The EGYM Playlist merger could make studio technology easier to connect while making vendor decisions harder to reverse. EGYM and Playlist completed the merger on March 31, 2026. The combined company was valued at about $7.5 billion, with roughly $785 million in new equity investment.
EGYM joined Playlist alongside Mindbody, Booker and ClassPass. For studio operators, the opportunity is clearer integration across systems that often create duplicate work. The tradeoff is leverage. As more of the operating stack sits under one vendor group, operators need to pay closer attention to pricing, contract terms, integrations and the cost of changing providers.
Operators should not assume every Playlist product is already fully integrated. Playlist has outlined a broader strategy around connectivity, AI, personalization and operator tools. The roadmap and the current product experience are not the same thing.
A useful way to judge what comes next is Connect → Simplify → Measure → Preserve Leverage.
- Connect: Which previously separate systems can exchange useful information?
- Simplify: Which manual tasks, duplicate entries or staff handoffs disappear?
- Measure: Does the integration improve staff time, retention, revenue or decision speed?
- Preserve Leverage: Can the operator still move data, use outside tools and change vendors when necessary?
Fewer Gaps Between Studio Software Systems Could Remove Work
Fitness operators already manage several systems for booking, payments, member communication, reporting, marketing and training. The potential upside of the EGYM Playlist merger is fewer gaps between those functions. If the systems share useful information more effectively, staff could spend less time moving data and more time using it.
The first two stages of the framework are Connect and Simplify.
Mindbody covers booking, scheduling, payments, member information, business management and partner integrations. ClassPass gives participating venues another channel for consumer discovery and bookings. EGYM brings smart strength equipment, digital training, performance data and corporate wellness through Wellpass.
Booker adds appointment and business management. Playlist also launched Kite in 2026 as an enterprise fitness platform. Its stated capabilities include point of sale, CRM, payments, marketing automation, analytics, member management, equipment and performance data.
Those products do not become more useful simply because they share an owner. The operating value appears when information moves with less staff intervention. Kelly Card, SVP of Product at ABC Fitness, describes the problem in decision-making terms:
“What’s missing is a clear translation layer between data and decision-making.”
— Kelly Card, SVP of Product, ABC Fitness
She also points directly to the integration problem: “Fragmented systems are a major barrier to delivering it.”
For a studio, fragmentation can show up as duplicate entry, missed information and extra reconciliation. Staff may need several systems to answer one operating question.
A connected stack could reduce some of those steps. A member action in one system becomes more useful when another system can respond without another manual handoff.
Operators should evaluate integrations at the workflow level. Look at tasks staff repeat every day or every week. Reporting, lead follow-up, schedule changes, payment reconciliation and member communication are practical places to start.
The useful question is not how many Playlist logos appear on a software diagram. It is how many staff handoffs, duplicate entries and disconnected workflows disappear.
The EGYM Playlist Merger Is Showing Where Shared Data Could Go
The clearest post-merger signal is the growing use of shared business data. Playlist is already launching tools that combine operating information with AI and benchmarking. The long-term value of consolidation may come from turning a broader data set into faster operator decisions.
This is the Measure stage.
Playlist launched AI Insights in September 2026. According to Playlist, the tool can use information including bookings, revenue, visits, retention, rebooking behavior, customer value, peer benchmarking and revenue forecasting.
Playlist also says its comparative analytics can draw from anonymized information across more than 110,000 venues in its portfolio.
The company reports that businesses using newer analytics features averaged about $1,400 more in monthly GMV than comparable businesses not using them. Businesses using its Clients at Risk feature showed a 19% higher rebooking rate.
Good Operators Decide Based on Data
Amber Toole, founder of The Training Toole, faced that question when she reviewed how clients were using her facility. Early-morning and evening attendance was strong. Midmorning hours were underused.
Her conclusion was based on the pattern in front of her: “I wasn’t guessing.”
Toole identified a mismatch between the programming offered during those hours and the clients available to attend. She responded by opening a separate Reformer Pilates studio four doors from her original facility.
The result was operational rather than theoretical: “The Pilates studio didn’t just fill the mid-morning hours; it attracted an entirely different type of client.”
Toole did not share a revenue or retention figure for that decision. The business result is still specific: previously underused hours filled, and the studio reached a different client population.
A dashboard does not create value because it has more information. The information has to expose a problem, support a decision and help the operator act.
Julian Barnes, co-founder of BFS Network, uses a similar measurement-first approach with studio operators. BFS evolved from regional conferences into a data-driven growth accelerator built around the BFS Scorecard, which benchmarks studios across five critical business metrics.
“You’re never going to hear us talk about trends or give you our opinion. We’ll tell you what happened based on data, then use our experience to provide insights on what that means.”
— Julian Barnes, Co-Founder, BFS Network
The BFS operating process moves from an assessment to a personalized Scorecard, then benchmarks performance against successful peer studios.
BFS data found that studios generating more than 50 new leads per month were three times more likely to achieve 20% profit margins. In 2024, 17.4% of studios achieved profit margins of 20% or more. That compares with 9.2% in 2023.
Top-performing studios also converted more than 30% of leads into first visits. They then converted more than 30% of first-time visitors into paying customers.
For an operator, vendor-reported results are only the starting point. The stronger test is whether the studio can connect its technology decisions to measurable business outcomes.
- Did weekly reporting take less staff time?
- Did duplicate work decrease?
- Did staff follow up with members faster?
- Did rebooking or retention improve?
- Did the studio gain information it could not use before?
- Did integration expenses decline?
- Did platform costs rise faster than the operational benefit?
Those questions keep the assessment focused on the studio rather than the vendor roadmap.
Integration should earn its place in the stack through measurable operating value.
A wider data set can improve decision-making only when the studio can turn the information into useful action. More dashboards without faster decisions simply create another place for staff to look.
A Connected Fitness Software Ecosystem Can Become Harder to Replace
Deeper integration can reduce daily friction while raising the cost of changing providers later. When booking, payments, marketing, reporting and member data share dependencies, replacing one system can affect several workflows. Operators therefore need to evaluate portability, contracts and switching costs alongside the convenience of tighter integration.
This is the Preserve Leverage stage.
Playlist has not announced plans to raise prices, close integrations or limit exports, and nothing here suggests it intends to lock operators in. Consolidation still changes the questions an operator should ask.
Start with what remains open.
Mindbody currently supports APIs and third-party integrations across areas including client information, schedules, staff, sales and other business functions. A large ecosystem does not automatically mean a closed ecosystem.
Access can still have terms, dependencies and costs. The better question is simple: Does the product integrate, what does that integration cost, and what happens if one component changes?
Data portability deserves the same attention.
Operators should know how their agreements handle member records, attendance history, payment records, marketing information, custom fields, performance data and reporting history. Specific export limits should be verified in the applicable contract rather than assumed.
The next issue is pricing leverage.
When one vendor group supplies more parts of the operating stack, an operator may have fewer practical alternatives when pricing or contract terms change. Replacing one product may also affect payments, integrations, reporting, staff training and member workflows.
That is not a prediction about Playlist’s pricing. It is a reason for operators to understand how much negotiating leverage they retain as more functions connect to the same ecosystem.
If one vendor supplies more of the stack, replacement can affect more of the business. Migration costs can include staff retraining, rebuilt integrations and payment changes. Reporting changes and member disruption can add to the workload. Eddie Tock of REX puts the technology question in a broader operating context: “You have to be flexible as a leader to not just have the best technology, the newest technology, or the best equipment, but you have to have people.”
Technology can make a studio easier to operate. It does not replace staff judgment, capability or the customer relationship.
The central tradeoff is straightforward:
A larger software ecosystem can reduce friction while increasing dependence on the company providing it.
The operator gains convenience when more systems work together. The cost of changing direction can rise as more workflows, payments, integrations and data rely on the same vendor group.
That does not make consolidation good or bad. It makes pricing leverage, portability, contract terms and switching costs part of the technology decision.
Judge the Merger by What Disappears From the Operator’s Workday
The EGYM Playlist merger matters if it removes work operators currently handle by hand and improves decisions they already need to make. The number of products under one owner matters less than the operating result. Studios should measure simpler workflows, usable data and the flexibility they retain if their needs change.
Barnes’ Scorecard approach offers a useful standard. Technology should ultimately show up in operating metrics, not simply in a longer list of connected features.
Connect the systems. Simplify the workflow. Measure the result. Preserve your leverage.
A bigger ecosystem can be useful. Operators should make sure the value grows faster than the dependence.
Related: Empowering Coaches: How to Expand the In-Club Experience
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Frequently Asked Questions
What companies are part of Playlist after the EGYM merger?
Playlist includes Mindbody, Booker, ClassPass, EGYM and Kite. Their products span business management, consumer discovery, payments, enterprise operations, smart equipment, corporate wellness and analytics. Operators should compare the specific products they use rather than assume every Playlist service operates as one platform.
Will Mindbody and EGYM become one platform?
Playlist has described a strategy involving greater connectivity, AI and broader operator tools. EGYM is now part of Playlist, but operators should not assume every product is already fully integrated. Before making a technology decision, confirm which integrations exist today and which capabilities remain part of a future roadmap.
What should a studio ask before consolidating more software with one vendor?
Ask about total cost, contract length, payment dependencies, third-party integrations, API access, data exports and migration support. Operators should also identify what would need to be rebuilt if one product were replaced. That exercise helps expose switching costs and pricing leverage before they become operating problems.
Can Mindbody still integrate with third-party fitness software?
Mindbody currently maintains APIs and a partner ecosystem that allow approved third-party applications to connect with business information and functions. Specific capabilities, terms and costs can depend on the integration. Studios should verify those details for the tools they depend on before treating interoperability as guaranteed.
About Robert James Rivera
Robert is a full-time freelance writer and editor specializing in the health niche and its ever-expanding sub-niches. As a food and nutrition scientist, he knows where to find the resources necessary to verify health claims.
