Restricting access to your lessons/activities is counterproductive… unless it is strictly necessary – we will see below what these cases are and what is really worth doing.
Fewer Restrictions, More Value for Everyone
It may seem like a good idea to prevent certain customers from accessing specific activities to avoid mistakes or confusion. However, our experience, gained from working with hundreds of different businesses – from sports centers to driving schools, from professionals to pet centers – shows that implementing technical restrictions leads to more disadvantages than benefits.
Every operational restriction generates:
🔓 A significant loss in terms of opportunities and flexibility
🔄 Increased complexity in daily management
🚫 Frustration for customers who feel excluded
Whether you use the credit system or the subscription system, the ideal solution is to allow everyone to book any activity available in the schedule.
Now, let’s see the particular advantage of using credits in this situation.
The Advantage of Using Credits for All Activities – Moving from Lesson Packages to Credit Packages
Allowing customers to book any activity freely, without barriers, has a positive effect on the entire structure.
📈 Increased Average Spending
Customers, knowing they can use their credits for any activity, are naturally inclined to choose larger packages.
It’s a simple psychological mechanism: more freedom of choice = greater perceived value.
Additionally, larger packages can be incentivized with small discounts, increasing your immediate revenue without compromising service quality.
🤸 Greater Participation
A customer with credits valid for all activities will be more curious and open to trying new experiences.
Even those who initially join with a specific idea (e.g., attending only evening classes of a particular activity) may end up trying something different simply because they had time and found another option interesting.
This spontaneous behavior leads to a more dynamic and comprehensive use of your services.
📣 Natural internal promotion
When you introduce a new activity or service, it will be immediately visible to everyone.
If your customers have credits valid for all services, they will be the first to notice the novelty and try it out, even just out of curiosity.
For example, a new class, a workshop, or even a special event (e.g., a themed dinner or a seminar) can be booked without hesitation because the credits they have already purchased can be used for anything.
😊 More Satisfied Customers
Freedom is a value. If a customer tries a class and doesn’t enjoy it – maybe due to a lack of chemistry with the instructor or because the activity isn’t a good fit – they won’t feel like they’ve wasted money.
They can simply try something else. This reduces the risk of customer churn due to dissatisfaction because making the wrong choice doesn’t lead to frustration.
🔁 Increased Customer Loyalty
When a customer feels in control, they trust you more.
And when they feel they can move freely between activities, adapting to their needs (schedule, preference, skill level), they develop a strong connection with your service.
Flexibility turns into trust, and trust turns into long-term loyalty.
Read HERE an in-depth article on why selling credit packages is a winning strategy
And If I Really Need to Restrict Access to Certain Activities?
There are cases where a limitation makes sense, but they must be very specific and justified.
A classic example is:
- An advanced course where it is unsafe for unqualified participants to join.
- A practical exam (such as in education or driving schools) reserved for those who have completed a certain number of theoretical lessons.
- A limited-service offering dedicated to a specific category (e.g., private consultations for VIP clients).
In these cases, instead of using restrictive measures, you can opt for clear communication and control strategies, such as:
- Clear titles (e.g., “Advanced – For Experts Only”)
- Distinctive emojis, followed by a legend in the class description.
For example: Advanced 🔴 Beginner 🟢
…or using visual elements like:
Advanced Swimming 🐬 vs. Beginner Swimming 🐟
…or
Advanced Marketing Course 🦋 vs. Beginner Course 🐛
Distinctive emojis, followed by a legend in the class description.
This “gaming” approach makes activity descriptions more engaging and easier to understand, creating a fun experience for the customer.
- Instructor validation, which is already a standard practice.
- Assigning customer levels using nicknames – The “Nickname” field in BookyWay’s database is searchable and included in reports, making it a useful tool for categorization.
And only in cases where groups are truly separate in every way, it may be advisable to consider creating multiple BookyWay accounts.
👉 Here we explain how to do it
Trust is more powerful than restrictions
Empowering customers works better than restricting them.
Those who purchase a certain service naturally tend to respect its boundaries. If a customer with a subscription for beginner lessons books an advanced activity, it’s almost always due to unclear lesson names, not dishonesty.
That’s why we recommend:
- Short and clear names (e.g., “L1 Pilates” instead of “Group Pilates Lesson Level 1”)
- Emojis and visual codes to make everything even more readable
- A booking system that informs rather than blocks
