class-schedule-and-instructor-utilization

name	class-schedule-and-instructor-utilization
description	Build and read a fitness class grid: fill rate by slot and class type, the per-class break-even headcount from instructor pay plus room cost, instructor utilization, and the no-show/waitlist mechanics that reclaim held seats. Fill and instructor-pay benchmarks are verify-at-use.

Class Schedule & Instructor Utilization

Every class hour is a unit of inventory with a fixed cost. Fill is the whole game: a half-empty class burns the same instructor pay and room as a full one.

The per-class unit economics

class break-even headcount  =  (instructor pay + allocated room cost) / contribution per attendee
class fill rate             =  attended / capacity

Know the break-even headcount for every slot before you defend it on the grid. A slot that never reaches break-even is a subsidy, not a schedule.

Reading the grid

Signal	Read	Move
Slot fill < break-even, persistently	Wrong time or wrong class	Cut, merge, or re-time to demand
Waitlist forming repeatedly	Under-supplied demand	Add a parallel/adjacent slot
High booked, low attended	No-show leak	No-show/late-cancel window + auto-promote waitlist
One instructor's classes over-fill	Draw effect	Protect their prime slots; study why

Instructor pay models

Model	Risk sits with	Best when
Flat per class	Studio (empty classes still cost full)	Predictable, high-fill grid
Per head	Instructor (shares empty-class risk)	Variable fill, growth phase
Base + per head	Shared	Most boutique studios — floor + upside

Match the model to fill economics and contribution margin. All pay/fill norms are [verify-at-use].

Metrics

Metric	Target logic	Note
Average class fill rate	Above break-even with headroom	The grid's health number
Instructor utilization	Paid hours that hit break-even fill	Not just hours taught
No-show rate	Low enough that "full" means full	Policy-controllable
Sub-coverage reliability	Near-zero cancelled classes	Cancelled class = churn risk

Anti-patterns

• Defending a slot on history ("it's always been Tuesday 6pm") instead of fill.
• Flat-per-class pay on a variable-fill grid (overpays empties, undersells packed).
• Reporting booked instead of attended.

See also

• Traverse the schedule the class grid on fill and instructor pay model trees in ../../knowledge/fitness-studio-decision-trees.md.
• Benchmarks (dated, verify-at-use): ../../knowledge/fitness-studio-reference-2026.md.
• Sibling skills: ../membership-growth-and-churn/SKILL.md, ../member-onboarding-and-retention/SKILL.md.
• Best practice: ../../best-practices/schedule-the-grid-on-demand-not-habit.md.