Here’s How Punchpass Uses AddEvent to Help Wellness Studios Boost Attendance customer success

Punchpass was built with one core goal: to help small studios offer better experiences for their communities. 

From yoga and prenatal classes to teacher training programs, these studios rely on high attendance and repeat visits. Back in 2016, Punchpass founder Chris Patton recognized a growing need: studio owners needed a simple way to ensure customers showed up for the classes they booked.

After all, studies show that the most important factor for a studio to improve its lead conversion rate is getting clients to attend their first class.

The Challenge

With roughly 6 million reservations processed annually across their platform, ensuring each participant actually attends is mission-critical. However, at the time, there was no add to calendar functionality built into Punchpass, but there was a need. 

Rather than build the feature from scratch, Chris discovered AddEvent and saw how it was being used in other email and website confirmations. So, he integrated it into the Punchpass platform — and never looked back.

The Solution

Punchpass implemented AddEvent to power both Automated Add to Calendar buttons in their user interface and Automated Add to Calendar links in their confirmation emails. 

This allows studio clients to easily save their bookings directly to their personal calendars, whether it is a single drop-in class or a recurring course or series.

The AddEvent integration is now embedded in Punchpass’ core booking flow across their web UI and emails. It’s so seamless, the Punchpass team only has to manage it on occasion, but mostly they simply set it and forget it.

The Results

Since 2022 alone, Punchpass has seen over 4.1 million Add to Calendar interactions across their app and emails.

With approximately 500,000 reservations per month, AddEvent is used in nearly 1.4 million sessions per year, representing about 23% of all bookings. That means nearly one in four customers uses AddEvent to save their class to their calendar, helping improve attendance and reducing no-shows for studios.

Here’s precisely how it happened:

Punchpass was born out of a simple conversation in 2013. Chris Patton, trying to break into a new industry, taught himself to code and responded to a customer frustrated by her gym’s manual check-in system. She was still using literal paper punch cards. The software solution Chris created not only solved her problem — it inspired the name “Punchpass.”

From its early days, Punchpass grew organically by focusing on the needs of small, independent studios. During the pandemic, the team moved fast to support virtual classes, helping studios stay afloat. Throughout all of this, one key need remained: making sure people showed up to the classes they booked.

When Chris came across AddEvent, he saw a ready-made solution that could reduce no-shows without adding development overhead. AddEvent’s tools were simple to integrate and had a powerful effect. With automated calendar links and buttons added at key touchpoints, namely emails and booking confirmations, Punchpass empowered users to seamlessly save their reservations and stay on track.

The result? Tens of thousands of users every month use AddEvent tools, a more reliable booking experience, and higher engagement for studio owners who rely on their communities.

“Reducing the number of no-shows is so important for our clients. One missed session can lead to another, which can eventually lead to a lost customer. Integrating with our customer’s calendars is critical to making sure they show up. We’ve been using AddEvent for nearly 10 years with millions of calendar interactions. It just works, and lets us focus on other parts of the customer experience. Great documentation, great support, and zero issues — you can’t ask for much better than that!”

– Chris Patton, Punchpass Founder

Looking ahead, Punchpass continues to evolve with the needs of its clients. But one thing is certain: AddEvent will remain a quiet yet critical part of its platform, helping keep communities connected, one calendar at a time.