For a private gym rented by the hour, use 60-minute slots with a 1-minute buffer between bookings, and take cleaning off sale as blocked time once a day. The buffer only keeps two door codes from overlapping. Nobody resets the room between customers, so a 10- or 15-minute buffer copied from staffed appointment software is wasted time: 1 minute gives you one or two more sellable slots a day. Cleaning, maintenance and your own clients go into blocks you choose.
What the buffer does in an unstaffed gym
In a staffed business the buffer lets someone clean and prepare for the next client. In an unstaffed gym it only:
- separates the codes: booking A’s code stops at the end of slot A, booking B’s starts at the start of slot B;
- gives the outgoing customer a clear end, which your house rules refer to (“be out by the end of your slot”).
Changing and showering happen inside the slot the customer paid for, and the rules should say so.
Slots per day by buffer length
A gym open 6:00–22:00 (960 minutes) selling 60-minute slots. The last slot needs no buffer after it, so slots per day = (960 + buffer) ÷ (60 + buffer), rounded down.
| Buffer | Minutes per slot | Slots per day |
|---|---|---|
| 15 min | 75 | 13 |
| 10 min | 70 | 13 |
| 5 min | 65 | 14 |
| 1 min | 61 | 15 |
Going from 10 or 15 minutes to 1 adds two slots a day, up to 60 sellable hours a month from one setting. Try your own hours in the slot and revenue calculator.
Slot length: 30, 60 or 90 minutes
The slot has to fit arriving, changing, training, wiping down and leaving.
- 60 minutes is the default: a warm-up and a full session for one person or a trainer with a client. Anyone who wants longer books two slots.
- 90 minutes suits trainers with longer sessions, at the cost of a coarser grid: 10 slots a day instead of 15.
- 30 minutes rarely works once changing is included, and it doubles the changeovers.
If most orders after a month contain two slots in a row, customers are telling you the session is longer than an hour. Slot length, buffer, opening hours and time zone are set per location.
Two hours in a row: one order, one code
A customer who wants two hours books two consecutive slots in one order: one payment, one confirmation and one code valid from the start of the first slot to the end of the second. The buffer applies only between different bookings.
Buffer or block
A buffer is the automatic gap between every two bookings. A block is time you take off sale on purpose: part of a day, a whole day, or the same hours every week.
| Buffer | Block | |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | Every gap between bookings | The time you choose |
| Typical length | 1 minute | 30 minutes to a day |
| Use for | Separating door codes | Cleaning, maintenance, your own clients, closures |
The common mistake is a 15-minute buffer “so there is time to clean”. It costs two slots a day, and nobody is there to clean anyway. One blocked 45-minute window a day costs less than one slot and gives a person time to do the job.
In Sparekey you block time per location, once or as a recurring rule on weekdays, weekends or a specific day. Blocked time is never offered; existing bookings stay as they are.
A cleaning schedule for an hourly gym
- Every slot, by the customer (in the house rules): wipe benches, pads and handles; re-rack plates and dumbbells; put mats and bands back; take rubbish out.
- Daily, in a blocked 30–60 minutes: floor, touch points (door handle, keypad, switches, consoles), restock spray and cloths, bins, and a check that the keypad responds.
- Weekly, in a blocked 1–2 hours: floor under the rack and machines, mats, upholstery, shower and drains.
- Monthly, in a blocked half-day: cables, pins and bolts on every machine, the first-aid kit, emergency signs and the door hardware.
Put the daily window where demand is lowest, often early afternoon on weekdays or the first hour after opening, and move it once statistics show the real pattern. Give a cleaner their own code, never a customer’s.
Hours for your own clients
If you train your own clients in the gym, block those hours rather than booking them. The hour stays off sale without a payment, and customers only see free slots. Remove the block and the hour goes back on sale.
Closing at short notice
A burst pipe or a broken rack means closing during hours already sold. Block the time so nothing new is sold, then contact each booked customer (you have their phone number) and offer another slot. Customers can move their own booking up to 24 hours ahead; closer than that, agree the new time with them. Refunds are your decision. Put a note on the door, and say in the house rules what customers can expect. Other incidents are in what can go wrong without staff.
FAQ
How long should a gym booking slot be?
60 minutes for most private gyms. Customers who need longer book two slots in a row; 90 minutes suits trainers with long sessions.
Is 1 minute between bookings enough?
Yes. The previous code stops at the end of its slot and the next one starts at the start of the next. Cleaning is blocked time, not a buffer.
How often should a private gym be cleaned?
By the customer after every slot, daily by you or a cleaner in a blocked window, and weekly in a longer block for floors, upholstery and wet areas.
Can I block the same hours every week?
Yes. Blocks can repeat on weekdays, weekends or a specific day.
Can different locations have different slot lengths?
Yes. Each location has its own opening hours, slot length, buffer, prices and time zone.