Annual Club Subscriptions

Discussion in 'General Martial Arts Discussion' started by route12, Jan 4, 2018.

  1. route12

    route12 New Member

    Hi,
    Can anyone tell me, if they pay an annual fee at their club, how it's worked out?

    To explain- I run a small club where students have always paid on a pay to train basis, ie per class.

    Some students who attend twice or three times a week however have asked if I will work them out an annual payment scheme this year. Obviously this has to work out cheaper for them and is better for the club financially as well but I don't know what's acceptable. Do I assume they'll train twice a week, add it up, assume two week's holiday and deduct some? If so, how much?
    Any help appreciated.
     
  2. PointyShinyBurn

    PointyShinyBurn Valued Member

    Most gyms have monthly rather than annual fees. One reason is probably what to do in case of cancellation: refunding part of the year is a pain, but keeping the rest of it is going to be pretty unpopular.
     
  3. Nachi

    Nachi Valued Member Supporter

    At my club, we pay in advance - for half a year or a full year. If someone wants to join, the club presumes they'd come regularly. I am however not sure how the instructor figured out the prices. But they are affordable for anyone. For me, who used to come three times a week and occassionally on some other trinings, it's very cheap. So I don't know of anyone asking for a refund so far.
    Unfortunately I can't help you with counting how much it is per class compared to the pay to train basis... It would probably be best to count like you said and give some discount...
     
  4. Knee Rider

    Knee Rider Valued Member Supporter

    I don't think there is any rule for it.

    I'd look at how your facilities and timetable compares to the other clubs in the area and find s price within that range that covers all your overheads and offers a small discount on what your regular (3x per week) students currently pay. Round my way clubs are often between £50 and £100 per month for a time table of anywhere between 3 sessions a wk -7 full days a week.

    I currently pay £70 a month for up to 6 sessions a wk if that helps.
     
  5. route12

    route12 New Member

    Thank you everyone, yes that's helpful.
    It is only an optional scheme for those who find it suits them better financially (so they don't have to keep finding the money each week), the pay to train option would still stand as well since I think I'd make myself unpopular and maybe lose some students if I took that away. Since it's optional and only the most dedicated students will use it, I think it has to work on a no refunds basis really apart from exceptional circumstances eg they change jobs and move away.
     
  6. route12

    route12 New Member

    By the way does anyone else's club offer a 'pay to train' or does everyone pay per month or year?
     
  7. Knee Rider

    Knee Rider Valued Member Supporter

    Pretty sure you can set up a standard financial contract to that effect. Might be best to ask a financial advisor? Or even go on money supermarket and ask there too?
     
  8. Knee Rider

    Knee Rider Valued Member Supporter

    Most places around me do monthly and daily rates. The place I am now only does monthly direct debit. Day rates usually are between £6-£10 per session.
     
  9. Vince Millett

    Vince Millett Haec manus inimica tyrannis MAP 2017 Gold Award

    We pay monthly by direct debit but there are three month or annual contracts. Visitors can pay a one off mat fee but if it's a prospective new student, first visit is free. We can also train free once a week at any other club in our affiliation.
     
  10. aikiMac

    aikiMac aikido + boxing = very good Moderator Supporter

    My boxing club used to charge monthly dues with the option of a once-a-year extra payment equal to 1-1/2 months' dues. If you opted for that extra payment, you were guaranteed that your monthly dues would never go up. The owner later restructured the entire class schedule and payment structure, and I don't think he does that any more, but for a couple years I made that extra payment.

    I was briefly at an aikido club that met in a Japanese cultural center. We paid quarterly (3 months at a time) to the club, very cheap dues, but in exchange for cheap dues we had to join the cultural center every year (one time annual payment). It still worked out to very cheap training.

    Other aikido, judo, and kendo clubs that I joined charged monthly dues, with the requirement that we be members of the national organizations they were linked to -- and that was an annual payment.

    I've seen "pay to train," e.g. $10 or $15 "mat fee" for one class, at a lot of places over the years.
     
  11. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    We do a monthly fee with unlimited access to available classes.

    When we had a more transient set of students (college and military), we used to offer a 'pay per class' system. We based it on the monthly fee divided by 8 (assuming 4 weeks, at least 2 classes per week) to come up with a 'per class' mat fee. That way the monthly fee was a better deal if you were training more than twice a week.

    If you wish to earn rank in our system, the parent organization requires that you are a member (and there is an annual fee) plus testing fees.
     

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