. Apptoto – The Complete Guide to Appointment Reminders (PDF, English). States that the “national average” no-show rate for appointment-based businesses ranges around 15–30%. https://apptoto-website-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/GuideToApptReminders.pdf ↩

  2. YourLeadMatrix – 7 Ways to Reduce Appointment No-Shows for Small Businesses. Summarises average no-show rates around 19% across services, with higher values in some sectors (such as healthcare). https://yourleadmatrix.com/7-ways-to-reduce-appointment-no-shows-for-small-businesses/ ↩

  3. Dantas, L. F. et al. (2018). No-shows in appointment scheduling – a systematic literature review. Health Policy, 122(4). Reports an average no-show rate of around 23% across studies. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168851018300459 ↩

  4. Leibner, G. et al. (2023). To charge or not to charge: reducing patient no-show rates. Israel Journal of Health Policy Research. Review of 105 studies – average no-show rate of 23%, with cross-regional differences. https://ijhpr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13584-023-00575-8 ↩

  5. Kammrath Betancor, P. et al. (2025). Efficient patient care in the digital age: impact of online appointment scheduling, reminders, and telehealth on no-shows. Frontiers in Digital Health. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2025.1567397/full ↩

  6. YMCA East Surrey – Fitness class booking and cancellation policy. Example of group class bookings with a 2-hour cancellation window and late-cancel / no-show fees. https://www.ymcaeastsurrey.org.uk/services/health-wellbeing/fitness-class-booking-and-cancellation-policy/ ↩

  7. The SAY Organization – Group Exercise Class Guidelines & Policies. Allows cancellation up to 2 hours before class and charges a 10 USD fee for late cancellations or no-shows. https://www.thesay.org/programs/wellness/groupex/policies/ ↩

  8. Reddit (F45 Community) – Does your gym charge you for canceling late and/or not showing up? Example of a 25 USD fee for cancelling within a 12-hour window or for no-shows. https://www.reddit.com/r/f45/comments/f3xc2k/does_your_gym_charge_you_for_canceling_late_andor/ ↩

  9. International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) – sample Personal Training Purchase Agreement / Contract with a 24-hour cancellation window for personal training sessions. https://www.issaonline.com/ ↩

  10. YMCA of Superior California – Personal Training. Example of a 24-hour cancellation policy for personal training. https://ymcasuperiorcal.org/personal-training/ ↩

  11. Hasvold, P. & Wootton, R. (2011). Use of telephone and SMS reminders to improve attendance at hospital appointments – a systematic review. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3188816/ ↩

  12. Junod Perron, N. et al. (2013). Text-messaging versus telephone reminders to reduce missed appointments in an academic primary care clinic: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Health Services Research. https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6963-13-125 ↩

  13. Opon, S. O. et al. (2019). The effect of patient reminders in reducing missed appointments. Pan African Medical Journal. Shows an average reduction in missed appointments of about 41% when using reminders. https://www.one-health.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/2/9/pdf/9.pdf ↩

  14. Robotham, D. et al. (2016). Using digital notifications to improve attendance in clinic: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/10/e012116 ↩

  15. Hallsworth, M. et al. (2015). Stating Appointment Costs in SMS Reminders Reduces Missed Hospital Appointments: Findings from Two Randomised Controlled Trials. PLOS ONE. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0137306 ↩

  16. Schwebel, F. J. & Larimer, M. E. (2018). Using text message reminders in health care services: A narrative literature review. Patient Education and Counseling. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214782918300022 ↩