| +39% Total customer base | +65% Revenue growth | +8 percentage points Class utilization rate |
Studio Three started out in Chicago as a three-modality boutique fitness company offering interval, cycle, and yoga under one membership.
“From the beginning, the goal was to create a place that was part of the community,” says Danielle Beattie, Director of Marketing at Studio Three. “Somewhere people wanted to come and spend time looking at wellness holistically, rather than just somewhere you come to do your workout and leave.”
They found a way to make it work with the help of the right technology. By now, Studio Three expanded to five modalities (adding strength and hot mat pilates) and six locations in Chicago, Austin, and Miami.
The Challenge of Scaling Community
A community-first mindset like Studio Three’s can create tension when it’s time to scale.
The thing that made Studio Three great was the member experience: Being known, being greeted by name, feeling like a regular whose feedback was valued and whose milestones were celebrated. “We recognize that hundreds of members are coming through the doors daily,” says Leila Young, Director of Operations. “What’s going to make them come back is feeling like we remembered who they are.”
Those things could easily fall away under the weight of growth, as the number of front desks, class rosters, instructors, and member relationships started to tick upwards. Could Studio Three bottle the feeling of their community and just open it somewhere else?
Holding onto the high standards across every location from River North to Wynwood required infrastructure to support team members in each of the moments that matter.
Finding the Right Technology Partner
The whole team at Studio Three knew how important it was to get the technology decision right. While Leila wasn’t part of the group who would make the final call, she remembers when she was convinced that Mariana Tek was the right choice.
“I was a studio manager at the time, so I was using the check-in experience and the system quite a bit. A product manager came into the studio, asked a lot of questions, got to know everything we needed, and was able to show us exactly how Mariana Tek could support that. It was really impressive.”
Studio Three needed a partner that understood what was at stake in getting the member experience right.
Delivering an Exceptional, Consistent Experience
Choosing Mariana Tek has enabled Studio Three to amplify all the amazing aspects of their member experience and community. “The technology on the back end is what allows us to keep our experience incredibly human,” says Danielle.
The front desk team greets members by name because they’re on the class roster. Milestone celebrations and birthdays are recognized in-studio because the data surfaces them automatically. Spot-picking lets members choose exactly where they’ll be in the room before they arrive, alleviating stress that they’ll be next to their friends or have a spot even if they’re late. Xplor Growth powers personalized marketing at every touchpoint.
None of that is visible to the members. What’s visible is a staff member who looks up from the desk, makes eye contact, and takes time to have a meaningful interaction with them.
“All they really have to do is glance down,” Danielle says. “All the information is right in front of them, and that allows them to really focus on the experience we’re creating in-studio.”
Word is spreading about what Studio Three has built in each of their locations. The number of acquisitions (people purchasing credit packs or memberships over $60) increased by 53% versus the prior year and the total customer base grew by 39%.
Danielle says Mariana Tek has given them total visibility into the performance of all their locations so they can make adjustments quickly. “From our side, simple reporting through our technology lets us look at attendance numbers, time slots, class performance—all of it—and make quick decisions as a team. When we make a change here, we tend to make it fast once we know it’s right for the business.”
What’s Next for Studio Three
“We never expand just for the sake of it,” Danielle says. “The through line at Studio Three is always the in-studio experience and the community. When we open in Miami or Austin, it’s always rooted in our brand standards, but we allow each studio to create its own ethos.”
New cities are chosen intentionally, ensuring instructors come from the community they’ll serve and local partners are sourced before the doors open. And when they do choose a new location, the team has confidence they’ll be able to consistently create meaningful interactions at the front desk, in class, and in every moment after.
Danielle has watched that moment work on herself for ten years. It turned her from a first-time member into an instructor into a member of the team building it.
“People don’t come in here just to do their workout. I see people coming in to meet up with friends, have a social experience, grab coffee after class. Seeing those relationships that people are forging and carrying outside the walls of Studio Three is what lets us know that what we’re doing is working.”
Next Steps: Elevate Your Fitness Studio
Inspired by Studio Three? Don’t miss your chance to elevate your own boutique fitness studio and meet your goals. Book a demo today and discover how Mariana Tek can be the game-changer your studio needs to scale effectively and efficiently.
Article by Julie Sippy
First published: May 04 2026
Last updated: May 04 2026