7 Mariana Tek Features That Will Drive a Summer Revenue Surge at Your Studio

Summer is here—longer days, sunshine, and maybe… a few too many empty spots in class?

You might be tempted to blame the “summer slump”—but here’s the truth: a slow season isn’t inevitable. At Mariana Tek, we see studios across the country staying strong all summer long. Some are even breaking revenue records in the summer.

Whether you’re in a seasonal market prepping for peak traffic or a city-based studio looking to maintain momentum, the right tools make all the difference.

Here are seven features inside Mariana Tek that top-performing studios are using right now to stay full, drive loyalty, and increase revenue—without adding complexity.

1. Bring-a-friend turns your members into your marketing team

When summer foot traffic softens, your best lead source might be your current community.

Studios have seen major spikes in new clients by leaning into our bring-a-friend feature. It allows members to bring a friend to class—no calls, no spreadsheets, just a seamless digital flow that tracks visits and removes all the friction.

You can activate it across the board or run themed “Bring-a-Friend” days with automated reminders and unique referral perks. 

👉 Pro tip: Layer in a reward—like a discount or branded merch—for members who refer a friend who becomes a paying client.

2. Goals & streaks builds accountability and brand stickiness 

Members love gamifying their workout routine at your studio. With Mariana Tek’s goals and streaks, studios empower clients to track their goals in real-time—and track how many weeks they’ve hit those goals in a row. It’s low-lift, high impact, and deeply motivating.

Even better, long streaks create what behavioral scientists call sunk cost bias: once a member sees 6, 8, or 12 weeks on their record, they’re much less likely to skip class.

This means more visits, more retail add-ons, and more retention.

👉 Pro tip: Pull your “Streak champions” list from reports weekly, then celebrate them on social or offer a small incentive.

3. In-studio challenges supercharge attendance, spend, and loyalty

Studio-wise challenges have proven business impact — data shows that challenges drive increased attendance, spend, and retention during the challenge and for up to three months after it ends:

M3 Studio—an Athens and Atlanta boutique fitness studio—digitized their summer challenge using Mariana Tek’s in‑studio leaderboard and gamification tools, transforming a paper-and-pen system into an automated, trackable experience that spanned both locations.

What’s the magic? Challenges create urgency, foster community, and give clients a goal that goes beyond fitness.

4. Use auto-fill waitlist to avoid leaving revenue on the table 

Every empty class spot is lost revenue—and if you’re not auto-filling, you’re leaving money behind.

Auto-fill waitlist ensures that when someone cancels, the spot in the class gets filled automatically. An SMS text is sent to the waitlist with a link to book the spot. No manual work from your front desk staff. No missed opportunities.

It’s also a better client experience. Members love knowing they’ll get a chance to jump in if someone else drops out—especially when they’re on a streak or participating in a challenge.

👉 Pro tip: Use waitlist auto-fill with a 12 hour window, plus waitlist SMS to get the perfect, automatic class filling experience. Your waitlist will autofill in the correct order until 12 hours before class begins. For any late cancels, all clients remaining on the waitlist will get a text to book into the class—first come, first-served. Your front desk never has to dial to fill classes again. And you don’t miss out on the revenue. 

5. Special offers and discounts can drive urgency without slashing prices 

Summer is the perfect time to re-engage former clients or win over new ones with targeted, time-bound offers.

Inside Mariana Tek, you can easily build custom intro offers, promo codes, or limited-time discounts based on specific client behaviors or segments. Whether it’s “First Week Free” for new sign-ups or a “Summer Loyalty Pack” for longtime members, your options are fully flexible—and trackable. 

The best part? These promos don’t require deep discounts. When well-timed and well-placed, even a small incentive can nudge action.

👉 Pro tip: Build urgency by limiting to a specific timeframe or inventory count.

6. Flexible penalty fees give you control over how missed classes can turn into revenue opportunities 

Summer schedules are unpredictable. Family trips, long weekends, last-minute events. That doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice revenue—or client goodwill.

When someone cancels their spot late—and then you charge them a loss of usage of their limited membership, it results in more than just a penalty fee. That loss of usage means fewer booked classes, lower client engagement, lower class utilization, increased churn risk, and lower customer lifetime value. 

Mariana Tek gives you total control over cancellation and no-show fees for memberships, so you can build policies that reflect your brand values. 

7. Pop-up events build buzz, revenue, and brand loyalty 

If you want to make a splash this summer, build an experience. With Mariana Tek, you can create exclusive, themed, or off-site “classes” with their own pricing, capacity, and branding. From rooftop yoga to beach bootcamps, pop-ups create urgency and bring in new audiences.

Pop-ups aren’t just about fun. They’re also a serious business driver: additional revenue, new lead capture, and differentiated brand experience.

👉 Pro tip: Set up your event as a “class” (no extra fees for pop-up events!) and choose to “hide studio address” during setup to avoid client confusion. 

Building Toward a Summer Surge

We’re helping studios across the country skip the summer slowdown and go right into a summer surge. This is the second article in our new summer series, based on data, insights from industry experts, and advice from successful studio owners.

Missed the first article? See what the data says about the so-called “summer slump” here → 

Stay tuned for more actionable content in the next few weeks to help you achieve your own summer surge.