Class Trials

This guide is for gym owners and personal trainers using Orlo to streamline operations, engage clients, and grow their business.

Class trials let new clients try a session at your gym at a discounted price—usually €10. They're a great way to introduce people to your gym and convert leads into members.

Why charge for trials?

While it might seem appealing to offer free trials, we've found that clients are much more likely to attend when they’ve paid—even a small amount. Charging a small fee creates a sense of commitment, and helps ensure that trial spots aren’t wasted by no-shows. It also sets the tone for the value of your service while still offering a low-risk way to get started.

How trials work

Clients are eligible for a trial if they:

• Have no current or past subscriptions
• Have not purchased any class or PT packs
• Have never booked or attended a class

When an eligible client views your timetable, they’ll see a special button allowing them to book a trial at the discounted price. This button launches a Stripe checkout using the trial class price you’ve configured in your settings.

Once the payment is completed, the system automatically creates the booking and tracks the conversion in analytics.

Managing trials

• Trial bookings have a start next to their name in the timetable so staff can easily see when someone is new and can make sure they feel welcome.
• You can change your trial class price by updating the trial_class_price_id in gym settings.
• Trial bookings are treated as one-time purchases and won’t affect the client’s future payments. Any follow-up bookings will use standard payment flows.

Best practices

To make the most of trials:

• Promote them clearly on your homepage or social media
• Send a friendly follow-up after the session to encourage sign-up
• Consider combining trials with intro offers, like discounts on the first subscription

Trials make it easy for people to take the first step—then it’s up to your gym to show them why they should stay.