Prolonged gym closures during the pandemic had a major impact on trainers, clients, and gym operators. The shutdowns also highlighted some of the sector’s long-standing woes—high rents, excessive memberships, inadequate safety, questionable hygiene, as well as the overall fragility of the personalised fitness industry.
Palace Studios, a Cyberport Creative Micro Fund grantee, has developed an on-demand fitness solution that aims to do better. At the heart of this option are premium private fitness studios and an unrivalled digital customer experience.
The start-up currently operates two flagship studios in Central, where personal trainers and their clients can book by the hour for one-on-one or two-on-one training sessions. Both brand-new studios are outfitted with professional strength- and weight-training equipment, as well as spacious changing rooms and private showers for unmatched exclusivity.
Digital convenience and hygiene are of paramount importance to today’s customers; and both can be achieved with the ease of Palace Studio’s app. Trainers and clients can book, reschedule, cancel, and pay for studio and training sessions directly through the app. They can also use the app for contactless access to the studios.
Since operations began in August 2022, the start-up has contracted with over a dozen personal trainers, signed up more than 130 new users, and completed 300+ customer bookings. These early adopters have also provided encouraging user feedback, along with ideas for additional features.
Palace Studios recently raised US$1 million in a pre-seed funding round. It now aims to finalise its third studio and increase the overall number of studios to 20. It is also expanding its team and exploring partnerships with property owners, hotels, service apartment operators, and more to transform under-utilised spaces and increase its service offering.
